Photo by Olav Strand, The Norwegian Institutefor Nature Research (NINA)

STEIN FJELL’S 37 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONTH

January 26, 11:30 a.m., Zion Lutheran Church, Loveland

Be sure to come to our lodge's 37 Anniversary cele-th

bration on Saturday, January 26 , at Zion Lutheran Church,th

815 E. 16 Street, Loveland.th

Social time begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by a potluckluncheon. The $5 luncheon price will help cover the appe-tizers, dessert, and other expenses. Please help fill out themenu by bringing your favorite dish to share. Anniversarypins and the Viking of the Year award will be presented.We look forward to entertainment by Neil Johnson, “Edu-cator, Composer, and Entertainer” – a fellow Norwegian.

Make your reservation by January 24 with Gary Zook:th

970.493.9344 / 1100 Parkwood Drive, Fort Collins CO 80525-1929.

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Alle ville leve lenge, men ingen ville eldes.All would live long, but no one would become old.

Bak skyene er himmelen alltid blå.Behind the clouds, the sky is always blue.

KULTURHJØRNET (CULTURE CORNER)Nancy L. Dunn, Cultural Director

The program for January is going to be a surprise!!!

Our cultural programs of the past year were wonder-ful, and many of you have offered some great ideas thatwere used. Starting out the new year, we will host somefun and unusual programs, and delve into some of thebeautiful characteristics that make up Norway. Besideshaving some planned programs we also want to entertainany thoughts, ideas, news, and participation from ouramazing Stein Fjell members.

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STEIN FJELL CONTACTS

President: Roxanne Storlie – 970.412.5713President@SteinFjell.com

Vice President: Rod Skaflen – 970.484.5459VicePresident@SteinFjell.com

Editors: Marianne, Bill Nesse – 970.330.7183 Editor@SteinFjell.com

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JANUAR KALENDER*Official Norwegian Flag-Flying Day - Norwegian Public Holiday+

û Let Jon-Eirik H.-J. know, before the lodge meeting, if

you are planning to work at Barneløpet!

1* : Nyttårsdag (New Year’s Day) Norway, USA holiday+

3: Lodge Meeting, 7 p.m., Memorial Service, AnniversaryCelebration reservations (Gary Zook), Turn in 2012Volunteer Hours forms, Sign up for Barneløpetrefreshments, Pick up 2013 Membership Directory

6: Fjellheim Rosemaling Class, 12 p.m. (p. 6)

11: RSVP Deadline, Trollheim Lutefisk Dinner (p. 6)

11-13: Colorado Regional Ski for Light, Snow MountainRanch, cosfl.org/SFL-winter.html (Nov. 2012 Posten)

14: A Norway Passage: The Most Beautiful Voyage, 8p.m., channel 12.2 (CPT/KBDI - www.cpt12.org) (p. 6)

15: Deadline, Local Lodge Partnership Grant (p. 6)

16: Sons of Norway Founders Day (1895) Wear your SONpins, shirts, sweaters, hats, etc. all day!

17: Board Meeting, 7 p.m., Neva Gulliksen’s

19: Trollheim Lutefisk and Meatball Dinner (p. 6)

20: Posten Submission DeadlineFjellheim Rosemaling Class, 12 p.m. (p. 6)

21*: HRH Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s Birthday

24: Reservation Deadline, Stein Fjell Anniversary (p. 1)

26: Stein Fjell’s 37 Anniversary Celebration (p. 1)th

SAVE THE DATE 2013

Februar 1: Scholarship Deadlines – Univ. of Oslo ISS (Des.<12 Posten) and Helping Hands to Children Grant (p. 6)Februar 2: Zone 8 Leadership Meeting (p. 7)Februar 7: Lodge Meeting, 7 p.m., Soup/Sweater NightFebruar 23: Barneløpet, Snow Mountain Ranch Mars 2: Western Slope Barneløpet, Grand Mesa970.249.1869 / ronald900@aol.com. Juni 22-23: Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, Estes ParkOktober 19: Tentative Stein Fjell Lutefisk Dinner, Loveland

MEETING REMINDERS FROM RASRas Erdal, Stein Fjell Host Coordinator

Our January 3 lodge meeting will include a Memorialrd

Service for Tillie Schopbach and we will be meeting in theSpiritual Life Center.

Our Refreshment Hosts are Midge Parkos (chair),Rosalind Larsen, Marilynn Loustalet, Mickey Schmidt, andRob Werge.

Looking forward to February . . . the RefreshmentHosts for the February 7 lodge meeting are John Eversonth

(chair), Wilma Gullickson, Barb Nolin, Rod Skaflen, andJodi Sprague.

Vær så god . . .

ANNIVERSARY PINSRod Skaflen, Vice President

Be sure to come to our 37 Anniversary Celebrationth

and receive this acknowledgment of your membership!

5 YEARS: Linda George, Karen Johnson, Paula Sutton

10 YEARS: Karen Everett, Sommer Everson, Joann Harris, Rosalind Larsen, Mickey Schmidt, Rod Skaflen

15 YEARS: Blaine Johnson, Nina Johnson, Dick Peterson

25 YEARS: Anna May Flynn, Alan Strand, Jane Strand

30 YEARS: Mike Breien, Eric Moe

35 YEARS: Wilma Gullickson, Joyce Jordeth

GRATULERER MED DAGEN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

1 Jeffery Leeson 23 Jesse Thompson 6 Bergen Ingvaldsen 23 Susan Zook 7 Karen Johnson 24 Robert Bjornsen 9 Bernice Kwan 26 Alan Strand 9 Roxanne Storlie 27 JoAnn Kison15 Ava Elizabeth Barrett 29 Jennifer Campbell16 Toodie Iverson 30 Maria Reichel18 Joe Clithero 30 Rebekah Strand 21 Emelie Parkos

? J ? J ? J ? J ? J ? J ?

Please respect fellow members’ privacy.Names, Phone Numbers, and Addresses must not be

redistributed, or used for commercial purposes.

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DITT OG DATT (THIS ‘N’ THAT)

i Make a New Year’s resolution to become moreinvolved in our lodge – we still need a social eventscoordinator, photographer, and web master.

i Remember to set aside items for our March auction.The SON Foundation’s good causes will benefit!

i Gratulerer! At the December lodge meeting, SportsDirector Jon-Eirik Holm-Johansen gave Susan andGary Zook bronze sykkelmerker (cycling medals) andRod Skaflen a bronze sykklelmerke (cycling medal)and a bronze gangmerke (walking medal).

Hardanger em-broidery teacherMidge Parkos gaveRas Erdal a Part 3 barpin for the HardangerEmbroidery CulturalSkills Unit, and hisMaster of CulturalSkills pin for complet-ing three levels ofthree Cultural SkillsUnits.

Cultural SkillsDir. Rasmus Erdalgave Dist. 6 Pres.Lyle Berge Part 1and 2 bar pins forthe Music and Mu-sicians of NorwayCultural Skills Unit.

SOLSKINN (SUNSHINE)Marian Erdal

We are pleased to share with you that Bonnie Heberlein is improving every dayfrom her hip surgery!

REGARDING CULTURAL SKILLSRas Erdal, Cultural Skills Director

If anyone wants to get information about the manycultural skills programs available, please contact me at970.225.9035.

Many of the skills can be worked on independently orwe can possibly form classes for certain skills. As areminder, the following are available:

1. Traditional Norwegian Cooking 2. Literature 3. Collecting Norwegian and North

American Stamps 4. Norwegian Rosemaling 5. Genealogy – Family History 6. Knitting 7. Norwegian Language and Culture 8. Hardanger Embroidery 9. Figure Carving (Norwegian Motif)10. Weaving11. Ornamental Woodcarving

(Norwegian Relief Style) 12. Chip Carving13. Folk Dancing 14. Music and Musicians of Norway

There also are cultural skill units for youth, and theyare:

1. Folk Dancing2. Figure Carving3. Hand Knitting4. Norwegian and North

American Stamps5. Hardanger Embroidery

Our currentHardanger sewing group continues to meet approximatelyevery two weeks. We will always welcome a new memberto the group.

Call me at 970.225.9035 for information and/ordates. This is a fun group that enjoys Hardanger sewing . . .until they miscount.

L-R: Ras, Midge

L-R: Jon-Eirik, Rod, Susan, Gary

L-R: Ras, Lyle

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JULETREFEST 2012

’TWAS 16 DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS . . .Marian and Ras Erdal, Coordinators

. . . and Stein Fjell celebrated with our Christmas Party.Mange Takk must be said to so many people for makingthis event one to remember with a great big smile! Thanksto JoAnn Kison for arranging to use Shepherd of the HillsChurch . . . Sue and Harlan Fretheim for being the liaisonbetween the lodge and the church . . . Susan Zook forhandling the calls that let us knowabout all the children who weregoing to attend . . . Rod Skaflen forgetting the goodie bags . . . IngerFroyland and John Everson fortending the butikk . . . Midge Parkos,our faithful musician, and all theStein Fjell cooks who made agourmet dinner out of a potlucksupper.

Special "kudos" must go to JodiSprague, assisted by MakenzieKvasager, for teaching us how toweave the paper heart baskets(julekurver) and to Harlan Fretheimand Jon-Eirik Holm-Johansen forreading The Christmas Story fromLuke in English and Norwegian. ANDALSO to Rosalind Larsen who readSister Bear – A Norse Tale, complete

with props and lots of good humor. She was surprised bythe appearance of a robustly laughing man in a red andwhite suit, who charmed children and adults, andprovided a wonderful spirit to our party. Tusen, TusenTakk Santa! Singing while walking around the tree was aperfect ending for a joyous time!

We were delighted to share our party with fourNorwegian exchange students, and with Danielle Taylor, amember of Trollheim Lodge and a student at CSU, whotook a break from studying for exams to be with us!

Happy New Year!!

2013 OFFICERS, L-R: Front row – Rod Skaflen, Gary Zook, President Roxanne Storlie, Neva Gulliksen, Jane Robbins, IngerFroyland, Rosalind Larsen, Jon-Eirik Holm-Johansen, Dist. 6 President Lyle Berge; Middle row – Susan Zook, Claire

Grinager, Midge Parkos, Barb Nolin, Marian Erdal, Marianne Workman-Nesse, Zone 8 Director Linda Ault; Back row –Mike Breien, Wilma Gullickson, Terry Thompson, Kathy Browne, Bill Nesse, Rasmus Erdal, Nancy Dunn

Singing around the juletre (Christmas tree)

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JULETREFEST 2012

Photos by

Ras Erdal

Making julekurver

Enjoying Sister Bear – A Norse Tale

Det smakte godt! (It tasted good!)

Harlan and Jon-Eirik

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Hurtigruten is celebrating 120 years during 2013!

A NORWAY PASSAGE:

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VOYAGEJanuary 14, 8 p.m., CPT Channel 12.2

Remember our mentioning the World’s longest TVprogram, Hurtigruten Minutt for Minutt, (from Bergen toKirkenes) in the Oktober 2011 Posten? A one-hour pro-gram has been created from this record-setting, 134-hourlive broadcast. A Norway Passage will be broadcast againby Colorado Public Television 12.2 on January 14 at 8th

p.m. Look for it on cable/dish listings.For a 30-second preview of this special, visit epstv.-

com/preview/norwaypassage.mov. More information isfound on Hurtigruten’s home page – hurtigruten.us.

The December broadcast (announced at the Decem-ber lodge meeting) was a nicely done overview of thevoyage. The program description below could inspire youto take the trip or rekindle memories of it! MW-N

A Norway Passage: The Most Beautiful Voyage is thestory of a voyage – a beautiful voyage along more than1100 miles of Norway's spectacular coastline. Deep fjords,crashing waterfalls, mountains rising from the sea, lovelytowns and fishing villages, and a history of the coastal fer-ries vital to people living along this stunning coast. A Nor-way Passage is a six-day journey in the Midnight Sun to theArctic Circle and the border of Russia. The one-hour pro-gram is drawn from aremarkable live, six-day,24-hour-per-day documen-tary produced by NRK,Norway's national broad-caster. The film presentsstunning images as ittakes viewers from thecosmopolitan city ofBergen to Kirkenes in thefar North, stopping alongthe way at the astoundingGeirangerfjord, a UNESCOWorld Heritage site; theold Viking town of

Trondheim, Norway's traditional historic, religious andcultural capital; the lovely picture-postcard Lofoten Islands,whose special beauty is praised by National Geographic;Tromsø, gateway to the Arctic Ocean; Nordkapp (NorthCape) with its 1,000-foot-high sea cliff, at the very top ofScandinavia, and through the Barents Sea to the Russianborder.

FJELLHEIM ROSEMALING CLASSSundays, January 6 and 20 , 12 - 4 p.m.th th

Viking Hall, 1045 Ford Street, Colorado Springs

Rosemaling classes will resume in January.Cindy Bauer, our excellent painter and instructorwelcomes students of all skill levels. If you area beginner who would like to test the waters ofartistic possibilities or an accomplished painterwho would like to explore a new painting style, youare invited to attend. The cost is $20 per class. Please callSissel Disbrow at 719-540-2737, Bj Mapstone at 719-264-0955 or Cindy Bauer at 719-633-8260.

TROLLHEIM LUTEFISK AND MEATBALL DINNERJanuary 19 , 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sittingsth

Trollheim Lodge, 6610 W. 14 , Lakewoodth

Trollheim Lodge’s Lutefisk and Meatball Dinner will beheld Saturday, January 19 . The menu includes lutefisk,th

butter, cream sauce, Norwegian meatballs, potatoes, lefse,red cabbage, riskrem, red sauce, and drinks. Donations are$17 (members), $18 (guests) and $8 (12 & under).

Reservations must be mailed before January 11 :th

make checks payable to Sons of Norway and send, alongwith your Name, Phone, Address, Sitting preference, Num-ber and Type of tickets, and a self-addressed, stampedenvelope to Barb Hessel, 953 S. Holland St., Lakewood CO80226-4131. Questions? Call Barb at 303.989.4496.

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ZONE 8 LEADERSHIP MEETINGSaturday, February 2 , 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.nd

Trollheim Lodge, 6610 W. 14 Avenue, Lakewoodth

Linda Ault, Zone 8 Director

There will be an introduction, getting-to-know-one-another session, and brainstorming within small groups onvarious lodge activities. After lunch we will break out intosmall groups again. Afternoon will involve ideas on howwe currently attract younger members and what we cando in the future. After a break we will close with a presen-tation on "How to Recruit," which was gathered from theInternational Sons of Norway Workshop in Fargo, ND inAugust. Snacks and lunch will be provided.

Looking forward to this fraternal event.

GRANTS AVAILABLE FROM SON FOUNDATIONAttend the Board Meeting or Contact a Board Member

Local Lodge Partnership Grants – due January 15 – upto $1000 – for individual lodges to fund festivalparticipation, cultural skills workshops, books for lodgelibraries, lodge anniversary celebrations, Syttende Mai,parade floats, etc., designed to highlight Norwegianheritage and culture.

Helping Hands to Children Grants – due February 1 –up to $500 – to fund programs specifically for youth,including SON Framtid, Barnas Norsk Klubb, children’slanguage and heritage day camps, or Syttende Mai andChristmas celebrations for youth.

RETIREMENT PLAN PROTECTIONLaRue Hanson, Financial Benefits Counselor

Retirement plans are often among your largest assets.

Unfortunately, they are subject to some of the mostcomplicated taxation – income taxes, premature distribu-tion penalties, and estate taxes. Uncle Sam will one dayget his piece of your retirement savings. This can lead toIRA implosion. You can overcome this with some careful

planning and help from your Sons ofNorway Financial Benefits Counselor.The choice is yours – ultimatelyliquidate the IRA you have spent alifetime building or let us help you witha plan to protect your wealth and giveyou control. Sons of Norway wants tohelp you be in charge of your financialdreams.

Lhanson1@q.com - 719.599.8546(office) - 719.237.7314(c)2523 Shalimar Drive, Colorado Springs CO 80915-1030

SCHOLARSHIPS – APPLY BY MARCH 1Sons of Norway Foundation – sofn.com/foundation

1.800.945.8851 or foundation@sofn.com

King Olav V Norwegian-American Heritage Fund ($1000 - $2000): This fund promotes cultural exchange between Norway and NorthAmerica. Americans (or Norwegians), 18 years or older,with a plan of studies to focus on exploring his/her interestin Norwegian heritage or in modern Norway (or NorthAmerican culture) at an institution of higher learning mayapply.

Astrid G. Cates/Myrtle Beinhauer Fund (six at $1000 and two at $3000) : Astrid G. Cates and Dr. Myrtle Beinhauer rememberedSON Youth with special bequests through their estates.Applicants enrolling in post-secondary training oreducation, including trade school, vocational school, orcollege, and who are current SON members, children, orgrandchildren of current members may apply.

Helen Tronvold Norwegian Folk High School Scholarship (three at $2000): Established in 2005, this scholarship supports the SON Foun-dation’s goal of providing cross-cultural experiences foryouth. For students 18-24 attending any one of Norway’s70 folk high schools for an entire school year, Aug. - June,to intensively investigate very specific fields of study.

Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì Ì

Makenzie Kvasager (L), here with Claire Grinager,helped us create julekurver (Christmas baskets)

as part of Makenzie’s Norwegian Christmasprogram during our December lodge meeting.

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Sod roof on a

barn, Liland

Bus shelter

A GARDEN ON THE ROOF (EN HAGE PÅ TAKET)Bill Nesse

In the past, sod roofs were very widely used inNorway. Given that the other choices were slate, tile, orwood, it is easy to see why these roofs were popular. Theyremain a common sight in rural areas, and they are com-

monly used onbus shelters and similar smallstructures.

Slate roofs arevery durable, butrequire a source ofslate, something notalways readilyavailable. Even ifslate was locallyavailable, it wasgenerally necessaryto pay someone toquarry and trans-port it. A poorfarmer living at the end of a fjord who wanted to put aroof on his barn usually could not afford slate. Tile alsowas expensive, so its use was similarly restricted.

Wood for shingles was generally available, but in thewet Norwegian climate, wood didn’t last very long and itprovided very little insulation value. It also required manyexpensive nails to install.

For these reasons, a sod roof was often the defaultchoice. The raw materials were readily available, nospecial skills were needed for construction, and they couldlast for 30 years or more. The fact that sod provides goodinsulation in the cold Norwegian winter didn’t hurt either.

The term “sod roof” is something of a misnomer. Ontraditional roofs, several layers of birch bark actually keepthe weather out – the sod functions mostly to anchor thebark and keep it from blowing away in the wind.

Traditional sod roofs start with a structure that isbasically the same as any other roof. Walls and interiorposts support rafters that run from the roof ridge to theeves and purlins that run the length of the roof. The rafters

and purlins are covered with wood sheathing which is thencovered with birch bark and sod. The structure needs to befairly stout because the sod can be quite heavy,particularly when wet.

The birch bark is peeled from live trees, usually in latespring or early summer when the sap is flowing freely and

the bark iseasily peeled.An incision ismade alongthe length ofthe treebetweenbranches and a section ofbark is thenpeeled fromthe tree. Onlythe outer part

of the bark is removed – the phloem remains, so the treedoes not suffer any permanent damage. Bark harvested inthis manner also is used for a wide variety of craft items,including baskets and cradles.

The bark is laid on the roof with the inside facing upand the pieces are overlapped in the same manner as

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shingles, so that water will run down to the eaves. A half-dozen or more layers are applied without benefit of nailsor other fasteners. The weight of the sod keeps it in place.

Sod from a meadow is cut into blocks about threeinches thick and is laid on top of the bark. Ideally, the soilshould be sandy so that it drains easily. The turf log, an-chored to the roof at the eves, keeps the sod from slidingoff. Pieces of bark may be wrapped over the turf log toprovide some protection. An additional sacrificial log maybe placed adjacent to the turf log. Over time it will rotaway, but meanwhile, it protects the turf log from thesame fate. Boards contain the sod at the ends of the roof.

In Norway, the ever-present rain (Nov. 2009 Posten)assures that the sod receives enough moisture to remainnice and green. Maintenance of a sod roof generallyamounts to little more than cutting the grass periodically.Farm animals – cows and goats in particular – can be put

on the roof to take care of this task. It also is necessary toperiodically remove any unwanted plants that may takeroot. The lazy farmer who fails to remove a tree doubtlesswill come to regret his sloth.

Modern sod roofs are making something of a come-back among the tree-hugging classes. They are referred to

as “green roofs,” both for their color and for their environ-mental benefits. Their structure differs in the use of amodern rubber membrane and other similar materialsrather than birch bark, and pressure-treated timbers orother rot-resistant materials for the turf log and otherstructural members. In addition to providing protectionfrom the weather, sod roofs also can serve as nice gardenswhere vegetables and flowers can be grown.

This is not as unusual as it sounds. Many roofs oncommercial buildings use a layer of rock to protect the

roof membrane that keeps water out. The sod roof justreplaces the rock with a layer of soil. A nice benefit is thatthe sod is insulating and reduces the need to air conditionin the summer and heat in the winter. In dry climates,irrigation systems are provided. While a sod roof mightseem ideal for a mountain cabin, the fact that it wouldburn quite happily suggests that it might be a bad choice infire-prone areas.

Sources: epa.gov/hiri/mitigation/greenroofs.htm,Wikipedia

É É É FILLER FACTOIDS É É ÉNorway Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten

Moe spoke in Grand Forks, Bismarck, and Williston, ND inNovember. North Dakota and Norway both have boomingoil industries. The Norwegian government has majoritycontrol of Statoil, which in 2011 agreed to pay $4.4 billionfor Texas-based Brigham Exploration and its operations inthe western North Dakota oil patch. A politician and Mem-ber of Parliament (MP) for the Centre Party, Borten Moe

(36) was born in Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag to a farmer and a nurse.He is the grandson of formerPrime Minister Per Borten, and ismarried to fellow MP Anna CeselieBrustad Moe. (Associated Press11/5/12, Wikipedia) MW-N

Mange takk til Rod Skaflen!

JANUAR 2013