February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 1

Vegas Vikings News

Ord Fra Presidenten:

February 2018

Sons of Norway Lodge 6-152 - Las Vegas, Nevada

The mission of Sons of Norway is to promote and to preserve the heritage and culture of Norway, to celebrate our relationship with other Nordic Countries,

and provide quality insurance and financial products to our members.

As I write this, Norway has broken the U.S. record for most medals at a Winter Olympics with 38. It's been such

an incredible performance and one that has commentators discussing various theories for why such a small na-

tion could outperform everyone else. It's been a bit amusing to watch.

Our lodge is off to a gold medal year, I would say, with a lot of special programming coming our way and even

some Norwegian musicians coming to town. George Knapp from KLAS TV Channel 8 will address the lodge March

1. His mother in law was from Norway and a recent trip there will be among the topics he'll cover. A local Norwe-

gian-American architect, Mitch Trageton, will cover Norwegian architecture April 5, which should be interesting

(Thanks, Lee Holman and Karen Holien).

Cultural Director Gregg LeDuc has put us in touch with someone in Minnesota who has an emigrant chest from

Norway who could come speak to the lodge. That looks promising for a future meeting, possibly in May. Greg also

reached out to the Stoughton Dancers and a visit by the Norwegian dancers from Wisconsin in March 2019 looks

very promising. Norwegian DJ Matoma (real name: Tom Stræte Lagergren) performs April 20 at the Hakkasan

nightclub at the MGM Grand. Also, Norwegian black metal group Dimmu Borgir performs as part of the Psycho

Vegas Festival at the Hard Rock in August. I'm hoping to go to both. Who's with me?!

Also, this year, we've decided to take part in Pirate Fest April 21-22 at Craig Ranch Park. (Vikings were the origi-

nal pirates, right?) We'll bring the Viking ship and set up a small Viking encampment. This event is organized in

such a way that we can generate some revenue for the lodge and we'll get good community exposure, so we'll be

needing Vikings for this one. Should be a lot of fun!

We'll break out the Viking ship for the St. Patrick's Day parade on Water Street in Henderson again this year. We

don't have our parade assignment yet but please plan to join us March 17 with your Norwegian and Irish flags and,

as always, we'll need Vikings. The parade starts at 10 a.m.

Med venlig hilsen,

Erik

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 2

Thought for the

Month:

Membership Meeting

First Thursday of the month at 6:30 PM

Christ Lutheran Church

111 N Torrey Pines Dr, Las Vegas NV

February Birthdays

2-1 Rory Raymond

2-2 Linda Kristensen

2-3 Suzan Siebert

2-3 Jerome Morse

2-9 Terri Anderson

2-9 Alice Salvesen

2-13 Judy Maland

2-13 Christian Schoyen

2-15 Onnie Singman

2-21 LadyHawk Freeman

2-22 Gwen Knight

2-23 Annie Mathieson

2-25 David Jellum

March Birthdays

3-2 Signe Roden

3-16 Donald Odegard

3-17 Richard Senzig

3-17 Julie Seidlinger

3-18 Cato Terje Sandberg

3-22 James Turner

3-25 Daniel Clark

3-26 Kimberly Roden

Contact Us:

www.VegasVikings.com - Webmistress Lollo Sievert (702)645.7457

Newsletter information and submissions : vegasvikingsnewsletter@gmail.com

Change of address or email: Karen Holien (702).240.3324

Facebook : Vegas Viking

Twitter: vegasvikinggang

March 1—Membership meeting

March 17— Saturday - Southern Nevada Sons & Daughters of

Erin St. Patrick's Day Parade. We'll have our Vikings & Viking

ship participating. The parade begins at 10 a.m. We're awaiting

information from parade organizers on where we'll stage for

this parade on Water Street in Henderson.

April 2—Norwegian Easter Monday

April 5—Thursday - Mitch Trageton, Senior VP of Architecture for Marnell Companies, will

present on Norwegian Architecture, the New & the Old at our lodge meeting. Eat and social-

ize at 6:30 p.m. Program gets underway at 7 p.m.

May 1– Norwegian Labour Day

May 17, Thursday - Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day) picnic by the Water Park in

Veterans Memorial Park in Boulder City at 5 p.m.

Kalenderen

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 3

Vegas Vikings Lutefisk Dinner 2018

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 4

Vegas Vikings Lutefisk Dinner 2018

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 5

Best Summer Vacation….Ever!!!

Pass on to the our youth the gift of Norwegian culture and herit-

age. Do you enjoy talking about your Norwegian heritage? Do

you do rosemaling? Do you like Norwegian folk dancing? Do you

enjoy Norwegian music? If you have answered yes to any of the

the previous questions you have an opportunity to fullfill your

best summer vacation yet. We need you share your knowledge to a new generation.

Spend part of your summer vacation in the beautiful Seirras at Camp Norge with the youth of our

lodges. Share, teach, and laugh at the Trollfjell Heritage Camp, July 8-21 ages 8-13 and Trofjell

Folkenhofskule, June 24 – July 7, ages 14-17.

Needed: Instructors for Rosemaling, Dance, Lan-

guage, Music, Heritage and Culture Instructor. The

commitment isn’t for the whole 4 weeks. It could be a

week or a couple of days, schedules are flexible.

Also needed: Certified life guard, counselors and

cook.

Please contact Camp Director, Rebekah Strand 970-541-0375 or email restrand15@gmail.com. On-line applications are at https://tinyurl.com/ybccnvr3.

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 6

April 20-22, 2018:

Come to beautiful Camp Norge for a weekend of learning Norwegian folk dance, empha-

sizing the dances from the Sons of Norway Cultural Skills program.The weekend will

include dances from all three levels of the Folk Dance unit. You will learn song dances,

figure dances, and old-time couple dances, as well as basic dance skills and a bit of

dance history. The instructors are Tom Sears (Vigeland Lodge) and Meg Laycock

(Nordahl Grieg Lodge), co-artistic directors of the Nordahl Grieg Leikarring og Spele-

mannslag.

The weekend starts on Friday night with a potluck meal and a welcome party as folks arrive and settle in. On Saturday there will

be morning and afternoon classes (plus meals and snack breaks). After a social hour in the early evening, a delicious dinner will

be followed by a dance party that includes dances learned during the day. Sunday morning will be spent reviewing the dances and

discussing related Cultural Skills activities. More review can happen after lunch, if people want to stay a bit longer.

The fee for the weekend is $130.00 per adult dancer or musician if paid before April 6, 2018. After April 6, the fee is $175.00

per adult. The complete flyer is available from the District 6 website at http://sofn6.org/. Click Events/News and select

Folkedans Stevne 2018. For more information, contact Zena Corcoran (email ZMCorcoran@aol.com, phone 650-355-3752) or

Meg Laycock (email meg@jstub.com, phone 408-255-2111).

Even if you aren't certain you want to work toward a Cultural Skills pin, this is a great chance to try out Norwegian Folk Dance

and spend a weekend with friendly people in a beautiful setting. We'd love to see you there!

Here is a link to the flyer on-line if you need that: http://sofn6.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Flyer-Spring-2018-Stevne.pdf

A Little Sunshine from Suzan

SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE : Scholarship information was sent to High Schools, Colleges and Lutheran

Churches. As I write this we have two applications. Thanks to Lollo Sievert for updating the scholarship

application online on our website. The deadline for the application will be with the post mark of April 7,

2018. Thanks to everyone who donated to the Scholarship Fund and Maureen Anderson for doing the bake

sale in Alamo once again. Thanks to all we have $5,000.00 to be used for Scholarships this year as of

this writing.

Boxtops are being collected for Robert Taylor ES. In February we sent them 45!!!

Please continue to collect pull tabs for the Ronald McDonald House and plastic bottle caps from beverage

containers (water and soda, no laundry detergent). 1000 lids equals one co-pay for several dialysis pa-

tients.

February 1st started off sad with the passing of Ron (Bud) Dille. Continue to keep Marilyn Dille and family

in your thoughts. We are happy to report Gwen Knighton is feeling much better after a hospital stay. Con-

tinue to keep Bea Belzone, Eric and Judy Maland and Jan Sprague in your thoughts as they continue with

their health concerns.

If you know of someone who is in need of a little sunshine give me a call and leave a message if I am not at

home 702-645-6666 or email us at arsibert@cox.net

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 7

The Origin of St. Urho The legend of St. Urho is not the product of one person, but of many. The original character is usually traced to Vir-

ginia, Minnesota, but like most good legends, there have been many voices in creating the

history of St. Urho.

St. Urho was created by Richard Mattson, who worked at Ketola's Department Store in Vir-

ginia, Minnesota. Mattson is generally credited with conjuring up a Finnish counterpart to

St. Patrick in the spring of 1956. Just as Patrick had driven the snakes from Ireland,

Mattson's saint drove a plague of frogs from Finland. There were several Finnish names sug-

gested, but Saint Ero or Saint Jussi, or even Toivo or Eino, just didn't have the correct ring

of a saintly name. Urho Kekkonen became president of Finland in 1956, and some believe

that is where the name came from. Others say that Kekkonen was called "Saint Urho" by

the citizens of Finland, and the name was attached to Mattson's legend.

Gene McCavic took the St. Urho legend and, with help from Mattson, wrote an "Ode to St. Urho". It told of a boy

("poika", Finnish for "boy") named Urho who got strong on sour whole milk ("feelia sour") and fish soup ("kala mojak-

ka"). In the original, Urho chases out "tose 'Rogs" (those frogs) with his loud voice. The original Ode also celebrates

St. Urho's Tay as "twenty-fourth of May". The original poem was written on a piece of wrapping paper, and is on dis-

play at Ironworld Discovery Center in Chisolm, Minnesota.

[Brief note on the Finnish language: Finnish has several fewer consonants than English. Missing are B, C, D, and G.

Consequently there are no sounds for those letters, and B becomes P, C becomes S or K, D becomes T, and G be-

comes K. When Finnish rally drivers talk about transmission problems with their cars, they refer to it as a "kearpox".

There are also no articles in Finnish sentence structure -- the, a or an are not part of Finnish grammar.]

Also credited as the originator of the St. Urho legend is Dr. Sulo Havumäki, a psychology professor at Bemidji State

College in Bemidji, Minnesota. He is credited with changing the plague to grasshoppers, who were consuming the

grape crop that would become wine in ancient Finland. (Pre-historic Finland was allegedly a much warmer place than

it is today.) St. Urho's triumph was saving the vineyards and the jobs for those who picked the grapes. That is how

St. Urho became the Patron Saint of Finnish Vineyard Workers.

The legend spread, originally across Minnesota to Finnish settlements on the Mesabi Iron Range, and to Menahga,

New York Mills, Wolf Lake, and of course, Finland. St. Urho's Day is now celebrated in towns with Finnish heritage

across Michigan's Upper Peninsula; Thunder Bay, Ontario; Burlington, Vermont; Butte, Montana; and Hood River, Ore-

gon.

Today, the St. Urho tradition is carried on in many Finnish communities, sometimes as an excuse to add an extra

day of rowdy celebration to the St. Patrick's Day festivities. In many Finnish-American communities, however, St.

Urho's Day is the celebration, and St. Pat's feast day is merely an afterthought, a day to sleep off the hangover.

Timo Winkenen

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 8

DIRECTIONS

1. Beat together the eggs and sugar.

2. Add the milk and salt, and then the flour, mixing until smooth.

3. Let the batter rest for 20 minutes.

4. Butter a very hot skillet lightly.

5. Laddle 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter into the skillet, and tilt it around so the batter spreads out to make a 7 inch di-ameter pancake.

6. The batter will firm up quickly.

7. When the first side is brown, turn and brown the other side.

INGREDIENTS:

2 EGGS

1/2 TABLESPOON

GRANULATED SUGAR

3 CUPS MILK

1/4 TEASPOON SALT

1 1/4 CUPS WHITE

FLOUR

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 9

Sons of Norway Vegas Viking Lodge 6-152

General Membership Meeting, dated

February 1, 2018

The meeting was held at the Christ Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, 111

North Torrey Pines, Las Vegas, NV. Vice President Warren Halvorson started our

evening at 6:30 pm with members singing Norwegian grace. Potluck dinner was

provided and enjoyed. At 7 pm, Warren called the meeting to order and welcomed

33 members and one visitor—Chef Flemming Pedersen! Warren had the group sing

“God Bless America.”

The Cultural Program began at 7:10 pm when Warren introduced Chef Flem-

ming of the Chef Flemming’s Bake Shop in Downtown Henderson, NV. Chef Flem-

ming started by telling us his journey to America from Denmark. He learned to cook

and bake in Denmark because his family was mink farmers and didn’t cook!

He explained “ What is Fastelavn?” It is a holiday, celebrated the Monday or

Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, as a carnival to enjoy rich food before the Season

of Lent– 40 days before Easter. Chef Flemming entertained us with histories and

memories of the celebrations. He also brought fastelavnsbollers—buns stuffed with

cream and topped with chocolate!

Lee Holmen compiled a list of words and examples for our cultural aware-

ness! Fastelavn, Fastelavnsris, Fettisdagen, Fastelavnsbollers, and Semla.

As we were enjoying the fastelavnsbollers, Karen Holien presented the pro-

posal to join the Boulder City Trolls to celebrate Syttende Mai on May 17, 2018. The

motion was brought before the group, seconded and voted unanimous in the affirm-

ative. There will be sign-up sheets for everyone to help and have fun!

Several women will meet on a Saturday to make bunads/apron dresses for the

various events this year.

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 10

The financial report for February 1, submitted by Andy Aagan is:

Checking—$7,776.40

Scholarship Fund-$5,794.24 Wells Fargo Bank Savings-$760.58

Sons of Norway Savings-$12,438.97

Susan Sibert submitted during January: 67 Box Tops were sent to Robert

Taylor Elementary School. 35 Scholarship fliers were mailed to Clark County High

School Counselors’ Offices, Lutheran churches, private Lutheran High Schools and

Chef Flemming’s Bake Shop. Two applications have been received. The post mail-

ing deadline this year is April 7, 2018. Many thanks to Lollo Sievert for updating the

Vegas Vikings website. Sunshine was shared with Bea Belzone, Marilyn and

Ronald Dille, Eric and Judy Maland, Jennifer Sprague, and Bob Sturgeon.

Tracy Barkhuff talked about the positive response to the January Newsletter.

She plans to mail to those who do not use email. She is collecting plastic bottle tops

of any color.

Karen Holien is compiling an updated phone/address/email list.

Warren Halvorson talked about the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Henderson,

which is Saturday, March 17.

The next board meeting will be February 17, at Chef Flemming’s Bake Shop

Jeanette Grove won the 50/50 drawing. The door prizes were distributed and

the meeting ended at 8 pm.

Submitted by Terri Anderson, 2018 Lodge Secretary, February 20, 2018

General Membership Meeting notes continued

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 11

Sons of Norway Vegas Viking Lodge 6-152 Board Meeting, dated February 17, 2018 at Chef Flem-

ing’s Bake Shop, 7 S Water St, Ste B, Henderson, NV 89015 9 am

In attendance: Karen Holien, Erik Pappa, Warren & Elaine Halvorson, Maureen

Anderson, Lee Holmen, Gregg LeDuc, Robert Sturgeon, Richard Senzig, Terri An

derson

1.Syttende Mai Picnic—May 17 in Boulder City, 5 pm start with 5:30 pm for the food lines. Karen Holien

will organize sign-up sheets for the event. There will be food, a parade, raffle, bounce house for chil-

dren and a DJ. Fun for families and everyone!

2.Pirate Fest April 21-22– We will set up one tent and bring the boat. No cost for this event. We will pro-

vide labor for one pirate game and receive 30 cent for each $1.00 ticket played at that game. We

need commitments for set-up and staying with the boat, as well as the game.

3.Stoughton Dancers from Stoughton High School, Wisconsin, will be here in March, 2019. Greg LeDuc

contacted this group and will continue communications. We look forward to the performance!

4.Immigrant Chest– Greg LeDuc contacted Roger Hellsvig from Minnesota, who has a chest. Roger per-

forms a 30 minute program. We hope he is here for our May 3 meeting!

5.March 2018-March 2019 budget– The budget was created, based on last year’s spending. The board

included the purchase of four new tires for the boat trailer. Two lodge members may have their Dis-

trict Six Convention registration fee paid for by the lodge. Monies collected from bake sales goes to

the Scholarship Fund. The Scholarship committee decides how many and how much money to

award each year.

6.The Lodge checking account will go by one name when people are writing checks—”Vegas Vikings”

7.The Cultural Committee is busy, finding interesting programs for our general meetings. March is Pur-

ple & Green, with George Knapp as our guest speaker. There will be no July lodge meeting.

8.We are walking in the Henderson St. Patrick Day parade. Several people are needed to ready the boat

that morning for travel. More details will be shared at the March 1 general meeting.

9.The bylaws have been found and need revision. A future board meeting will be dedicated.

10a. Rick Senzig was asked and he accepted the call as Viking Outreach Point Person. Rick will organ-

ize people to help every time people and the boat go to an event or just people go to an event.

10b. The Christmas Bazar needs a venue that is available November 17, Saturday. Lee

Holmen will follow-up and report at the next board meeting.

Meeting was adjourned at 11:30 am. Submitted by Terri Anderson, 2018 Lodge Secretary.

February 2018—Vegas Vikings Lodge 6-152 News page 12

Vegas Vikings Leadership

Board of Directors

President Erik Pappa, erikrpappa@gmail.com, (702) 395-7917

Vice President Warren Halvorson, wsheah@aol.com, (702) 566-6788

Counselor Bob Sturgeon, LeifStor@aol.com, (702) 454-9100

Secretary Terri Lynn Anderson, terrilovesmath27@hotmail.com, (702) 469-9077

Treasurer Andy Agan Jr, aaganjr@aol.com, (702) 242-0602

Officers/Committee Chairs

Cultural Director: Gregg LeDuc

Membership Secretary: Karen Holien

Webmistress: Lollo Sievert

Social Director: Maureen Anderson

Sports and Recreation Director: VACANT

Foundation Director: VACANT

Youth Director: VACANT

Trustees: Lollo and Bob Sievert

Greeter: David Anderson

Publicity Director: Erik Pappa

Marshal: ?????

Historian: Rick Senzig

Librarian: ?????

Editor: Tracy Barkhuff, vegasvikingsnewsletter@gmail.com

Volunteer Coordinator: Linda Turner

Audit Committee: Lollo and Bob Sievert

Name Tags and Sunshine: Suzan Siebert

Lutefisk Dinner Chairpersons: Gwen Knighton & Bob Sturgeon

Camp Norge Ambassador: Arlon Siebert

Scholarship: Linda Kristensen & Suzan Siebert