vasa star

Official publication of

THE VASA ORDER OF AMERICA

A Swedish-American Fraternal Organization

Organized September 18, 1896

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2009

The GrandMaster’s Message

Vasa brothers and sisters!God fortsättning på det nya året! I hope you have had

some time after Lucia and the Christmas holidays to relaxand catch your breath. It is now the beginning of January andfacing a new year full of promise. Many in the USA – allover the world, for that matter – are expecting that our firstblack president will be provide a new way to lead our coun-try; a new savior. We certainly need good leadership giventhe financial woes we have brought on ourselves by ourgreed. Maybe we ought to look back a couple of thousandyears to see what was expected from another who also wasproclaimed Savior.

Again this issue is filled with Lucia pictures and stories.Editor Marie says that we have more lodge news in this issuethan any other in her time as Editor. Thanks to everyone whoworked hard and fast to send his or her stories in to our edi-tor by Christmas. Because of the timing of material is muchlater than usual this issue of The Vasa Star, it will be a cou-ple of weeks later than it is normally scheduled.

Marty and I, with Pam Genelli, GLEB Member EasternRegion, visited Carl Larsson Lodge #739 in Raleigh, NC onDecember 6th for their “Julmarknad.” It was my first visit tothe lodge and I was very impressed with the organization ofthe “julmarknad,” and commend the lodge for their effort. Iunderstand that about 3000 people came to the event to shopand eat; now that is an opportunity to advertise that there areSwedish organizations in the area. It was a pleasure to meetmany of the hard working members of the lodge. Since CarlLarsson Lodge #739 is not part of a District it is more diffi-cult for me to find time to visit such lodges. I will try to dothat some more before my time is up as Grand Master in July2010.

We are starting something new in this issue; a half-pagearticle to answer frequently asked questions of the GLExecutive Board. It will occur in each issue; we call it the‘FAQ.’ Grand Secretary Joanie Graham will be responsiblefor these articles. The first one concerns the EducationStamp program.

Note the ad on the back cover for the raffle tickets that aremeant to be a fund-raiser for DL Pennsylvania #9 as it hoststhe GL Convention in 2010. The raffle tickets will be placedin the center of the next issue of the Vasa Star.

I hope to see many of you at various DL conventions thisyear; there are ten of these in 2009; Marty and I plan toattend all of them.

Vasa Syskon!God fortsättning på det nya året! Jag hoppas ni har haft

litet tid efter Lucia- och allt julfirande att koppla av. Nubefinner vi oss i början av januari och vi har ett år framföross fylld med nya löften. Många i USA och många även iSverige, tror jag, ser fram emot att Barack Obama, vår förstamörkhyade president, kommer att kunna hitta nya vägar attleda vårt land och som i sin tur kommer att påverka resten avvärlden. Många förväntar sig en ny “frälsare.” Vi behöververkligen gott ledarskap med tanke på de ekonomiska ochpolitiska klimatet vi befinner oss i just nu och jag hoppas vihar rimliga förväntningar.

Som vanligt är denna upplaga fylld av Luciaberättelseroch bilder. Redaktören säger att vi aldrig haft så mångaartiklar från logerna någonsin tidigare i detta nummmer. Ettstort Tack till Er alla som arbetat hårt och snabbt med erabidrag så att Redaktören fick dem innan jul! På grund av denförlängda tiden att skicka in respektive bidrag plus, att detvar så mycket material till denna upplaga, kommer The VasaStar några veckor senare än vanligt.

Marty och jag, tillsammans med Pam Gennelli SLERmedlem i, Eastern Region, besökte Carl Larsson Loge, Nr739 i Raleigh, North Carolina, den 6:e December för att delt-aga i deras julmarknad. Det var första gången jag besöktedenna loge. Jag var mycket imponerad över hur logen organ-iserat sin julmarknad och ger dem mycket beröm för alltarbete. Av vad jag förstår, kom ca 3000 människar till dettaevenemang för att handla och äta. Det var mycket trevligt attfå träffa de hårt arbetande logemedlemmarna. Eftersom CarlLarsson Logen Nr 739 inte tillhör något distrikt, är detsvårare för mig att få tid till att besöka dessa loger. Jag skallförsöka göra det några gånger till, innan min tid som GrandMaster är avslutad i Juli 2010.

I denna upplaga börjar vi med något nytt; en halvsidainnehållande en artikel som svarar på vanligt återkommandefrågor till SL Executive Rådet. Det kommer att finnas med ivarje nummer och vi kallar det ‘FAQ.’ StorlogesekreterarenJoanie Graham kommer att ansvara för dessa artiklar. Denförsta avser ‘Education Stamp’ programmet.

Jag hoppas att vi träffas på något av de ca tio styckenolika distriktsmötena som kommer att hållas under 2009.Marty och jag planerar att besöka alla inklusive de två svens-ka distriktsmöten som är i maj.

Rolf Bergman

Vasa Star January-February 2009

THE VASA STAR JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2009

Cover:Blind man with his dog in Norrköping, Sweden.Blind man med ledarhund i Norrköping.

Picture by: Inge Hallberg, Logen Bråviken Nr 751

THE VASA STAR (USPS 657-020)January-February 2009

Vol. 102, No. 1, Serial 848

HEADQUARTERS:c/o Joan GrahamGrand Secretary5838 San Jose AvenueRichmond, CA 94804Phone: 510-526-5512E-mail: [email protected]

Grand Master:Rolf S. Bergman3236 Berkeley AvenueCleveland Heights, OH 44118Phone: 216-371-5141Fax: 216-274-9664E-mail: [email protected]

Editor:Marie Carlson9560 Curberry DriveMentor, OH 44060Phone: 440-255-4665E-mail: [email protected]

Circulation Manager:(Address Changes)

Cathy Anderson13194 N. Woosnam WayOro Valley, AZ 85755Phone: 520-219-9433E-mail:[email protected] bottom section of white copy ofapplication for new members to her.

Membership Chairman:Tore Kellgren5971 W. Walbrook DriveSan Jose, CA 95129Phone: 408-996-1970E-mail: [email protected]

Orders for advertising should be sent to:THE VASA STARMarie Carlson9560 Curberry DriveMentor, OH 44060Phone: 440-255-4665E-mail: [email protected]

THE VASA STAR (ISSN 0746-0627) ispublished bi-monthly by the VasaOrder of America. Periodicals postagepaid at Richmond, CA, and additionalentries.POSTMASTER: Send address changesto The Vasa Star, P.O. Box 69997, OroValley, AZ 85737-0025.

Published by:Vasa Order of America

vasaorder.com

Advertising Prices:Full Page Black and White $500.00Half Page Black and White $275.00Quarter Page Black and White $150.00 One Column Inch $ 30.00

Half Page Color $500.00Full Page Color $800.00Available only for inside front cover, insideback cover or back cover.

10% discount for Vasa Lodges and Members

Deadlines for The Vasa Star:Jan./Feb. is Dec. 1st

March/April is Feb. 1st May/June is April 1stJuly/Aug. is June 1stSept./Oct. is Aug. 1stNov./Dec. is Oct. 1st

Deadline for Christmas ads: October 15th. Deadline forLucia articles is Dec. 24 – picture and article, 200 words or less.

AN IMPORTANT REMINDERObituaries received after July 1st, 2008, the cost structure will be changed. Thecost for up to one column inch will be $8.00; longer obituaries will be charged atthe flat rate of $25.00.

Please send pictures of good quality in order for them to reproduce well in TheVasa Star. Electronically submitted photos should be scanned in JPEG format at aresolution of 300 dpi.

AUDIO-VISUAL DIRECTORTodd Anderson

1383 Middlebrook Way • Rohnert Park, CA, 94928Cell Phone: (707) 694-1345

E-mail: [email protected]

The Vasa website at www.vasaorder.com contains a “materials button” which has thelisting of audio visual materials available.

If you are unable to use the Vasa website, you can still ask that a listing be sent to youby mail.

CORRECTIONNov/Dec 2008 issue of The Vasa Star

Politically Involved No Matter What AgeSubmitter for that was: Lynda Smith, DLYS of District No. 8 and the GLYD.

In MemoriamIn the Memoriam is a note that “Uno Kasperson” passed away when it should

say Josephine M. Nelson. Uno Kasperson is very much alive!Look in Memoriam for Josephine M. Nelson.


ARCHIVES NEWSAll of Bishop Hill celebrated the Festival

of Light in its traditional way with candles ineach window and luminaries along the walk-ways. Snow was sufficient to blanket the vil-lage in white and there were many visitors toall shops and museums during the two-dayevent “Lucia Nights.” Each establishment hadits own Lucia to serve coffee and“Lussekatter” to guests.

Our own local Vasa Children’s Club “Prideof the Family” put on the procession in theArchives and I was honored again to read thestory of “The Tomte,” as adapted fromRydberg by Astrid Lindgren. Our Lucia thisyear, Claire Mannon, delighted guests with herwelcoming spirit as did the mysterious“Tomte” himself, portrayed by JoshChristianson. Josh’s big sister, Mary, playedfiddle to accompany the procession.

“Pride of the Family” leader, PattiChristianson, declared when we were settingup for the party, “I wish we would get a room-

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Letter from the Editor.................................................4Archives News ..............................................................4Swedish Language Lessons ........................................5Grand Lodge News .....................................................6Motions to the Grand Lodge MeetingAre Your Lodge’s Financial Officers Bonded?FAQLodge News...................................................................8

Swedish News .............................................................23Logen Höganäs Nr 634Logen Enköping Nr 646Logen Härnösand Nr 673Logen Nybyggarna Nr 698Logen Vadstena Nr 762Youth News.................................................................25Skansen #147 Children’s ClubNordikids Musiklubb #208Welcome To Our New Members ..............................26Culture ........................................................................27The People’s ParkTidbits .........................................................................28Happenings.................................................................29Moving to Arizona, Welcome to District Lodge Arizona #21Reser du till Sverige i sommar?Are you going to visit Sweden this summer?Välkomna till Peter Casseldagarna i Kisa den 13-14 juniMistletoe and LuciaThe Postcake Company Signs PartnershipIn Memoriam..................................Inside Back Cover

PAGE 8

PAGE 25

Letter from the Editor

Brev från Redaktören

In my previous letter I wrote about the new President Elect. Well, todaythe entire world was captivated by a historic event, the inauguration of ournew president.

2008’s Christmas and New Years is also history by now except for themany Lucia’s in this Jan/Feb issue. The pictures and stories serve as areminder of this special holiday celebrated among the Scandinavian commu-nity. Unfortunately I received Lucia articles after the Dec 24th; the due date islisted all year under Deadlines on page 3. I know how important it is for ouryoung ladies to have their pictures published in The Vasa Star and we aredoing our best to do so, but deadlines must be met. Also, I want to remindyou how important it is to send pictures of good quality; look under IMPOR-TANT REMINDER on page 3 for this information as well.

Valentines Day is an important day noted next in our calendar. That daywas not surrounded by much celebration when I grew up in Sweden. I hardly even knew there wassuch a day, but today it is observed the same way as here. I have a small Tidbit regarding its origin inthis issue.

As I am writing this, I am looking outside where we have an unusually cold, snowy, absolutelygorgeous winter wonderland; I love it. It reminds me of the snow making that familiar crunchy noiseunder your feet while walking to school those dark winter mornings during my childhood in Sweden.That time was a while ago now but it feels like yesterday!

Marie“Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be.”- Robert Browning”

ClaireMannon asLucia andJoshChristiansonas Tomte.

ful of visitors we’ve never seen before to expe-rience our Lucia.” Sure enough in walked fif-teen people to the Archives we’d never seenbefore who knew nothing about Vasa andnothing about Lucia, and they were completelycaptivated by the magic and interested to learnall about our Order. Ask and you shall receive.

Submitted by: Lars JennerArchivist/Manager

I mitt föregående brev skrev jag om att vi valt en ny president. Ja, idag hölls hela världen fängsladpå grund av dagens historiska evenemang, vår nya president blev insvuren.

2008 års Jul- och Nyårshelg tillhör nu också historien förutom de många Lucior vi har i dennaJan/Feb upplaga som påminner oss om den här speciella högtiden och som firas runt om i våraSkandinaviska samfund. Tyvärr får jag Lucia-artiklar efter den 24:e december, detta “senaste tillhan-dadatum” finns skrivet året runt under Deadlines på sidan 3. Jag vet hur viktigt det är för våra ungadamer att få sina bilder publiserade i Vasastjärnan och vi gör allt vi kan för att det ska bli så, mendetta datum måste tillmötesgås. Jag vill också påminna er om hur viktigt det är att skicka foton av godkvalité, titta under “IMPORTANT REMINDER” på sidan 3 även för detta.

Alla Hjärtans Dag är en viktig dag markerad härnäst i vår almanacka. Det var inte mycket firandeav den dagen när jag växte upp i Sverige, jag visste nästan inte att det fanns en sådan dag, men nu ärden observerad precis som här. Jag har en liten notis, Tidbit, som handlar om dess ursprung i dennaupplaga.

Nu när jag skriver detta, tittar jag ut över ett ovanligt kallt, snörikt, absolut fantastiskt vinterland-skap och jag älskar det. Det påminner mig om den snö, som gjorde det där bekanta knarrande ljudetunder fötterna när jag gick till skolan de där mörka vintermånaderna under min barndom i Sverige.Det har gått en tid sen dess, men det känns som igår!

Marie“Åldras tillsammans med mig. Det bästa väntar ännu.”- Robert Browning

Norden Lodge #1Freja Lodge #100Tegnér Lodge #109Fylgia Lodge #119Thule Lodge #127Nobel Monitor Lodge #130Tegnér Lodge #149Linné Lodge #153Oscars Borg Lodge #172Monitor Lodge #218Brahe Lodge #241Skandia Lodge #247Facklan Lodge #248Göta Lejon Lodge #251Svea Lodge #253Svea Lodge #296Balder Lodge #308Omaha Lodge #330Viljan Lodge #349Evening Star Lodge #426Svea Lodge #469Linde Lodge #492Lindbergh Lodge #494Skandia Lodge #549

Nordic Lodge #611Northern Light

Lodge #620Bishop Hill Lodge #683Norden Lodge #684Skogen Lodge #700Vinland of Cape CodLodge #703Nordic Lodge #708Solstad Lodge #709Tre Kronor Lodge #713Carl XVI Gustaf

Lodge #716Glenn T. Seaborg

Lodge #719Odin Lodge #726Birka Lodge #732Viking Lodge #735Kronan Lodge #737Jubileum Lodge #755Viking Lodge #756Nordic Red Rocks Lodge

#760Nordik Folk Lodge #761


The twins will be busy helping their parents celebrate theirwedding anniversary. We will probably keep this theme fortwo maybe three lessons. So the lessons will not be longalthough there are a lot of new words to learn. Some of themwe have had before which should make it easier for you tostudy them without getting overwhelmed. Studying andremembering the words is what will enable you to converse inSwedish.

NYA ORD/NEW WORDSom några dagar in a few daysatt fira, firar, firade, firat to celebratebröllopsdag, -en, -ar weddingday/anniversarygift be marriedår yearinte notatt planera, planerar, planerade, planerat to planatt göra, gör, gjorde, gjort to dosärskilt special/specificatt undra, undrar, undrade, undrat to wonderkunde couldatt laga, lagar, lagade, lagat to make/prepare/cookmat, -en, --- fooddag, -en, dagar dayatt tycka, tycker, tyckte, tyckt to thinkbra goodatt föreslå, föreslår, föreslog, föreslagit to suggestmeny, -n, -er menuatt köpa, köper, köpte, köpt to buypapper paperpenna, -n, pennor penatt börja, börjar, började, börjat to beginatt skriva, skriver, skrev, skrivit to writeskriva ner write downatt servera, serverar, serverade, serverat to serveföräldrar parentsville inte did not wantför mycket too mucharbete workmedan whileatt försöka, försöker, försökte, försökt to trygourmé gourmetmiddag dinnertog fram took/brought outnågra a few/somekomma överens agreehoppas to hopetycka om likehar länge velat have wanted a long timeegna one’s ownköttbulle, -n, köttbullar meatballseftersom sinceatt älska, älskar, älskade, älskat to loveefterrätt, -en, -er dessertatt beställa, beställer, beställde, beställt to orderbageri, -et, -er bakery

behöver in need ofgrannskap, -et, --- neighborhoodspeceriaffär grocery storesnabbköp supermarketatt använda, använder, använde, använt to usehjälp help

SVENSKA/SWEDISHOm några dagar ska Ingrid och Erik fira sin bröllopsdag. De

har varit gifta i 15 år. De har inte planerat att göra någotsärskilt. Lars Olof och Karen Helenaundrade om de kunde lagamaten den dagen.

Både Ingrid och Erik tyckte det var en bra idé. Ingridföreslog att barnen skulle planera menyn och köpa maten.

Tvillingarna tog fram papper och pennor och började skrivaner vad de ville servera sina föräldrar. Karin Helena ville inteatt det skulle bli för mycket arbete medan Lars Olof tyckte attde skulle försöka servera en gourmé middag. De tog framnågra kokböcker och skrev ner en del förslag. Det tog ett taginnan de kom överens om en meny som de tror att föräldrarnakommer att tycka om.

Karin Helena har länge velat göra sina egna köttbullar.Eftersom föräldrarna älskar spaghetti bestämde barnen attKarin Helena gör köttbullarna och Lars Olof gör spagettisåsen.De kan inte bestämma sig för vilken efterrätt de ska servera, såde ska beställa en tårta från bageriet.

De skall köpa allt de behöver i grannskapets lilla speceriaf-fär. Det finns ett större snabbköp längre bort men man måsteanvända bilen för att komma dit och Erik sa att de måste göraallt utan hjälp.

ENGELSKA/ENGLISHIn a few days Ingrid and Erik will celebrate their wedding

anniversary. They have been married 15 years. They have notplanned to do anything special. Lars Olof and Karin Helenaasked if they could prepare the food that day.

Both Ingrid and Erik thought that was a good idea. Ingridsuggested that the children should plan the menu and buy thefood.

The twins took out paper and pens and started to write downwhat they wanted to serve their parents. Karin Helena did notwant it to be too much work while Lars Olof thought that theyshould try to serve a gourmet dinner. They took out a fewcookbooks and wrote down some suggestions. It took a whilebefore they agreed on a menu that they believe the parentswould like.

For a long time Karin Helena has wanted to make her ownmeatballs. Since Ingrid and Erik both like spaghetti, thechildren decided that Karin Helena should make the meatballsand Lars Olof will make the spaghetti sauce. They cannotdecide which dessert to serve so they will order a cake from thebakery.

They will buy everything they will need from the smallneighborhood grocery store. There is a larger supermarketfarther away but one must use the car to get there but Erik saidthat they have to do everything without help.

Swedish Language Lessonsby Lillemor and Richard Horngren

LEARNING SWEDISH – LESSON 16


GRAND LODGE NEWSMotions to the

Grand Lodge MeetingThe Grand Lodge Vasa Order of

America will meet for its 37thConvention on July 2-8, 2010, inWashington, D.C. and it is not too earlyto start thinking about motions you wantto present.

Any individual member, local lodge,or district lodge may submit motions tothis Grand Lodge meeting.

Please use this format when writingyour motions. This will ensure a consis-tent appearance for the many motionsthat will be considered. Please do not usethe words “Whereas” or “Be It Resolved”or the motion will be returned to you forproper format. If you submit more thanone motion, please put one motion perform to avoid confusion.

All motions must be typed or printedclearly, so that no errors in interpretationor intent will be made. All signatures arerequired, along with the appropriatelodge seal.

When making a motion that involvesfinances, please show the probable costalong with the motion.

Remember that Constitutions andBylaws use the word “shall”, not thewords “can”, “should”, or “could”.

Recommendation included in any GLOfficer’s or Archives Board Member’sreport involving a constitutional changemust follow these rules.

Please refer to page 49 of yourConstitution for Grand Lodge – ArticleXVII-Amendments concerning motionsto change the Constitution and Bylaws.

You may submit your motions as earlyas you want. ALL MOTIONS MUSTBE RECEIVED BY THE GS BEFOREMARCH 1, 2010.

Motions will be numbered in the orderin which they are received.

Mail to:Convention Motions

Joan Graham, Grand Secretary5838 San Jose Ave.

Richmond, CA 94804

Deadline for submission - March 1, 2010SAMPLE FORMAT #1 – Motions Not Affecting Constitution

________________Lodge, No. _____, Vasa Order of America, at its regular meeting on________________, 20___, voted to submit the following motion:

VOTED: That ________________________________________________________________MOTIVATION: ______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________Signature of Chairman (or District Master)

(Lodge or District Seal) ___________________________________________________Signature of Secretary (or District Secretary)

___________________________________________________(Date)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SAMPLE FORMAT #2 – Constitutional Changes

_________________Lodge, No. _____, Vasa Order of America, at it regular meeting on_________________, 20___, voted to submit the following motion:

To change the Constitution for __________________ Lodge:

Present Section ______, Par. ______ Page _____

now reads: ......................................................................................................................[state section as it now reads]

MOTION is presented to CHANGE Section _____, Par, _______ to read:

.......................................................................................................................................... [State section exactly as it will be written should the requested change pass]

MOTIVATION:_____________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________Signature of Chairman (or District Master)

(Lodge or District Seal) ___________________________________________________Signature of Secretary (or District Secretary)

___________________________________________________(Date)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SAMPLE FORMAT #3 – Motions made by Individual Members

NOTE: Motions submitted by individuals must include the format described below togetherwith Sample Format 1 – motions not affecting the Constitution, or Sample Format 2 –Constitutional Changes, above.

I, ______________, a member in good standing of ____________________Lodge, No.______, submit the following motion:

[Format as indicated in bold print above]

___________________________________________________(Signature)

___________________________________________________(Typed Name)

___________________________________________________(Address, City, State, Zip)

Date: _______________________________________________

This is to certify that _____________________________is a member in good standing in____________Lodge, No. _______ as of this date.

___________________________________________________(Signature of Secretary)

(Lodge or District Seal) ___________________________________________________(Date of signature)


Surety bonds are used to secure theproper performance of fiduciary duties offinancial officers against loss through anyfraudulent or dishonest acts.

The Constitution of the Vasa Order ofAmerica calls for the Financial Secretaryand Treasurer at the District and Locallevels to provide a surety bond, to be paidfor by the lodge (District Secretary andDistrict Treasurer, pages 55 and 56; andLocal Lodge Financial Secretary andTreasurer, page 80.) In addition, Trusteesoften are bonded. Since the chairman ofthe Trustees has custody of thebond/surety (page 82). To comply withthe Constitution the officers of either theDistrict or Local Lodge may furnish a

surety bond from an outside source or theofficers may participate in theReimbursement Fund provided by theGrand Lodge.

The Reimbursement Fund (Con-stitution for the Grand Lodge, page 39) isadministered by the Grand Lodge for thepurpose of reimbursement of financialloss to the lodges due to neglect or fraud.Participation is voluntary. Coverage isavailable in $1,000 increments for anannual premium of $3.50 per $1,000.Maximum coverage per officer is$25,000. The term of the coverage is thecalendar year. Required for coverage is areport on the financial status of yourlodge and a statement from the Trustees,

Chairman, and Secretary that all accountshave been audited and found to be inagreement with the bank statements.

In the past, most lodges participated inthe Reimbursement Fund. The numbershave dwindled in recent years, so theassumption is that those lodges areobtaining their surety bonds elsewhere.The requirement of the Constitution is,however, that the stated officers bebonded.

If your lodge would like to participatein the Reimbursement Fund, yourSecretary should contact the GrandSecretary to request the forms.

1. Why were the Education Stamps mailed separatelythis year instead of included in the Vasa Star? Whydon’t we have self-sticking stamps?

Until 2006, the Education Stamps had always beenmailed directly to members’ homes. In an attempt tocut costs, the Grand Lodge Board decided, in 2006, toinsert the stamps in the Vasa Star. Unfortunately,donations were down and it became apparent thatsome members do not open the Vasa Star. Many mem-bers asked “where are the stamps this year, we didn’tget them.” In 2007, the Grand Lodge Board voted tosupport the Sjölunden Language Village CapitalCampaign for a Swedish Village and the EducationStamps were mailed with their fundraising campaign.This year, the Board decided to reinstate mailingdirectly to members’ homes in an effort to increasedonations to the Education Fund, which funds ourscholarships.

To put this in real numbers, we will compare thepast four years: In 2005, we mailed to member’shomes and received $12,163 in donations. In 2006, thestamps were included in the Vasa Star and we received$4,813 in donations. In 2007 the stamps were mailedwith the request for donations for the SjölundenLanguage Village. People really supported the cam-paign and sent $18,000+. So far for 2008, again mailed

to member’s homes, we’ve received $13,675.00 insupport of the Education Fund. Thus one can see fromthe response that mailing to individual homes is thepreferable fund raising procedure.

In addition to funding scholarships for college,vocational school and Sjölunden Language Camp, theEducation Fund also provides funding for studentloans, Children’s Club and cultural activities spon-sored by the Grand Lodge. Your contributions to theEducation Fund are used directly for these purposes.The number of scholarships awarded is directly relatedto the amount donated each year.

There is a misconception that members are purchas-ing the stamps. The stamps are yours to use whetheryou make a donation or not and can be used on yourChristmas cards and other mail. It’s a great way topublicize our organization.

We are attempting to find a way that self-stickstamps can be printed for an economical price. To dateprinting self-stick stamp costs over twice as much asprinting gummed stamps, the increase due entirely tothe cost of the materials, not the printing process. If theprice of self-stick stamps decreases enough that theBoard thinks it worth the extra price we will shift tothe more attractive product.

Are Your Lodge’sFinancial Officers Bonded?

Frequently Asked Questions


LODGE NEWS

It has been a busy summer and fall forCT #1:

June 22- Vasa Day-Midsommar. Itwas a great day with Maypole, music byWivan Sundman, events for the kids andStephanie Nordstrom was presented theIvar A. Erickson District Scholarship.Thanks to Clint Carlson who displayedhis paintings and model of the Vasa ship.

July 20- Larry Lindblad Music fest.The Music fest is a day to recognize thecontributions of all our members wholike Larry have contribute to Vasa and toVasa Park. This year we recognizedIngeborg Hallden. “Inge” led the chil-dren’s group Vasa Vagga for many yearswith at least three generations of dancersbenefiting from her leadership. In addi-tion she served as DS, DM, GLD, andDistrict Cultural.

We were joined with some greatmusic by Ken and Ellen Svengalis of theAmerican Union of Swedish Singers.Thank you Ken and Ellen! They werelater joined by Wivan Sundman on theaccordion and Carl B. Ericson playing thebass guitar.

August 17 -“Kräftskiva” 2008. Welike to say “Good food, good fun, andgood fellowship - the Scandinavian way.”All three were present and accounted forwith a steak and crayfish dinner and acouple of verses of “Helan Går”!

September 6 - Neither rain, nor snow,nor Hurricane Hannah could stop CT#1. We held our 20 Week Club Dinner

and Grand Prize Raffle. Great turn out!Great dinner! Then Hurricane Hannaharrived! The 20 Week Club is solely tohelp pay the maintenance and operatingcosts of Vasa Park. Thanks to all whobought tickets and attended!

October 5 - Octoberfest Open House.Our goal is to make the park available foroutside functions in order to better sup-port the park. Members were joined bythe Mayor of Meriden, CT MichaelRohde.

October 11,12,18, 19 - Roofing Party!As a result of the generous donations byour local lodge members and local lodgesfunds were available to replace the roofon the kitchen area at Vasa Park. TheRoofing Party was a success with mem-bers volunteering time and effort toreplace the roof.

October 26 closes the 2008 social cal-endar with our Harvest Dinner Luncheonand Dance.

Submitted by: Paul Ljunggren

Norden Lodge #1West Hartford, CT

2007 Lucia fest at Christ Lutheran Church Hamden, CT, featuring the American Union ofSwedish Singers.

Freja Lodge #100White Plains, NY

October 19th, 2008 was a glorious dayfor Lodge Freja #100 of White Plains,New York as we celebrated the lodge’s100th anniversary. Freja members werejoined by representatives from theConsulate General’s Office in New YorkCity, representatives of the Vasa Order’sGrand Lodge, almost all of our District

Lodge officers, and friends from manylodges located in the greater new Yorkmetropolitan area, New Jersey,Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Thelively music of Smörgåsbandet and thedelicious food of Sam’s of Gedney Wayhelped guarantee a successful celebration.

A surprise visit was paid by City ofWhite Plains Mayor Joseph M. Delfinowho presented Lodge Freja with an offi-cial proclamation declaring October 19th,2008 Lodge Freja Day in White Plains.Mayor Delfino praised Lodge Freja,which “through the pride it has in its her-itage and through its generous outreach toothers, has made unique and lasting con-tributions to the cultural diversity andsocial well-being of our City.”

One of the many high points of theafternoon included visiting with Frejamembers who live outside our area orwhose schedules do not permit them tojoin us for our monthly meetings. We aregrateful to our members, past and pre-sent, for all the work they’ve done onbehalf of the lodge. Award pins and con-gratulations were distributed to the fol-lowing members: John Eklund (50 years),Lynne Eklund (40 years), Barbara &Arthur Peterson (25 years), Rita Karlsson(40 years), Frederick Olsen (25 years),and Alice Erhard (40 years).

Now, as we go forward into the futureyears, we will remember our past withpride and vow to renew our commitmentto the Vasa Order by findingScandinavian friends to add to our mem-bers and by continuing to work togetherin Truth and Unity.

Submitted by: Karen Snowberg

White Plains, NY Mayor Joseph M. Delfinopresenting Lodge Freja Chairman KarenSnowberg with a proclamation makingOctober 19th Lodge Freja Day.

(Photo by Bob Rasmussen)


Tegnér Lodge #109Scotia, NY

Fylgia Lodge #119San Francisco, CA

Thule Lodge #127Jamestown/Bemus Point, NY

Every October many countries cele-brate their heritage at Festival of Nationsin Albany, NY. It was Vasa LodgeTegnér #109’s third year representingSweden sharing our cultural traditions.

The returning visitors of the festivalhave come to remember where Sweden’sfood court is located and a steady flow ofeager Swedish meatball fans showed up.Anders Fältskog, Ingrid Frank, BeritMcKenna and Marianne Senise sold outon almost every item. Delicious Swedishmeatballs in gravy with “lingon” berries,“limpa,” “lingon” juice, coffee and homemade Swedish cookies. It was our bestyear for sharing our beloved Swedishfood treasures.

Allan and Virginia Anderson had abeautiful display of Swedish items in thearts and crafts area. Traditional SwedishChristmas decorations, candy, Swedishcook books and more were for sale.

Susan Foss was in charge of the SantaLucia pageant. Her daughter Sarah Fosswas Santa Lucia. She slowly led maidensthrough the darkened room up to thestage while the traditional Lucia songwas playing. After the beautiful perfor-mance of the children Susan Foss readthe story of Santa Lucia for the audience.

As the years before it was again awonderful experience. As always we’replanning on returning next year to shareour Swedish traditions here in America.

Submitted by: Paula Wallin-Eddy

Sarah Foss as Lucia and her maidens.

Tegnér Lodge was representing Sweden at theFestival of Nations.

On September 9, 2008, Fylgia Lodge#119 had a very interesting presentationby our own Secretary, Torborg Lundell,regarding the Nobel Literature prize win-ner, Selma Lagerlöf. Torborg had manyslides and spoke of her many well-knownchildren’s books.

On October 14th we celebrated our100th Anniversary with a deliciouspotluck dinner. November 11th was abusiness meeting and election of officers.

We look forward to our annual

Potluck “Julbord” on December 9th.Many cultural events are planned for nextyear and we welcome members andfriends of Vasa to attend.

Our website is: www.scandinavius.com/vasa/fylgia

Submitted by: Jean Nelson

Hello from Thule Lodge #127 in theJamestown/Bemus Point, NY area. Ourfall season quickly turned to winter, withone snowstorm following another, and anear daily routine of shoveling snow. Ourlodge meetings are on the winter sched-ule of the third Saturday afternoon ofeach month. Chairman Eugene Johnsonalways greets everyone with a friendlywelcome. Thule Lodge will be complet-ing its 101st year in December 2008, andcontinues to preserve the Swedish her-itage through events and activities.Cultural leader Fanchon Fuller alwayshas a special event to report about aSwedish custom or event. We appreciateall of her efforts in bringing Swedish cul-ture to our lodge members.

In October, one of our long time mem-bers, Nels John Nelson was the recipientof the annual Scandinavian StudiesProgram of the Jamestown CommunityCollege Award of Merit. Nels John immi-grated to the United States more than 80years ago with his parents and sister. Theaward was presented to Nels John for hisdedication to preserving the Swedish her-itage in the United States. Nels John is a50 year member of the Ingjald Lodge Nr65 of the Independent Order of theVikings and a 34 year member of theThule Lodge #127. In Thule Lodge, NelsJohn has served in almost every office at

Continued on page 10

Nels John Nelson, of the Thule Lodge #127, ispictured holding the Award of Merit presentedto him by Durand Peterson of the JamestownCommunity College Scandinavian StudiesProgram.


Nobel MonitorLodge #130Cleveland, OH

Tegnér Lodge #149Oakland, CA

Thule Lodge #127Continued from page 9

the lodge, is always at the door to greetpeople, and knows most of the people byname. Nels John was nominated by cul-tural leader Fanchon Fuller for thisaward. During the presentation ceremo-ny, John Sipos served as the master ofceremony for the presentation. Music wasprovided by Thule Lodge member DonSandy playing his accordion. Nels Johnadded to the music by playing some hisfavorite tunes on his own harmonica.Nels John has played the harmonica sincehis younger days in the US Navy.

Nels is married to Alberta Nelson,who serves as the Thule Lodge treasurer,and his sister is Allie Nelson Withers,past cultural leader of the lodge. All atThule Lodge are proud of Nels for receiv-ing this award of merit.

Thule Lodge wishes all a happy newyear in 2009. If you are in our area, wewelcome you. “God dag” to all!

Lucia FestThe Thule Dance team of Jamestown

New York is an activity group of theThule Lodge #127. This year’s Lucia wasKelly Britt Connor of Randolph. She hadthe honor of being selected Lucia for2008. Kelly will graduate from FredoniaState University in May of 2009. Shewasan active member of the Three CrownChildren’s at Thule Lodge #127.

Her great-grandparents were fromSweden, and she visited them when shewas 2. Her mother is Cathy Peterson ofJamestown, and her father is MichaelConnor of Randolph. In addition toattending college full time, Kelly loves totravel and cook. She also plays the piano,flute and clarinet.

Submitted by: John Sipos, LodgeHistorian

Continued on page 11Kelly Britt Connor

Amanda Horner

Rachel Tennis

Our St. Lucia celebration was espe-cially meaningful this year becauseit marked the conclusion of our Lodge’sCentennial Year , and we werefortunate to be able to honor the saint onher traditional day of celebration, Dec.13th.

There were approximately 150 guestsat the “Smörgåsbord” which featured allthe traditional Swedish dishes so lovinglyprepared by our lodge members.

Approximately 100 additional guestsjoined us after dinner to attend the St.Lucia Program.

Amanda Horner, this year’s Lucia, ledthe procession of more than 20 youngparticipants to the stage where they pre-sented a lovely program.

Our dedicated Vasa Voices concludedthe afternoon’s concert with several tradi-tional Swedish carols.

Submitted by: Mary Schoeniger

Amanda HornerAmanda, 13 and a half years old, is

the granddaughter of our Vasa member,Robert Anderson. This being her seventhLucia Concert, Amanda first participatedas a six-year-old!

The tradition continues. Amanda has“family” support; her two young cousins,Hanna and Kaylie Patacca (2nd and 1styears respectively), will be singing in thechorus.

A student at Laurel School, Amandalists Social Studies and English as hertwo favorite subjects. Her extra-curricularactivities include soccer, softball, andcreative writing. She’s also a member ofthe Federated Church Youth Group Ski

Club. Her hobbies include singing, play-ing the flute, reading, and, as mentionedabove, creative writing.

Amanda’s Nordic roots date back toher great-great grandfather, Jens PeterAndersen, a native of Bording, Denmark.He and his Swedish wife, Hanna Eck(who was born in Stockholm), immigrat-ed to Minnesota where he served as aMethodist minister.

Amanda reports that she is both hon-ored and thrilled at this opportunity tocelebrate her pride in her Scandinavianheritage. And we are fortunate indeed tohave such a dedicated young lady as ourSancta Lucia!

Submitted by: Kristi Horner

About sixty-five members and guestsof Tegnér Lodge #149 gathered atBjornson Hall, Oakland, CA, onNovember 8, 2008, to celebrate thelodge’s 100th anniversary. The hall andtables were decorated in a fall themeunder the leadership of CharlotteWeissenborn, who also did the program.A sumptuous “smörgåsbord” was servedby Chef Pelle Nilsson. Lodge ChairmanMarie-Ann Hill was Mistress ofCeremonies.

The Vasa Blad Children’s Club per-formed dances under the direction ofRosemary Fassl, piano - Bob Burman,violin - Sven Chilton. Vasa BladChildren Club member, Chilena Gilbert,sang a beautiful Swedish song. SvenChilton entertained us with violin music


Tegnér Lodge #149Continued from page 10

and songs. Therese TC Brewitz, Swedishsinger and songwriter, performed a med-ley of her songs in Swedish and English.

Membership pins were awarded toMonika Fest - 40 years, and Stig Björkand Ingrid Andersson - 10 years. Aninteresting synopsis of the 100-year his-tory of Tegnér was given by PastChairman Laura Nordendahl. a sing-a-long began with our national anthems andended with Hälsa Dem Därhemma. Wewere pleased to have many dignitariesfrom the Grand Lodge, the Golden GateDistrict #12 and members of other lodgesattend our celebration.

The anniversary committee was com-posed of Ingrid Andersson, Stig Björk,Diana Eatherly, Rhoda Gilbertson,Marie-Ann Hill, Elsy Mattson, JanNorberg, Laura Nordendahl, Ann Tennis,Charlotte Weissenborn, and KenWeissenborn.

About fifty members, guests, and par-ticipants attended our Christmas“smörgåsbord” and Lucia program atBjörnson Hall on December 7. After awelcome hour which included appetizers,wine, and “glögg,” made by Jan Norberg,it was time for the delicious “smörgås-bord” catered by B.J. Barnes.

To begin the program, Inga-Lill Fivianof Framåt Lodge read the Lucia story.Then the hall was darkened and the Luciaprocession entered, singing Santa Lucia.Our chairman, Marie-Ann Hill, introducedLucia, who was Rachel Tennis, daughterof Terri and Jon Tennis of West Linn, OR,and granddaughter of Ann Tennis ofPiedmont, CA. Rachel is 18 years old anda senior at West Linn High School, whereshe is captain of the school’s competitivedance team. She has been a member of theGirl Scouts for 13 years and recently com-pleted her Girl Scout Gold Award projectthrough her church. She organized a sup-ply drive to collect donations to send onher church’s mission trip to Nicaragua.She leads a small group of eighth gradegirls at the church and babysits 2 childrenevery day after school. Rachel enjoyswatching movies, going to Starbucks,playing cards and board games, knitting,and spending time with her friends. Nextyear she plans to attend Azusa PacificUniversity in southern California andmajor in Graphic Design.

The Lucia Court, with the help of theTegnér Singers, composed of IngridAndersson, Elsy Mattson, and CarolynOakster, sang “Goder Afton,” “LusseLelle,” and “Nu Tända Juleljus.” The

group sang “Midnatt Råder” with 5-yearold “Tomte” Keegan Lister tiptoeingaround the stage.

Star Boy was Kristopher Root andanother tomte was Joacim Zamora. Therest of the court was composed ofAnnemarie Ross, Alexandra Oakster,Annika Zamora, and Kerri Moye. AfterKelsey Root, a former Lucia, read VictorRydberg’s poem, “The Tomte,” every-one sang Silent Night, Holy Night andthe procession filed out singing SantaLucia. Lucia and her court then servedLucia Buns, made by Past ChairmanLaura Nordendahl. The affair ended witha sing-a-long of Christmas songs and aline dance around the room by some ofthe members.

Submitted by: Ann Tennis

Linné Lodge #153South Bend, IN

Monitor Lodge #218Sacramento, CA

Oscars BorgLodge #172Philadelphia, PA

The yearly Christmas Party was heldfor Linne' Lodge #153 at PerkinsRestaurant in Elkhart, with 16 membersand a guest, Mika Rosinila, who was aformer citizen of Finland. The meal con-sisted of the individual's choice from themenu.

Virginia O'Hair was presented a 25-year Membership Pin by Past Chairman,Russell Anderson. Virginia gave a littletalk about her 25 years with Linne' Lodge#153.

The next gathering of members will beat our monthly Saturday breakfast,December 20th at Honker's Restaurant inMishawaka.

Submitted by: Virginia Johnson

Virginia O’Hare and Russell Anderson

Kirsten Seagers

Oscars Borg Lodge #173,Philadelphia, PA, initiated 7 new mem-bers in 2008. Please join us in welcomingthem into our fellowship: They are:Kirsten Seagers, Mary Auwarter,Anthony and Rae Kazlouski, GeorgeEdberg-Olson, James Seagers, andHerbert Rambo. The sponsors of thesenew members were: Karen Seaman, KenAlexy (3 members), May Odell, VirginiaSwedberg, and Doriney Seagers. On thefirst weekend of December, 2008, KirstenSeagers participated as Lucia at historicGloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church inPhiladelphia.

Submitted by: Karen Seaman

“Advent,” a period of anticipation hasnow ended with summertime hiatus, andMonitor Lodge #218 in SacramentoCalifornia has begun a new year. We justcelebrated Denmark with our first of fourdinners held throughout the year thathonor the countries and the members whoclaim Scandinavian (Nordic) background.

Our dinner meetings are looked for-ward to and are usually well attended andinclude a Cultural Presentation and busi-ness meeting. Good fun and fellowshipwithin the Vasa motto of Truth andUnity.

As a last “fling” (before “sleeping inJuly and most of August”), we had ourannual “Sillfrukost” in the woods ofCalifornia’s Sierras. So as to not let achance for fellowship pass us by, we



Brahe Lodge #241Sacramento, CA

Facklan Lodge #248Kansas City, KA

Skandia Lodge #247Pasadena, CA

During the cultural program where Denmarkwas represented.

Three “Grand Ladies” of District LodgePacific Southwest No. 15, from left, LouiseMurphy, and PDMs Irma Wendell and MistyMendelsohn enjoy some happy momentstogether at Skandia Lodge’s October District-led business meeting.

Monitor Lodge #218Continued from page 11

enjoyed a “Kräftskiva” in another serenesetting the end of August.

Submitted by: Jack Larson

Thirty members of our Brahe Lodge#241 met for a “julfest” at the CherryValley District Library on Dec. 14, 2008.

Brahe Chairman Scott Johnson briefedus on lodge activities especially on thestatus of our newly constructed Brahelodge. Scott said that the lodge is essen-tially completed except for a few oddsand ends. Unfortunately, the local naturalgas utility may not be able to install gasin our lodge for heat and cooking for upto 60 days! …And winter started earlyhere in Northern Illinois with a big snow-storm on Nov. 30!

Then we all eagerly waited in line fora light “smörgåsbord.” Afterwards weplayed Bingo for the rest of the meeting.It was a happy pre-Christmas gatheringfor us Brahe members.

Submitted by: Dennis Eksten

Many prizes were awarded to the winners.

It was a pleasure and honor for themembers of Skandia Lodge #247,Pasadena, California, to host DistrictMaster Isabella Muscarella and her finestaff of officers to dinner and to requestthem to lead our regular October 09, 2008business meeting. The dinner committeeconsisted of Miriam Berndes, Betty Holm,Bob Solt, Birgitta Roodsari, Jackie Ahlenand Nel Solt. Thank You to all who stayedand put everything back in order after themeeting.

The lodge had the pleasure of initiatingnew member, Scott Shelly, husband ofLisa (Solt) Shelly with Mom (ChairmanNel) and Dad (Treasurer Bob) Solt.Skandia was also happy to welcome PastDistrict Masters Irma Wendell, ArmistaMendelssohn, Kenneth Murphy, ArleneLundquist, Birgitta Roodsari, JaneHendricks and Dr. Jacqueline E. Ahlen,along with visiting members from GoldenValley Lodge, Nordic Lodge andMayflower Lodge as well as the DistrictOfficers.

With sadness, we report the passing oflong time member, Thelma Hedlund.Thelma was one of the many members andgenerations of the Hedlund family thathave belonged to Skandia for so manyyears. The Lodge paid silent tribute to hermemory. May she rest in peace!

We are very grateful for the manymembers of Skandia who always are sowilling to help, at least 12 Skandia mem-

bers came to help with breakfast at the“Marknad” at Vasa Park in September thatwas one very beautiful day at the Park,and we are so blessed to have such a won-derful Park in our District. Also for ourspecial meeting with the District Officersand family in attendance, Armand Denycame to set up the stations and chairs andhave everything ready for the meeting .We are happy to report that KerstinJohansson in Jönköping Sweden, hasentertained two traveling Skandia mem-bers, PDM Jackie Ahlen and her daughter,Michelene Ahlen Provo of Montana, andthey were all three treated to “coffee” byJönköpings Lodge new Cultural Leader,who is starting her first term as CL withthe great work of retiring CL KerstinJohansson to guide her.

We are looking forward to Lucia atSkandia on Saturday, December 13, 2008.

Article by: Jackie AhlenSubmitted by: Bob Solt

Facklan Lodge #248 met at FaithLutheran Church on Friday, 14th ofNovember with a potluck dinner. TheNovember meeting is the annual craftsevent with Susan Druen providing theleadership in making and decorating manycraft items with this year bringing ceramicpigs to paint and decorate. The member’sartistic talents brought out an imaginativedisplay of their Swedish pigs. The “welldressed,” “rosmale” ceramic pigs will beused to decorate our homes for Christmasand will be on display at the annualJanuary Christmas party, King Knut’s Day.

The Scandinavian Women’s Society ofKansas City initiated the ChristmasSeason with their annual “Jul Marknad”on the 14th of November at First LutheranChurch in Mission, Kansas. FacklanLodge #248 was part of this special holi-day sale by making chili and vegetable-beef soup. Finland added to the festivitiesby making “rosettes” and Denmark made“æbleskiver.”

The season’s celebration of Christmaswill be held with the Danish Lodge on the19th of December with a catered mealprovided by Tom Anderson, the GourmetGrocer. This is the tenth year the twolodges have gotten together to join thefestive occasion. The evening will beginwith the Sancta Lucia procession and thenafter the dinner, Nisse joins the programand St. Nick is expected to make his pres-ence known. Denmark Lodge #56 willhost this year at the Lenexa Senior Center,Lenexa, Kansas.

Submitted by: Dean Larsen

Lodge members at the November meeting.


Göta Lejon Lodge #251Two Harbors, MN

Svea Lodge #296Erie, PA

Svea Lodge #253Indianapolis, IN

St. Lucia is Autumn Carlson and followed by her court of Star Girls, Morgan and Lauren Olson,Jr. Swedish Ambassador Emily Haveri, Star boy David Pierce and Star girl Amanda Haveri. Itwas held Saturday, December 13th.

Submitted by: Michelle Carlson

Svea Lodge #253 is happy toannounce that in the last few months wehave several new members initiated. InOctober John Bevelhimer, Jean Keith,and Anne B. Sharp were initiated and inNovember Ketherine Gagne, John Hookand Charlie Johnson became members.We are looking forward to getting toknow them all better.

Our October program was “Our VasaDistrict and Grand Lodge” given byMarge and Jake Gruel. Marge is Districtsecretary for District Lodge LakeMichigan #8 Jake is a member of theGrand Lodge Executive Board for the

Midwest. Marge spoke of the fun theyhave had serving the various posts for thedistrict and recommending that everyonebecome involved.

In November, members JohnGundersen and Jean Tygum gave a pre-sentation “All about our neighbor,Norway.” Their presentation includedinformation as to Norway’s history andlife; there was a display of books, maps,photographs and “rosemaled” items,including some original pieces by JohnGundersen, who is a Vesterheim GoldMedalist rosemaler. We were happy tohave as guests at our meeting Billand Sheila Lundquist, from lodge #730 inFlint, Michigan. Sheila is our DistrictMaster and Bill is Vice Grand Master.

In November our lodge participated inthe Indianapolis International Festival.This year’s theme was athletics and manyof our members were involved by creat-ing presentation boards detailing theirselected sports. These boards will be dis-played to our lodge during our Januarymeeting.

On the 14th of December 2008, ourLucia festival was again held at the his-toric Riviera Club in Indianapolis,Indiana. There were Swedish hors d’oeu-vres and Swedish merchandise to com-plete our Christmas gift list, the Luciaprocession and pageant, singing, dancing,

Sierra Hook

Valerie Gustafson

a sumptuous buffet dinner, and raffles allcombined to make a memorable after-noon of fellowship and celebration.

Our Lucia for 2008 was Sierra Hook.She is the daughter of John and VanessaHook, and is 13 years old. Sierra is ineighth grade at Noblesville ChristianSchool, in Noblesville, Indiana. Sheattends Sveaskolan #210 which meetsevery other week in Noblesville, Indiana.Sierra Hook loves animals, as well asjazz and modern dance. Sierra is an avidreader and this year she has participatedin volleyball and basketball. Sierra is alsothe granddaughter of members Ingrid andJohn Hook of Cicero, Indiana.

Submitted by: Michelle Escalante

Our Lucia this year was ValerieGustafson, who is in 9th grade at CentralHigh School. An only child, she is veryinvolved in hobbies of drawing, videogames and is on the basketball team. Shewould like to be a physical therapist andis already in a health program at school.She was not nervous about being Luciaand did an excellent job.

Star boy was Aaron Reusche, whoattends N.W. Collegiate Academy in hisjunior year. He also plays the flute and isin a Bell Choir. Aaron hopes to have acareer in medicine or computer science.

Our Annual Lucia Festival was held atLuther Memorial Church, a new venuefor us. It was beautifully decorated andtall candles were lit along the centralaisle. The program always begins withthe little tomtar, all in red – then theyouth choir in costume.

After the program, Swedish “goodies”were provided in the Fellowship Hall –also decorated with festive tables. Anarea was also set aside for Nordic Nook,offering an array of Scandinavian itemsfor sale.

Submitted by: Linda Collin


Balder Lodge #308Washington, PA

Omaha Lodge #330Omaha, NE

Evening Star Lodge #426Los Alamitos, CA

Viljan Lodge #349Chicago, IL

Balder Lodge #308, Washington, PA,held their annual Christmas party onDecember 13 and celebrated St. LuciaDay. All members were especiallydelighted that Ella DiSanti was availableto wear the crown and serve as SantaLucia. Celebrating the holiday in the tra-ditional manner was wonderful because ithas been decades since the lodge enjoyedchildren at the meetings. The Sten familywas blessed in 2006 with the birth ofEdwin Sten and the DiSantis became newmembers in 2008 and attended with theirtwo children. Members listened toSwedish Christmas carols and enjoyed acovered dish dinner before holding ourregular monthly meeting.

Submitted by: Cindy Johnson

Ella DiSanti as Lucia and her mom.

Kaitlyn Elaine Bettin

Katilyn Elaine Bettin was the Luciafor Omaha Lodge #330, Omaha, NE, onDecember 14, 2008. Katie was attendedby the Star boys, Alec, Dylan and JacobMeyer.

Katie is the daughter of Lonnie andCatherine Bettin and the granddaughterof Vasa member, Darlene Bettin. Alec,Dylan and Jacob are the sons of Kim andRochelle Meyer and the grandchildren ofVasa member, Marlene Clough.

Katie is in 8th grade at St. RobertBellarmine School in Omaha. She enjoysreading, science and math in school andis involved in volleyball, soccer and bas-ketball throughout the year.

Submitted by: June Soderlund

From left to right: Jim Wenberg, Membership, Marilyn Wenberg, Membership, Neil Olson,Outer Guard, Ruth Beck, Secretary, Vera Littlejohn, Vice Chairperson and Cultural ChairPaula Stopka, Chaplain Mary Jean Nystedt, Financial Secretary Tom Cleveland, ChairmanDorothy Thorsen, Asst. Secretary Jack Grandin, and Inner Guard Florence Olson, CheerCommittee Chair. Missing is Ralph Beck, our Treasurer.

We had a gathering on November 20, 2008 during our Election Night and AnnualSoup Supper, in Batavia, Illinois, Civic Center. Helen Anderson organized the meal,which was enjoyed by all.

The officers will be installed in January, 2009.Submitted by: Ralph Daehn

A SRO audience attended the 86th Anniversary of Evening Star Lodge #426 onDecember 20th at the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Los Alamitos. The high-light of the evening was the Morning Star Children's Club presentation of our LuciaPageant with Lucia Lindsay Stauffer. The children were under the direction ofElizabeth Stauffer and music was provided by Tom Stauffer.

The evening continued with a traditional Swedish dinner prepared by the lodgeladies followed by many opportunity drawings and singing and dancing around theChristmas tree. The evening concluded with the coming of “Tomten” bearing gifts forall.

Kelly Spaberg was presented with the 2008 Evening Star Lodge Scholarship.Submitted by: Thomas Peter Jahn, Past District Master

Evening Star Lodge Lucia Pageant Presentation by the Morning Star Children's Club #172.


Svea Lodge #469Longview, WA

Linde Lodge #492Milwaukee, WI

Lindbergh Lodge #494Palo Alto, CA

We recently had two of our members,Norman Anderson and Jennie Pearson,receive their 70-year membership pin.They are both Charter Members of thepast Columbia Lodge #609, Rosburg,WA. In February 1993 they transferred toSvea Lodge #469 in Longview, WA. Wefeel honored to have helped them cele-brate this special occasion.

Submitted by: Judith Jones

There can never be “too much” of theLucia celebrations. This year SkansenChildren’s Club was invited to perform atone of Milwaukee’s landmarks; TheMitchell Park Domes. Two performanceswere held on December 13th in theHoliday Dome which carried the‘Scandinavian God Jul” theme this year.Lucia at the Domes was AnnikaMartensson.

The Domes were set up with a 35’ treedecorated with all the dear Nordic orna-ments, there was a cottage with a goat onthe roof, Swedish candelabras in the win-dows, and “people” in folk costumes andother decorations inside. In other areaswe saw Dala Hästar, and a Laplanderpushing a “sparkstötting,” and, of course,lots of pretty holiday flowers and otherdecorations.

Our annual Lucia fest with a full-blown Christmas program was held onDecember 14th, and this time our Luciawas Elizabeth Greene. We had many“Tärnor,” “Stjärngossar,” “Tomtar” and“Pepparkaksgubbar.” The coffee socialafterwards was great and the Skansenprogram and the “ringlekar” made every-

one laugh and dance and “Tomten “cameto all good little boys and girls.

A special highlight was the visit wehad by Inez Törnblom, District #8’sChaplain and her granddaughter Anna-

Lisa Castle. Anne-Lisa had selected to beDistrict 8’s Lucia, and visited Chicagoand Milwaukee performances. Thank youfor coming!

Submitted by: Liza Ekstrand

Annika Martensson

The Mitchell Park Domes in Milwaukee where the Lucia program was performed twice.

October found our lodge memberscelebrating Oktoberfest with a deliciousdinner featuring the traditional dishes.Our own members cooked three kinds ofsausages with sauerkraut, cabbage, potatosalad followed by some very tasty applecrisp. It was a reminder of the autumnseason fast approaching, though ourweather has continued to be unusuallywarm for this time of year. We had sometypical German band music during thepre-prandial time to put us in the propermood. The program that followed fea-tured Swedish music and with our mem-bers celebrating their special heritage by“dancing up a storm.”

Our November meeting is an annualevent featuring Salmon Chowder.We always get a huge crowd for thereputation of our Salmon Chowder expertAnna Johnson is now widespread. Inaddition to that there were two othersoups offered, Tomato and Broccoliand assorted other food. Members werewell fed and the program featured a his-torical presentation of Danish sea faringculture by Niels Pedersen a Danishmember of another lodge. He showedpictures of some early Swedish Viking

ships and eventually some of thehuge sailing vessels constructed theingenious Danish ship builders of thoseearly days. We were all very impressedby the bravery and proficiency of ourScandinavian predecessors sailing inthese vessels on the high seas so manyyears ago.

Submitted by: Muriel Nelson Beroza

Experience Swedish

Language and Culture

In Minnesota!

“Sverige och Svenska: Den Sjölundska Upplevelsen” Swedish Adult Weekend

March 26-29, 2009

Concordia Language Villages

8569 Thorsonveien NE

Bemidji, MN 56601

1-800-450-2214

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.ConcordiaLanguageVillages


Skandia Lodge #549Edmonton, AB, Canada

Nordic Lodge #611Worcester, MA

Northern LightLodge #620Worcester, MA

Lucia Spectacular, Alumni, ThreeGenerations and Vasa Ties.

Skandia Lodge #549, DL18, hosted aspecial Lucia pageant in December. Thepageant featured 11 “alumni,” nine pastLucia’s and two past star boys. The dis-tinction of senior Lucia was held by Sr.Virginia Fawcett who was Skandia’sLucia in 1951. Chairman Don Melin wassenior star boy, also a 1951 vintage.

Another remarkable feature of thisyear’s pageant was that it included threegenerations from the same family. PDMDoreen Nyroos (Lucia 1958) and herdaughter Sr. Kristina Kublik (Lucia1982) were attendants for this year’sLucia, Kyla Nyroos, Doreen’s grand-daughter. Kyla wore a brass crown hand-crafted in Sweden. The crown was firstworn by Sr. Sandra Petersson (Lucia1981) in a “Lucia tåg” for Logen Filbyter#714, Skandia’s sister lodge inLinköping, Sweden.

Lucia was celebrated at Skandia’sChristmas party. The pageant was orga-nized by Sr. Leslie Morris (Lucia 1975)who has been the organizer for the past11 years. Santa Claus made a special tripto attend the party and Br. Brian Johnsonreported that Santa enjoyed the party verymuch. Together the party guests con-tributed over $300 for a local charity inthe Vasa spirit of generosity.

Submitted by: Sandra Petersson

Kristina Kublik, Kayla Nyroos and PDMDoreen Nyroos, Lucia Pageant.

Our activities for the new seasonresumed on September 18th with a fineprogram by retired Clark University pro-fessor Bill Johansen titled How to buildyour own Viking Ship. Bill presentedsome general information on the back-ground of Vikings, and then discussed theunique naval architecture of Viking shipsand how it developed. The actual con-struction of the ships was described insome detail, starting with the selection ofsuitable timbers for the keel and mast, andobtaining curved branches for use as ribs.He concluded with a description of hullconstruction and sail-making, followed bysome remarks on sailing techniques. PastChairman Leif Kristiansson alsobroughthis large scale model of a Viking Ship(crafted in Denmark) for all to see.

The 16th of October meeting was aHalloween costume party. Several of theladies appeared in traditional Swedishdress. The highlight of the evening wasGary Landgren, a lively and entertainingindividual, who performed honky-tonk onthe piano. He played a variety of music,including some ragtime, and endedwith amedley of patriotic songs. We also initiat-ed three new members to our lodge:Eunice Koontz, and Ed and Ruth Voosen.

Several of our members have beeninvolved over the past few years with theplanning of a new building at the northernedge of Quinsigamond Village, one ofWorcester’s larger Swedish neighbour-hoods, to provide space for the BlackstoneValley Heritage Corridor Visitor Centrealong with a new home for the WorcesterHistorical Museum. It has long been thedream for many of us for the Swedish her-itage of the Worcester area to have a per-manent presence within the HistoricalMuseum. It is vitally important that wetake advantage of this great opportunity tomemorialize our past and celebrate ourrich heritage. To that end, Nordic mem-bers and others presented a public forumon September 14th at Emanuel LutheranChurch in Worcester to provide aPowerPoint presentationon the status ofplans for the building and to encouragediscussion. It is hoped to have the build-ing open in 2010, with the exhibits inplace by 2011-2012.

The November 20th meeting will bethe election of officers for 2009. We willalso celebrate the 69th anniversary ofNordic Lodge, and will distribute 25 and40-year pins.

Lastly, Nordic Lodge is continuing to

offer a series of dinner dances, held atGreendale Peoples’ Church in Worcester,with the first event on 1 November. Thedinner dance program started severalyears ago, with much of the music provid-ed by the popular Nils Lundin.

Submitted by: Betty Becker

Eunice Koontz, Ruth Voosen, Ed Voosen withChairman Larry Stidsen.

Courtney Meyer, 13, portrayed SantaLucia during a traditional Swedish cele-bration presented by the Vasa Order ofAmerica, Northern Light Lodge #620 inVentura, California.

The annual celebration marked thebeginning of the holiday season withSanta Lucia dressed in a white gown tiedwith a red sash and adorned with a crownof holiday greenery and candles to sym-bolize the belief that she will brighten upthe long winter nights. Lucia, known forher kindness then shares traditional songsand presents “Lussekatter” and“Pepparkakor” to everyone present.

Courtney, the daughter of Kurt andLaurie Meyer of Redondo Beach, is ofSwedish heritage. The traditions of SantaLucia and her heritage run deep in herfamily. Her great-grandparents, Axel andJudith Carlson, were one of the originalcharter members of the lodge in 1947.Carrying on are her great uncle, LeroyCarlson who is a past Chairman and cur-rent Sunshine Chairman and a member ofthe Audit Committee. Her cousin, JeanPeckfelder serves as Recording Secretary,Membership Chairman and DistrictLodge Pacific Southwest #15 Chaplain.Courtney’s father, Kurt, is a LodgeTrustee and a member of the AuditCommittee. Courtney now joins thehonored ranks as well as following in the



Northern Light Lodge #620Continued from page 16

footsteps of many cousins who have por-trayed Santa Lucia over the years.

Courtney is in 8th grade. She enjoysswimming, running and cooking at homeand in Home Economics where sheserves as a Teacher’s Assistant. She isalso involved in her church youth groupat Ascension Lutheran Church.

Other participants in this year’s Luciaprocession whose ages range from 7 to 17are friends, Kristin Brach and EmilyWilliams, cousins, Lauren Carlson,Alyson Meyer and Tiffany Peckfelder, allpast Lucia’s and cousin, Calista Meeks-Peckfelder as well as Natalie De Vinney,the 2009 Santa Lucia.

Submitted by: Jackie Ipock

Courtney Meyer

Bishop Hill Lodge #683Bishop Hill, IL

Tonic and Rats? It was October 24thand All Saints Eve was approaching.Bishop Hill’s local Lodge had their firstformal meeting since May at the historicColony School. Cheryl Dowell, CulturalLeader, shared information about “Ratsin Sweden.” The 4-legged type! Theconclusion was that Stockholm has thesame problems as other large cities butthe beauty of the ancient city out-ranksthe rat problem.

This meeting was also the ladies turnto entertain. The program was a comicalskit presented by Mary Bjorling andMary Ann Spiegel. A Super SwedishTonic commercial was presented withone of the two ladies over-indulging inthe “good stuff.” The humor wasenjoyed by all!

During the formal meeting, the charterwas draped for three deceased membersof the Lodge: Shirley Peterson, LaurenNeuman, and Sonja Anderson. TheYouth Leader, Pattie Christanson, notedthere would be a Swedish “rosemaling”class sponsored by the Bishop HillHeritage Association. The youth group isalso selling an Anne Charlotte HarveyChristmas CD for $10.

After the announcement of the nomi-nation committee busy at work, refresh-ments were served. A social time wasenjoyed by all!

Submitted by: Cheryl Wexell DowellLucia

Kelsey Litchfield from Rio, IL leadsher court during this year’s Lucia cele-bration in Bishop Hill for Vasa Lodge#683. She is in 8th grade, 13 years oldand is the daughter of Kevin and Dee

Litchfield. She is a football and basket-ball cheerleader and likes to watchNASCAR races.

Pride of the Family members JoshChristianson, Sally Christianson (Lucia),Patti Christianson, and Mike Dimmick,(anchorman for WAOE TV in Peoria)visit and learn about Lucia customs onThursday, December 4th, 2008, inPeoria, IL.

Mats Widbom, Cultural Counselor atthe Embassy of Sweden in Washington,DC and wife Annette visited and touredBishop Hill November 22nd and got awarm welcome from members of theVasa Lodge #683, The Bishop Hill StateHistoric site, the American ScandinavianAssociation and the Bishop Hill HeritageAssociation.

Submitted by: Mike Wendel

Josh Christianson as tomte and sister Sally of“Pride of the Family” on WAOE 59 Peoria,IL.

Claire Mannon of Geneseo, IL, at VasaNational Archives building during LuciaNights.

Bishop Hill Vasa Lodge #683 Grace Johnson, Kelsey Litchfield, Lucia, “Julbock,” JesperJenner star boy, Sally Christianson, and Breann Cart.


Norden Lodge #684Fresno, CA

Skogen Lodge #700Redding, CA

Vinland of CapeCod Lodge #703

Cape Cod, MA

Nordic Lodge #708Sandy Springs, GA

Gianna Cassinerio

Christmas has come and gone, but wewill not forget our great Lucia celebrationon the big day itself, December 13, 2008.Gianna Cassinerio was Lucia and is 12years old and attends the 6th grade atRiverview Elementary in Fresno. Herparents, Jerry and Robin Cassinerio, andher Mormor Ingrid Swanson, arelong-time members of the lodge. A third-generation Vasa Lucia, Gianna enjoyssoccer, basketball, track and gymnastics.

About 160 people were served tradi-tional Swedish food cooked and preparedby many faithful members. Mike andCorky Peterson were in charge of thekitchen and make sure “things”happened.

We were entertained by Linnea Hess(mom and dad are long-time members),who is a ballet dancer and danced to HolyNight being sung by her sister-in-law,Yuliya Hess, very beautifully done. Also,of course, we had the traditional Luciawith her attendants, which always is atreat, followed by dancing around thetree. Also attending our Lucia party wereDistrict Master Kathryn Matthews andher husband Scott and hopefully they hada good evening too.

We had our “Julgransplundring” andalso installation of all the new officerswith Vice District Master Ivan Johnsonpresiding. Under Good of the Order aspecial guest, Gunborg Lindblad fromVara, Sweden, visiting her son and fami-ly here, presented our lodge with a ban-ner from Lidköping Lodge #636.Following the meeting, (plenty of discus-sion about our upcoming Convention),our cultural chairman Monica AhlenShipley brought out her good home-baked items, and we danced around the

tree and got goodie-bags handed out by“Tomten” and then OUT with the treeuntil next year!!

Submitted by: Inger LindhePicture by: Robin Cassinerio

Skogen Lodge #700 of Redding, CA,celebrated Sancta Lucia Day onDecember 13th at St. James LutheranChurch, inviting the public to share ourcultural heritage. Our Lucia, CelinaYoung, sang several traditional SwedishChristmas pieces in addition to the Luciasong. After the ceremony, everyone wastreated to many, many platters ofScandinavian cookies and pastries. Theevent was wonderfully coordinated anddirected by Trudie D'Arcy.

Submitted by: Edward Beier

Samantha Jacky, Linnea Young, CelinaYoung, Lucia, Jacqueline Warren, and LinneaSpencer.

What a delight it was to see that one ofVinland Lodge’s members made the frontpage of the Cape Cod Times! The articlefeatured a lengthy write-up about AlmaBracket, a long-time member of theLodge. This dynamic Swedish-born lady,whose good looks, believe her ninety-sixyears, have the energy and drive mostpeople 40 years younger don’t have. Inaddition to her good looks, she is blessedwith a very sharp mind and a keen eye forevaluating donations to her church’sThrift Shop. Alma has volunteered therefor many years and is one of the valuabletreasures in the Shop. Right on, Alma!

Coffee and dessert followed ourOctober meeting after which memberspiled into cars and formed a caravan overto the bay side of Cape Cod Our destina-tion: Annie’s Crannies – a spacious andbeautiful cranberry bog. The owner of thebog and the farmhouse on the property is

a young woman whose grandparents orig-inally owned and developed the bog.

Annie, a charming and knowledgeablewoman, made us most welcome, andgave a very interesting talk on the devel-opment and maintenance of cranberrybogs. Since Annie is also a beekeeper, wewere treated to an interesting presentationon keeping bees. As far as I know, noneof the members are pursuing that field!

Our Program Chairman, ElsaErickson, arranged the bog tour. Elsanever fails to come up with interestingprograms, and we are fortunate to havethis former teacher as a member.

By the time you read this we will be inthe midst of Christmas Season. We wishall of you a Peaceful and JoyousChristmas, keeping in mind whatChristmas is really about.

God Jul och Gott Nytt År! Submitted by: Marion S. Borgman

Nordic Lodge #708 celebrated StLucia at Glenn Memorial UMC on theEmory University Campus. SelmaBjörklund was chosen to be Lucia 2008.

The Lucia performance featuredchoral music performed by children,women and men from the local Swedishcommunity in Atlanta. The musical per-formance featured solos by GrammyAward winning singer and music directorMaria Lindberg-Kransmo, as well assolos by Dennis Carlson, Sten Ekberg,Louise Kransmo and Mia Peters. GöranRygert, director of the men's group VasaDrängar, played the bass and HowardRichard played piano and organ.

The 600+ audience was invited to thereception afterwards to share coffee,“Lussekatter” and “pepparkakor.” Wecelebrate the 2nd Friday of December at7.30, please join us for next year's eventif you are in the Atlanta area.

Submitted by: Maria Lindberg-Kransmo

Selma Björklund as Lucia.


Solstad Lodge #709Sun City West, AZ

Tre Kronor Lodge #713Salem, OR

Carl XVI GustafLodge #716

Dallas, TX

Glenn T. SeaborgLodge #719

Dallas, TX

Solstad Lodge #709 held its annualLucia Celebration and “Smörgåsbord” onDecember 11 at the home of Tom andAnne Levig. Forty members and potentialmembers attended.

Everyone enjoyed traditional Swedish“glögg” and fellowship prior to indulgingin traditional foods such as meatballs,herring, lingonberries, “Janssons fres-telse,” cheeses, “julknäcke,” “krusball,”“mandeltårta” and “pepparkakor.”

Jordyn Terito, granddaughter of Vasamembers Solveig and Doug Mortensen,served as the lodge’s charming littleLucia.

Guest presenter was Corine Whinneryof Sun City West. Corine described theexperiences she had while serving asLucia for the American Swedish Institutein Minneapolis in 1950. She brought thebeautiful crown with real candles that shehad worn then and told about the mar-velous trip to Sweden that she and herfour attendants had been awarded.

Submitted by: Anne Levig

Jordyn Terito and Corine Whinnery

The Lucia Court of Tre Kronor Lodge#713, Pacific NW District 13, performedin the Holiday Concert at the Reed OperaHouse, Salem, Oregon, on December 6,2008.

The Salem Multicultural Institutesponsored the concert and it included per-formances by the Jazz Trio, McKay HighSchool’s Senior Women’s Chorus, WBFPhilippine Carolers, the Santa LuciaCourt (Ray Utterback at keyboard;Georgia Marincovich, Flute; SongLeader, Audrey Cameron, and the Lucia

Court), the Polynesian ChristmasDancers, and St. Joseph’s HispanicChoir.

Victoria Wilson, of Dallas, was theLucia. Members of the Court includedStephanie Barth, Elaine Wilson, AmberKessler, Kayla Ferris, Charley Millard,Kiersten Ivey, Caprice Lee, Eric Kessler,and Anastasia Barth.

Submitted by: Barry Ostrom

Elaine Wilson, left, and to the right herdaughter and Lucia 2008, Victoria Wilson.

J. Ben R. Friberg as Santa with one of thevisiting children.

After they watch the Lucia procession-al and program, children and their parentscome to the “Jul Bazaar” to enjoySwedish food and a visit to Santa. J. BenR. Friberg, Grand Lodge Deputy and pastLocal Lodge chairman and currentTreasurer, who is also a professionalSanta, delights the children by chattingwith them in Swedish. During the Luciaprogram, “Tomten” Richard Olin, pastFinancial Secretary, recites the tradtional“Tomten” poem in Swedish.

Submitted by: Lodge Member


Jennifer Larson as Lucia

The Glenn T. Seaborg #719 Lodgehosted more than 105 guests to theirannual Luciafest in an enchanted tree-litwonderland. Laura Cornwell outdid her-self on the decorations and, along withher crew of members, the tables were setwith shimmering trees, large candles,votives and mirrors on beautiful redrunners over white table linens. Lightslined the entry area with a lighted treeand deer.

Guests were greeted by BarbaraSandin and Dale Gilbert and bought deli-cious baked goods from Cory Koning andAshley Vikander and “limpa” deliveredby Robert Johnson. They looked throughmemory albums from years pastand bought goodies at ArleneLundquist’s Swedish Boutique. Gorgeousraffle items tempted guests, who boughttickets from Judy DeJesus and BarbaraJohnson. Special Lucia programsand bookmarks at each place settingwere designed and made by PhyllisBrandon.

After being welcomed by ChairmanMim Curtis, member and Pastor LelandLantz gave the Invocation and ledthe Swedish Table Prayer. Guests feastedon “Smörgåsbord” delicacies carefullyselected by Mim and the Swedishcaterers. There was Swedish ham,meatballs, lingon, herring, and muchmore. Mim’s rice pudding and home-made ginger snaps topped off themeal. Carols were led by the Seaborg


Odin Lodge #726Eugene, OR

Birka Lodge #732Eugene, OR

Viking Lodge #735Bethlehem, PA

Glenn T. Seaborg Lodge #719Continued from page 19

Allsång Singers: Susan Carlson, BarbaraJohnson, Russell Almquist, GlennJohnson, with Leland Lantz on the key-board.

The Lucia Pageant then followeddirected by Kin Lindgren and LilyNelson. Lucia, this year, was the lovelyJennifer Larson who led maidens,star boys and a darling elf, as theyentered through the patio, out through therose garden, into the dining room, andfinally gathering by the fireplace. Mimtold the children the Lucia Legend,explaining how an Italian Saint becamethe symbol of light in the cold, darkScandinavian winter. Favorite SwedishChristmas Carols were followed by a sur-prise visit by jolly old Santa Claus, him-self, who presented each child withspecial Lucia gifts lovingly made bySanta’s helpers, Linda Gilbert and OmaRiebau.

During the Lucia raffle drawing, LucyLandry won the beautiful quilt handmadeby artisan Carolyn Cunningham.Highlight of the evening was thepresentation of the Glenn T. SeaborgScholarship. Chairman-elect RobertJohnson led the Scholarship Committeein finding a recipient, or actuallyrecipients because of a tie! Two scholar-ships of $500 each were awarded toSeaborg student members EmilieLantz and Madison Cornwell. Con-gratulations to both worthy recipients, asthey pursue their college degrees thisnext year.

Submitted by: Phyllis Brandon,Trustee

Lucia Isabella Diaz leads the procession for Odin Lodge #726 in Eugene, OR.Picture by: Bill Anthony

Submitted by: Kathy Saranpa, Cultural Leader

Rayna Palm

Samantha Raymond

Rayna Palm, age 11, daughter of LaurieLundgren and Wilson Chow ofWoodstock, CA, became Birka Lodge#732’s 2008 Lucia at the annual “Jul Fest”held at the lodge on November 29, 2008.Her grandparents are Jean and DickLundgren of Boxford, MA. Her aunt, JanetMuller of Danvers, MA, has been a long-time Birka Lodge member.

Rayna’s sister, Alison, was Lucia in2001 and her brother, Lani Palm, was aStar Boy for several years.

She has been a member of the chil-dren’s performing the Lucia Pageant sinceshe was 3-1/2.

Rayna is home-schooled and loves tocook. She has many pets, including 70chickens, 3 goats, 2 cats and a dog.

The festival of Santa Lucia beginsbefore dawn on the 13th of December,which under the old Julian calendar (usedin Sweden before 1753) was ChristmasDay and the longest night of the year.Throughout Sweden the eldest daughter ineach household comes to her sleepingparents dressed in a long white gown tied

The Lucia Singers of Viking Lodge735, New Jersey District #6, Vasa Orderof America, again, sang a medley ofSwedish Yule songs, Christmas carols,and, of course, “Sankta Lucia” as a part ofthe 28th annual Lucia Fest held atMuhlenberg College’s Edgar Chapel inAllentown, PA, Sunday, Dec. 14. Theevent is sponsored by the faculty of theCollege and features the children of facul-ty members portraying Light Bearers, FolkCustoms, "Tomtegubbar,” Star Childrenand, of course, Lucia. This year’s Lucia isSamantha Raymond of Allentown. TheLucia Singers have been performing in thepageant almost from its inception.

Following the Fest, members of VikingLodge retired to the College’s SeegerUnion Building, for their annualChristmas feast. Cheeses and hot "glögg"proceeded the dinner which consisted ofsalmon or beef, mixed vegetables andchocolate tort. The Allen High SchoolChoir Ensemble provided the dinner enter-tainment.

The Muhlenberg Lucia Fest is modeledafter the Lucia Fest performed at St. JamesChurch of Kingsessing in WestPhiladelphia. It is one of the old Swedishchurches located in the area that in colo-nial times was known as “New Sweden.”

Submitted by: Lars Larmon

with a red sash and wearing a crown oflingonberry leaves in which are set sevenlighted candles. She carries a tray ofsteaming hot coffee and “Lussekatter.”The procession includes her sisters andbrothers also dressed in white, holdinglighted candles and singing of the lightand joy of Christmas. The sisters of theLucia wear a wreath of tinsel in their hairand a piece tied around their waist, whilethe boys have tall pointed caps sprinkledwith stars. Awakened by the lights and thesinging, the parents rise and eat the break-fast served.

Submitted by: Lois Johnson


Kronan Lodge #737Roseville, CA

Our annual Lucia Fest was heldFriday, December 12th at the regularmeeting location. With the lights turneddown low the program began. EmilieHuttner, age 14, our Lucia, is the granddaughter of member Donna Huttner. Sheand her court carried small flashlightsilluminating their faces as they walkedaround the hall singing the traditionalSanta Lucia song. Master of Ceremonies,Ricky Laumann, read a brief History ofLucia.

The youngsters picked up their traysof gingersnaps and passed them out toeveryone. Emilie, a sophomore atOakmont High School in Roseville, intro-duced the members of her court, all ofwhom were her cousins. Elise Chatterton,who was last year's Lucia, George Hagel,Cameron Chatterton, T.J. Vlahos, MileyChatterton, and William Laumann.

Following our meal, the traditionalfamily “glögg” recipe handed down with-in the family of Chairman ScottMatthews, was prepared and served.Guests were in attendance from Monitor,the Swedish Lodge in Sacramento, aswell as relatives and friends of a numberof our members. Everyone was dressed intheir holiday finery enjoying good foodand fellowship. A local musician playedhis keyboard and entertained us with sea-sonal music all evening long.

Submitted by: Carol Nesewich

Jubileum Lodge #755Roseville, CA

Viking Lodge #756Greenfield, MA

We of Vasa Jubileum Lodge #755held our October meeting on Sunday, the12th. Lowell Nordling described Friday’sevents, including the golf outing, a“Famous Swedes” game that helped peo-ple get acquainted, and an interactive pre-sentation of the Swedish immigrant expe-rience by District Historian Eva Lind.Ulla Swanson described the CulturalRoom. Jubileum Lodge #755’s exhibitconsisted of members’ and ancestors’handicrafts, featuring a folk-art paintingof “The Stairway of Life,” painted byGloria Waity’s great-great-grandfather in1828. Trudy Nordling attended the“culture” seminar over Saturday lunch, atwhich lodges exchanged program ideasand materials. Later on Saturday, UlrikaSwanson, daughter of Gunnard and UllaSwanson, was acknowledged as a recipi-ent of District and Grand Lodge scholar-ships.

We held our November meeting onSunday, the 9th. The speaker was CarrieRoy, Jubileum lodge member and gradu-ate student in Scandinavian Studies at theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison. Shespoke on the timely seasonal topic of“Lutfisk: From the Sacred to theQuivering Profane.” Her talk describedhow lutfisk is prepared, related thehistory of the lutfisk tradition amongScandinavian immigrants in America,and shared many stories of lutfisk sup-pers from churches and cultural organiza-

tions throughout the American Midwest,and memories from her own family.

The 2008 Lucia of Vasa JubileumLodge #755 is Erica Turrell, granddaugh-ter of Lodge members, Ralph and MarthaStromquist. Erica is a senior at WestfieldArea High School, where she is active indrama, choir, and band. She plans toattend the University of Wisconsin atStevens Point or the Madison AreaTechnical College and study Art andFilm.

Submitted by: Robert Merril, Historian

Erica TurrellCarrie Roy, “Lutfisk: From the Sacred to theQuivering Profane.”

Viking Lodge #756 held its Lucia Pageant on December 14, 2007, at St Paul’sLutheran Church in Greenfield. The church was filled with family and friends andeveryone had a wonderful time. PDM Phil Johnson gave a reading about the history ofLucia. The church was then darkened and Lucia made her grand entrance followed byher attendants. We all enjoyed the readings and songs. Silent Night is a highlight ofour pageant, it is sung in English, Swedish, Finnish, German, French, and Chinese.Then all gathered downstairs for coffee and Lucia buns and other treats.

Submitted by: Phil Johnson, PDM, PC

This year’s Lucia was Anna Athey; her attendants were Anneka Johnson, Avery Johnson, andAnna Walker. Star boys were Sigurd Kohlin and Gus Kohlin. Cello was played by Nancy Pond.


Nordic Red RocksLodge #760

Sedona, AZ

Nordik Folk Lodge #761Hammond, IN

Emily Olson Adams

We gathered together on the afternoonof November 23rd. Our members broughtitems for a program of show and tell oftheir travels and heritage.

We are starting our sixth year of ourlodge and look forward to the opportunityof sharing and learning about our inheri-tance.

December 7th was the date of ourannual Lucia Celebration. After a bounti-ful Scandinavian “smörgåsbord,” ourmembers and their guests were enter-tained by the Lucia Singers of NordicRed Rock Lodge. They sang a medley ofSwedish Yule songs with Chuck Elstonaccompanying them on the piano.

A reading of the history of Lucia fol-lowed. Emily Olson Adams was chosento be our Santa Lucia this year. With herfair skin, blue eyes and blond hair, shewas perfect for the role.

This has been a good year, filled withinformative topics, concern for our fellowmembers who have been ill or in the needof a hug.

Vito Pantaleo will speak to us aboutScandinavian Music and Composers forour Jan. meeting.

With our soup bowls in hand, we shalltreat our taste buds to Pea Soup andPancakes. Chef Coleman Gentry is incharge of the meal.

Submitted by: Carol Ingstad Bryant

Sunday, December 7th was the annualLucia fest for Nordikids #208/NordikFolk #761, held at the beautiful SocialCenter at Wicker Park, in Highland,Indiana. Guests were able to view thegolf course covered with snow from thewall sized arched windows which addedthe excitement of winter to the day.

The afternoon affair included a deli-cious catered dinner, bake sales,Scandinavian jewelry sales, raffles andmost importantly, a performance by theChildren of Nordikids Musiklubb. Therewere 23 children in the pageant this year,including two star boys, and five “tom-tar!” They sang songs in both Swedishand English and entertained the guests forover an hour with their talents. Over 140

people were in attendance for this beauti-ful event. Special guests were Sten Hultand his wife Nancy. Sten is the GrandLodge Delegate to District #8. Also inattendance were Bill and Sheila Lund-quist, who traveled from Flint Michigan.Bill is the Vice Grand Master and Sheilais the District Master of District #8.

This year the Lucia was JenniferPearson. Jenny is 12 years old and is aseventh grade student at St. Catherine ofSienna School in Hammond, Indiana. Shehas been a member of Nordikids for 6 -1/2 years along with three of her siblings.Jenny is the daughter of Lisa BrownPearson and Mike Pearson. Mike’sfather’s family emigrated fromSweden. They came from the province ofSödermanland and Jenny’s mother hassewn for the three girls in the familymatching costumes fashioned after the“folk däkt”from that region. As theLucia, she wore the traditional whitegown, red sash and crown of candles. Herfather, Mike, is the Chairman of NordikFolk Lodge. The entire family has beeninvolved in developing the new websitefor the lodge that can be found atNordikfolk.com.

Nordikids is always looking for newmembers and any child from NorthwestIndiana or the southern part of theChicago area can call for information.Adults in the area are encouraged to calland learn more about joining Nordik Folklodge.

Submitted by: Lynda Ann Smith/Nordikids Supervisor/DLYS/GLYD

Jennifer Pearson

Nordikids

Luciatåget bestod av Lucia, Lovisa Lord-Torvfelt med tärnor Lena Edlund och Elin Haltvik somfick hjälp av stjärngossen Rasmus Mocklin och tomten Ingrid Lekberg.

Veckholm, som ligger utanför Enköping,som tackade för de kaffe man hade fåttmottaga från Vasaloger i USA underkriget!

När föredraget var slut applåderadeåhörarna och vice ordförande för förenin-gen tackade och överlämnade blommor.Under kaffet kom sedan gäster fram föratt tacka för ett intressant föredrag samtpassade på att ställa frågor för attinformera sig ytterligare om Vasa Ordenav Amerika.

Elisabeth passade på att dela ut liteVasa Stars tidningar samt informations-broschyrer om vår Orden till gästernasom de kunde ta med sig hem.

Submitted by: CM Anne-Sofie Hjort,LL 646

Lördagen den 6:e december passadelogen Enköping Nr 646 på att ha sitt sistamöte för året.

Medlemmar inom Vasa Orden avAmerika hade samlats från logen UpsalaNr 623, Mälardrottningen Nr 563 samtlogen Engelbrekt Nr 619 för att njuta avLuciafirandet. Även gäster utanför VasaOrden av Amerika deltog under dennakväll. När hungern började sätt in, bjödsdet på julbord med hemlagad mat av detmesta man förväntar sig vid ett julbord.Under maten hade vi allsång under led-ning av cermonimästaren Leif Lindén.Efter maten skred så årets Lucia in. Vinjöt av att få lyssna till de välkändasånger som sjungs under Lucia samt litetnya inslag.

När Lucia med tåg sedan skred ut frånsalen steg applåderna från århörarna.Ordförande för Logen Enköping Karl-Erik Axelsson bad Luciatåget komma inigen och framförde logens varma tackgenom att överlämna varsitt paket.

Kvällen fortsatte sedan med kaffe ochdet välkända jullotteriet. Detta år var detIngvar Faxén från Logen Engelbrekt Nr619 som drog högvinsterna, bl a detomtalade pepparkakshuset som varskänkt av Börje och Gull-Britt Petterssonsamt den fina ljustaken som var skänkt avLiberth och Irene Karlsson från LogenEngelbrekt Nr 619. Många andra vannockså under denna kväll och fick med sigen litet paket av alla de många gåvor somlogemedlemmar skänkt till logens jullot-teri. Ett varmt tack till alla ordenssyskonför deras omtanke om logen Enköping Nr646 och Vasa Orden av Amerika.

Liberth Karlsson allas tack till kommit-tén Pernilla Hallströn Anne-Sofie Hjort,Elisabeth Agge samt Ingrid Tammerforsför den utsökta maten och den trevligakvällen som man fått uppleva.

Submitted by: Elisabeth Agge


SWEDISH NEWSLogen Höganäs

Nr 634

Logen Enköping Nr 646

Högtidsmöte den 15 nov. 2008.Ordförande Br Leif Larsson hälsadeinförda gäster med Logens DD Sy BodilWalles i spetsen, gästande Ordenssyskonoch egna medlemmar hjärtligt välkomnatill kvällens högtidsmöte.

Efter sedvanliga mötesförhandlingarläste FDO Sy Berit Bogren upp nominer-ingskommitténs förslag till tjänstemän för2009. Slutnominering och val äger rumpå julmötet den 13 dec.

KL Br Hans Bogren framförde häl-sningar från våra vänloger och upp-manade de närvarande att skriva en häl-sning på de julkort som ska skickas tillUSA.

Vikarierande LH Sy Bodil Larssonläste en intressant krönika frånVasamöten år 1979.

Efter den vackra ljussläckningscere-monin dukades salen om till kvällensmiddag, kalkon med tillbehör ochäpplekaka med vaniljsås.

VO Sy Evy Lindstrand utbringade

Standarbärare Åke och Mona Sennström vän-tar på mötet ska börja.

Under en fredag i oktober blevElisabeth Agge sekreterare i LogenEnköping Nr 646 tillfrågad att föreläsaom Vasa orden av Amerika i närbelägnasamhället Fjärdhundra . Elisabethaccepterade inbjudan och tillsammansmed medlemmen Anne-Sofie Hjort begavde sig ut till Fjärdhundra och Altunabygdegård. Ungerfär 40 åhörare hadesamlats för atthöra mer om Vasa Ordenav Amerika.

Elisabeth framförde med ett eget gjort

bildspel ett föredrag som började medVasa Orden av Amerikas historia, hurorganisationen är uppbyggd, vad man göroch då speciellt i Sverige, samt vilkaregler som gäller för att bli medlem.Under programmet visade hon bilder frånkulturaktiviteter i Sverige och USA.

Elisabeth informerade dem också omBishop Hill i Illinois och det fina VasaArkivet. Hon berättade från ett av sinaminnen från Arkivet där hon funnit ettbrev från en ålderdomsföreståndare i

som sig bör kvällens första skål till HMKonungen Karl XVI Gustav och DD SyBodil Walles tackade för maten mednågra tänkvärda ord.

Kvällen försvann snabbt under godstämning med dans och lottdragning, därmånga vinnare fick dela på de fina vin-sterna.

Submitted by: Berit och HansBogren


Logen HärnösandNr 673

Logen VadstenaNr 762

Logen NybyggarnaNr 698Ängelholm

Vasa Orden samlades till möte den24:e oktober. Ordförande Karl Bäcklundhälsade alla välkomna och inledde dagensmöte.

En tyst minut hölls för vår avlidnaLogesyster Barbro Pettersson. I dagensförhandlingar ingick en första nomineringav tjänstemän för år 2009 och även en delekonomiska spörsmål.

Sekr. Marianne Claesson läste förutomföregående protokoll upp tack från upp-vaktade medlemmar och inbjudningarfrån andra loger. Barbro Sundgren hadesom vanligt brev med hälsningar frånUSA-Loger som tackar för berättelser omvad vi gör i logen samt foton. De berättarom sina loger och sina privatliv i breven.Vår Distriktskulturledare KristinaDahlberg Andersson hade i sitt brevbla.skickat information om vår “svenskasymbol” Dalahästens tillkomst, som nuockså Logen fick ta del av.

Kvällens recipiend Karen Anderssonantogs och välkomnades som medlem ivår orden. Hon har ju nu återvänt frånAustralien som professor vid vårtUniversitet och vi är glada över, att honmed sina nordiska rötter, vill bli medlemi vår loge.

Efter genomgången dagordning inbjödkvällens värdar paren Högberg, Granquistoch Wallin till efterkapitel. Ulla Wallinhade skrivit den fina välkomstsång somvi mottogs med, varefter serveringen avbiffstek med tillbehör vidtog.

Feststämningen var hög redan frånbörjan och alla sjöng glatt med KjellHamrin i de sånger han föreslog. Att BertWallin inte bara serverade mat utan ävengav oss prov på sitt dragspelskunnandevar ju härligt. Tänk vad alla är glada attvi har en sådan dragspelsvirtuos sommedlem.

När middagen avätits inbjöds så tilllogelokalendär Bengt Granquist dukatupp med tanke på FN-dagen 24okt. Vi

fick en trevlig föreläsning med bilder till.Med tanke på ämnets storlek, som ju interyms på en föreläsning så gav han tips påvar man hittar mer information på texdatorn om FN:s stora viktiga arbete.

Karen tackade för sitt mottagande ochkänner sig ha fått ett nytt hem i vår loge.Lotter såldes, vinster hämtades, sångersjöngs och Bert spelade mer.

Så tackar ordf. kvällens värdar ochmedverkande som gjort kvällen bådelärorik och mycket trevlig.

Submitted by: KL Barbro SundgrenPicture by: Ulla-Britt Nordin

Kjell Hamrin tackar Bengt Granquist förintressant föredrag.

Med denna rubrik i Vasa Kärven bör-jade vår Loge sin vandring i Vasa Ordenav Amerika. Sedan Logens stiftande den20 oktober 2007 har tiden nu passerat vårettårsdag, som firats med sedvanligtHögtidsmöte.

Många Loger har uppmärksammatdetta med gåvor och uppmuntran. Vår DDEinar Grön framförde hälsningar frånMSLER Tore Tellberg och DM GunnarGustafsson, som skickar varma lyckön-skningar på högtidsdagen.

Vi har i samband med ett-årsdagenutdelat vår Loges första hederstecken tillfyra medlemmar i våra fadderloger. Försttill initiativiagaren FDM Lisbeth HallbergQvarfordt samt HM Inge Hallberg ochHM Gunmar Nordh i Bråviken Nr 751 ochO Arne Samuelsson i Filbyter Nr 714.Syster Lisbeth har sitt Hjärta inom VasaOrden av Amerika och är känd för sinenergi och att inte ge upp samt som initia-tivtagare till att bilda Logen Vadstena,Syster Lisbeth är i sanning enByggmästare. Detta var vår motiveringoch uppskattning av deras arbete.

Sy KL Conny Grön nämnde i sitttalvid högtidsmötet följande “jag kan sägaatt då det här är en Loge som firar 1 år,skall ni veta att den som är närmastfyllde, 15 år förra året. Det var LogenBråviken Ny 751. Det är inte var dagsom det bildas en Loge. Det liggermycket arbete bakom. Det var Sy Lisbethoch Br Inges intuition. För hela tiden,som jag har känt dem har de till skillnadfrån många andra verkligen lyckats.Så all heder och lyckönskningar tiller i fortsättningen. Ni gör ett jättebrajobb!”

Vi firar också dagar för den HeligaBirgitta den 31 maj och 1 juni som i

Logens Högtidsmöte den 4 oktober2008, firades med Reception och 35-årsjubileum.

Det var 35 egna logesyskon, fyrarecipiender samt sex gäster. Under led-ning av CM br Per-Olle recipierade, på ettfint sätt våra fyra nya medlemmar. Tilldagens jubilar, Nybyggarna Nr 698,anlände ett flertal telegram.

KL br Gunnar talade om att Vasaordenbildades i USA år 1896, och att vid det9:eStorlogemötet i Jamenstown, delstatenNew York år 1913, instiftades rätten tillatt loger kunde bildas i Kanada samt iSverige. I Sverige stiftades den förstalokallogen 1924.

Vår loge, Nybyggarna Nr 698 bildades1973 den 22 september. LH br Henryberättade om logens tillblivelse då 10logesyskon installerades, av dessa finnsfortfarande fyra kvar. Som mest har logenhaft omkring 100 medlemmar, idag finnscirka 50 stycken.

KL br Gunnar överlämnade en bukettblommor, innehållande 35 st som vargjorda av papper med färger valda urUSAs och Sveriges flaggor, sju av

vardera färg. Vår DD sy Berit hade häl-sningar från vår DM sy Catherine, somgratulerade oss, och önskade fortsattframgång.

Efter denna högtidliga Reception ochjubileum i logesalen, fortsatta högtidenmed att O br Mats hälsade oss välkomnatill bords, varefter en skål och ett leveutropades för Ordens högsta beskyddare,hans höghet kung Karl XVI Gustavvarefter Kungssången sjöngs.

Talet till recipienderna hölls av VOsy Anna-Brita. Under ”levande” musikoch dans, avslutades en underbar Vasa-afton.

Submitted by: KL Gunnar

KL Gunnar Hyberts, FDO Rolf Hansson, OMats Holmberg och LH Henry Andersson.



YOUTH NEWS

On Lucia Day, December 13th,Children’s Club Skansen #147 celebratedour annual Lucia Fest in Viking Hall atVasa Park, Budd Lake, NJ.

Having been a club parent for tenyears and a leader for three, my husbandBruce and I had the honor of watchingour own daughter Erika; take her turn asthis year’s Lucia and our son Alexaccompany her as baker. The crownErika wore was beautifully redressed byGrand Lodge Cultural Director, Mrs.Inger Hanright. Inger also lent her time inworking with the club on singingChristmas songs in Swedish.

Music was performed by Mr. EricJohansson on accordion and Mrs.Jeanette Baker on violin and vocals.Later, Erika joined in for a violin duetwith Mrs. Baker. The children delightedthe audience with the three ring dances:‘Mors Grisar,’ ‘Törnrosa,’ and ‘SkördaLinet.’ Then, Erika led a parade of all 26members!

Parents of the club prepared a bounti-ful luncheon fare that includedScandinavian sandwiches and desserts ofhomemade Crumb cakes and SwedishSprits cookies. Also, Lucia buns andbraids were generously baked for us byInger and Past PDM First Lady, IngridCarlson.

Everyone must have been good thisyear because many service pins, gifts,and donations were awarded, even Santastopped by to the cheer of all!

Submitted by: Laura Brattstrom

Skansen #147Children’s Club

NordikidsMusiklubb #208

Steven and his parents Ingrid and Les Lesko

Erika Mary Brattstrom as Lucia

Steven Lesko was an Honored Starboy for Nordikids Musiklubb #208 at theannual Lucia fest held on December 7th,2008, at Wicker Park in Highland,Indiana. Steven is the son of Les andIngrid Lesko, who both hold offices inNordik Folk Lodge #761. His maternalgrandparents are Howard and DianeRosengren who are members of SiljanMora Tuna Lodge #134. Steven is elevenyears old and a fifth grader at St. PaulLutheran School in Oak Lawn. Stevenresides in Hickory Hills, Illinois and hastwo older siblings Sean (22) and Sara(20). He received his five year pin at theLucia fest and sang a solo of “TrePepparkaksgubbar.” He was also a mem-ber of Solstralen Children’s Club fromage 4-6. He plays violin and trumpet andsings in his school choir. He participatesin several sports which include track,baseball, soccer, and basketball. Stevenreally likes being a Nordikid. He says it’sgreat!

Submitted by: Les Lesko

Lisbeth H. Qvarfordt och Inge Hallberg ficklogens förtjänstmedaljer vid jullogen och härses alla medaljörerna samlade från v. ArneSamuelsson Logen Filbyter Linköping Nr 714.Lisbeth H. Qvarfordt och Inge Hallberg,Gunnar Nordh Logen Bråviken samtligaLogen Norrköping Nr 751 tillsammans medOrdförande i Logen Vadstena Nr 762 StigCarlsson efter medaljhögtiden.

Vadstena kallas Birgitta-dagar med his-toriska uppträdande från Vasa tiden ochkyrkans bekymmer med Ståthållare ochKung Gustav Vasa. Logen skall i fortsät-tningen försöka medverka i dessa dagartillsammans med företagarna i Vadstenaoch Lions. Under Birgitta-dagarna hade vigäster från Amerika och olika Loger iSverige. Till sommaren har vi informeratsom amerikanska besök, 3-4 gäster somkommer under maj och ca 20 under juli.Om några besökande på distriktsmötetskulle vara intresserade av att besökaVadstena, kontakta oss så ordnar vi någotprogram kring Vadstena, Landsarkivet ochden Heliga Birgitta.

I våra sammankomster har vi alltidförsökt att ha något program kring utvan-dring eller författare som uppmärksam-mats kring detta ämne, till exempelVilhelm Moberg och Carl Sandburg. CarlSandburg är den författare, som är mestnamnkunnig av svenskättlingar. Hanhärstammar genom sina föräldrar fråntrakterna av Vadstena. Han är mest kändför att ha skrivit om den amerikanske pres-identen Abraham Lincoln och har vunnitPulitzerpriset för detta.

Året avslutades med logemöte ochJulfest som anordnades av Sy FS Marikaoch Br O Stig hemma i Korskrog med 30-tal gäster. Även Lucia med tärnor frånLindbladsskolan i Skänninge och Tomtenvar på besök.

Vi i Logen Vadstena Nr 762 vill tackaför gåvor och uppmuntran samt gott stödunder det gångna året.

Gott Nytt År tillönskas alla Vasayskoni USA, Kanada och Sverige.

Picture by: Owe Hilding, LogenBråviken Nr 751

Logen Vadstena Nr 762Continued from page 24


Welcome To Our New MembersOn behalf of the Grand Lodge and members of the Vasa Order of America, I am pleased to welcome you tomembership in these local Vasa lodges. If you are new to the Vasa Order of America we bid you welcome. Ifyou are transferring or are a dual member, your new lodge bids you welcome. We hope you will enjoy yourmembership and will participate in all of the activities planned for you.

Tore Kellgren, Grand Lodge Membership Chairman5971 W. Walbrook Dr.

San Jose, CA 95129E-mail: [email protected]

DL MASSACHUSETTS NO. 2Vinland Of Cape Cod #703

Cameron BlomdahlEdward Blomdahl

Birka Lodge #732Charles HawkesMary Anne HawkesAndrea HolmgrenRon HolmgrenSonja Pryor

DL N.Y. NO. 4Tegner #109

Carl BerghDana BerntsonCarol EnnisBryan KietzmannCody KietzmannHeidi KietzmannKatie KietzmannJames MagnussonJean MagnussonBerit McKennaGrace RossInga WadeJessica WadeDave Wallin-Eddy

DL NEW JERSEY NO. 6Arlington 62

Peter CastricumPaul ClaessonEmily FoxKarre Johnson

Viking #735Barbara JohnsonBurton Johnson MacKenzie Keller

DL LAKE MICHIGAN NO. 8Svea #253

David DuffKatherine GagneJohn HookBarbro JarrellDavid JarrellBarbara JohnsonCharles Johnson

Satellite #661Brett Lewis JensenHolly Ann Jensen

Hagar# 721John LoulaHeidi MartinBarry Nelson

DL PENNSYLVANIA NO. 9Oscars Borg #172

Herbert Rombo

DL GOLDEN GATE NO. 12Sveaborg #449

Celeste GrahamNorden #684

Jean ClemonsJudy HarlessJoy OlsonRuth RiggsEvelyn Yancura

Sierra Kronan #737Maryjane Wochnick

DL PACIFIC NORTHWESTNO. 13

Norden #233Jeannet Wiggins Ole Carlson

Oak Leaf #685Par DannasTanja Dannas

Odin #726Angelique EngstromGwen Wilson Michael/Tracy WollinAsa Yngvesson

DL PACIFIC SOUTHWESTNO. 15

Evening Star #426Mark BaymaVictoria KomoffKyle MichaelNickolaus Petrgalovic-Kenshalo

Oak Leaf #685Andreas Svennefiord

DL ALBERTA NO. 18Skandia #549

Sharon ChadwickSigurd DelblancEva DickersonSheila EliassonKayla HarrisonKaren KennedyScot PurdonGaren SamuelsonBarbara SelinGarry Selin

DL NORRA SVERIGE(SWEDEN) NO. 19

Gotland #624Lars-Inge AnderssonOwe BjörkanderUlla BjörkanderBirgitta KarlssonKarin Dräng-KolmodinPer-Inge KolmodinBritt-Inger PetterssonGustav PetterssonMargaretha SandelinStig Sandelin

Skövde #626Gull-Britt NurgbergTiit Nurgberg

Logen Järnbärarna #697Ingrid StrömbergMauno Määttälä

DL SÖDRA SVERIGE(SWEDEN) NO. 20

Carlskrona #601Alf AnderssonSusanne BergstedtHakan FlenhagenLena Taavo-FlenhagenNils-Erik HanssonAnita WennerlundHaide WennerlundJan Wennerlund

Kärnan #608Ia OlofssonLars OlofssonLena TörnrosRoland Törnros

Christian #617Anders BjörklundAnn BjörklundHanna BjörnssonIréne FermLars FermLars OhlssonSiv Junge OhlssonStaffan Ringskog

Småland #618Alf CarlssonIrene CarlssonLillemore GustavssonEva Holmblad OlssonLiljana Savic

Logen Calmare Nyckel Nr 628Britt-Marie HäggqvistAgne HäggqvistLeigh Thompson

Logen Ronneby Nr 630Birgit Jonsson

Tomelilla #631Birgitta HanssonHelge Hansson

Westervik #679Birgitta BarklundLeif BarklundAnders JonssonMaj-Britt JonssonLofsved PetterssonMonica Löfsved PetterssonHans Timmerstedt

Logen Nybyggarna Nr 698Inger JohannessonGöran NilssonLena PålssonBertil Pålsson

Klockan #747Lillian Hansen

Bla Jungfrun #749Viggo LarsenUlla-Britt Nilsson Lennart Truedsson


CULTURE

In 1891 the Social Democratic unionof Malmö, south Sweden, rented anamusement park, Möllevångsparken, putit in order and changed its name to thePeople’s Park, “Folkets Park.” This wasthe birth of the People’s Park movement,unique of its kind in the entire world. Theidea was to give the working class peoplea place of their own for political meet-ings, something they never had before. Itwas also meant to be a recreation area forthe workmen’s families to spend theirweek-ends outdoors. It became one of thebig leisure- and amusement enterprises ofthe country, from the beginning createdby the people themselves to give theSwedes good culture.

The “park idea” was soon spread toother places and within ten yearsPeople’s Parks had been established inmany industrial societies, both large andsmall. A Central Organization wasformed and 50 years later approximately250 Parks had joined the organization.

The first parks were built by the work-ers themselves in their leisure hours,often with no bank loans, why moneywas a great problem. It was thereforeimportant to find material as cheap aspossible, or for no cost at all. That’s whythe Swedish People’s parks look differentin different parts of the country; stone orbrick houses in some parks, and woodenhouses in others.

The first People’s parks were verysimple; it could be only a grove or ameadow where it was possible to place anopen air dance floor, no stage, no tablesnor chairs. Those who wanted to dancehad to buy “dance tickets” which wererather cheap.

Soon there were cafés, hot-dog stands,shooting-galleries, and darts where youcould win a teddy bear if you were lucky.Some parks also had special playgroundsfor children something that was greatlyappreciated both by children and parents.

The shape of the gate, the entrance,was important. It should give a solemnimpression, showing the People’s parkwas not only an ordinary dance place, buta place giving good culture to its visitors.The entrance fees were low so everybodywas able to visit the People’s park.

Later on the parks were betterequipped with stages big enough for

visiting artist troops. An important taskwas to provide the parks with good enter-tainment and performances of high stan-dard. It was however difficult, as manyartists considered it beneath them to givea performance in a People’s park. Butwhen the manager of Eskilstuna People’spark succeeded in engaging a travelingtheatre troop performing a Swedish folk-lore play it was a great success. Over3500 people came to see the performanceand that was a breakthrough. Since then,lots of famous artists have given perfor-mances in the People’s parks duringsummer. After 1945 artists from abroadhave been touring in Sweden. One of themost popular groups was the DeltaRhythm Boys who were touring Swedenfor more than ten years. When singing“Flickorna i Småland” in Swedish thepublic’s enthusiasm was enormous.

In the 1960s TV changed people’sinterests and leisure pursuits. Althoughmany parks were modernized andrepaired, the number of visitorsdecreased. Also the great artists becamemore expensive and many People’s parkshad to close down. To-day only about125 parks still remains.

In 1927 the People’s park union ofVimmerby was formed. A meadow suit-able for an open dance floor was bought.The price was 1.400 Swedish Crowns.

Since then the park has been renovatedand enlarged. In 1996 the main buildingwas renovated again, and they had an oldopen dance floor moved into the park.This time the renovation cost over 2 mil-lion Swedish Crowns.

Nowadays there are lots of activitiesindoors all year round. There are dance-evenings, union- and club meetings, youcan also rent the park for a birthday- orwedding party. They have sales, exhibi-tions and auctions there, so VimmerbyPeople’s Park is in fact a living park. Theboard of the People’s Park should beproud of having done such costly renova-tion. By doing so, they have made it pos-sible to preserve a unique tradition andinstitution in a new time with quite otherinterests and values.

Some Rules from the Statute Book: • Pay attention to all directions from

attendants and members.• Be helpful to each other.• Be careful with everything belong-

ing to the People’s park.• Be kind to everybody; people, ani-

mals and plants.• Be indulgent towards faults and

deficiencies.Submitted by: Gun Lith,

GLCD, Sweden

The People´s Park


Entrén till Folkets Park i Vimmerby.


The People’s ParkContinued from page 27

Folkets ParkÅr 1891 hyrde socialdemokratiska

föreningen i Malmö en nöjespark,Möllevångsparken, ställde den i ordningoch ändrade namnet till Folkets Park. Dåföddes den svenska Folkets Parks-rörelsen, unik i sitt slag i hela världen.Tanken var att ge arbetarklassen en egenplats för sina politiska möten, något deinte haft tidigare. Meningen var också attskapa en rekreationsplats för arbetar-familjerna, där de kunde vistas utomhusunder veckohelgerna. Det blev också enav landets stora fritids- och nöjesinstitu-tioner, från början skapad helt på frivilligväg, för att kunna erbjuda svenskarna godkultur.

Folket Parks – idén spred sig snart tillandra orter, och inom 10 år hade detanlagts parker i många industrisamhällen,både små och stora. En centralorganisa-tion bildades och 50 år efter starten varcirka 250 parker med i den. Folkparkernabyggdes av arbetarna själva på fritiden,ofta utan banklån, varför pengar var ettstort problem. Det var därför viktigt atthitta så billigt material som möjligt, helstgratis. Det är bland annat därför som desvenska folkparkerna ser så olika ut; sten-eller tegelhus i en del av landet, ochträhus i en annan del. De första folkpark-erna var mycket enkla; det kunde vara enskogsdunge eller en äng där det gick attbygga en dansbana, ingen scen, inga sto-lar eller bord. För att få dansa måste manköpa biljetter, som dock var billiga. Imånga parker fanns snart serveringar,korvstånd, skjutbanor och pilkast-ningsstånd, där man kunde vinna ennallebjörn, om man hade tur. En del park-er ordnade också speciella lekplatser förbarn-föräldrar.

Utformningen av porten eller entréntill parken var viktig. Den skulle gärnavara pampig, ge ett högtidligt intrycksom visade att folkparken inte bara var envanlig dansbana, utan en plats somförmedlade god kultur till besökarna. Föratt alla skulle ha råd att besöka FolketsPark var priset på inträdesbiljetten lågt.

Senare blev parkerna bättre utrustademed scener för teaterframträdanden. Enviktig uppgift för parkerna var att erbjudagod underhållning och föreställningar avhög kvalité. I början kunde det vara svårt,eftersom många artister ansåg det varaunder deras värdighet att uppträda iFolkets Park. Men när chefen förEskilstuna Folkets Park lyckats engagera

ett resande teatersällskap, som gav ettsvenskt folklustspel blev det succé. Över3.500 personer kom, och det blev ettgenombrott. Därefter har massor av fina,berömda artister under somrarna uppträtti folkparkerna.

Efter 1945 har även utländska artisterturnerat i de svenska parkerna. En av depopuläraste grupperna var Delta RhythmBoys, som i mer än tio år turnerade iSverige. De gjorde enorm succé, då desjöng ”Flickorna i Småland,” på svenska.Deras föreställningar drog alltid fullt hus.

På 1960-talet förändrade TV folksintressen och fritidssysselsättningar.Trots att många parker rustades upp ochmoderniserades minskade besöksantalet.Då dessutom de stora artisterna blevdyrare måste många Folkets Park stän-gas. Idag finns endast ca 125 kvar.

I Vimmerby bildades föreningenFolkets Park 1927. Då inköptes en bete-shage, som var till salu och ansågslämplig för en blivande Folkets Park.Priset var 1.400 kronor. Sedan dess harparken renoverats och byggts ut fleragånger. 1996 renoverades huvudbyg-gnaden igen och en gammal utedansbanaflyttades till parken. Den här renoverin-gen kostade över 2 miljoner kronor.

Nu är det mycket aktiviteter i parken,året om. Det är danskvällar, fackfören-ings- och andra föreningsmöten, man kan

hyra parken privat för en födelsedags-eller bröllops fest. Auktioner,försäljningar och utställningar äger ocksårum där, varför Vimmerby Folkets Parkverkligen är en levande park. Styrelsenkan därför vara stolt över att de gjort enså stor och dyr renovering, för på så sätthar man därigenom lyckats bevara enunik folklig tradition och institution i enny tid med andra intressen ochvärderingar.

Till slut några av ordningsreglerna urFolkparkens Lagbok:

• Beakta alla vakters och medlemmarsanvisningar.

• Visa hjälpsamhet mot varandra.• Var aktsam om Folkets Parks till-

hörigheter.• Visa vänlighet mot alla människor,

djur och växter• Överse med fel och brister.

Det här var något av Folket Parkslånga, intressanta historia. Materialet harjag fått från två böcker utgivna vidFolkparkernas 50- respektive 100-årsju-bileer. Dessutom har jag i september2008 intervjuat medlemmar av styrelsen iVimmerby Folkets Park.

Submitted by: Gun Lith, SLKLPicture by: Gunnar Lith,

September 2008

TIDBITS

In Sweden, Valentine’s Day is called Alla Hjärtands dag – All Hearts Day. The giftof flowers on Valentine’s Day probably dates to the 1700s when Charles II of Swedenbrought the Persian poetical art called “the language of flowers” to Europe.Throughout the 18th century, floral dictionaries were published, permitting theexchange of romantic secrets via a lily or lilac, for example, culminating in entire con-versations taking place with a bouquet of flowers. The more popular the flower, themore traditions and meanings were associated with it. The red rose, for instance,believed to the favored flower of Venus, the Roman Goddess of Love, became univer-sally accepted to represent romantic love. Thus the custom of giving red roses onValentine’s Day quickly gained popularity.

Välkomna till PeterCasseldagarna i

Kisa den13-14 juni 2009

Mistletoe and Lucia

Denna gång inleder dagarna en helvecka av Amerikadagar i emigrationenstecken i den vackra Kindabygden. Veckanavslutas med möjlighet att deltaga i gen-uint svenskt midsommarfirande.

Under Peter Casseldagarna finns möj-lighet till släktforskning, emigrantspel,sång och musik m m, samt inte minst attnjuta av den härliga svenska försommaren.

Logen Filbyter Nr 714, LinköpingSubmitted by: Arne Samuelsson

What on earth do these things have incommon? Nothing as far as we knew.

Having moved to Tennessee just twoyears ago we have been concentratingmainly on discovering our new homestate. So much to discover that it has leftvery little time to connect with anySwedes or Scandinavians living in thearea.

However, when we received an invita-tion to attend an annual Lucia event onDecember 13th we accepted. It was heldin the home of a now retired prominentphysician whom, we were told wasSwedish. As it turned out she was not,but had spent one year studying inSweden some years ago and had fallen inlove with everything Swedish.

This was obvious when we toured herlog cabin style home southwest ofNashville decorated with many SwedishChristmas straw and wood artifacts.

However, before anything got startedwe were asked to put on our coats

Lisa playing her “Nyckelharpa”


HAPPENINGS

We have five Lodges in the State ofArizona and we invite each of you whoare or will be moving to our beautifulstate to continue your membership inVasa by joining one of our existingLodges, or helping us to start a new onein your new location.

We have Phoenix Lodge in Phoenix,Scandia Lodge in Prescott, Nordic RedRocks Lodge in Sedona, Solstad Lodge inSun City West, and Tucson Lodge inTucson and with your help, start a newLodge in a new area. We do know thatmore and more people are moving toArizona, and many of Nordic heritagesand we want them to continue their fel-lowship in the Vasa Order of America.

Should you have any questions, youmay call District Lodge Arizona No. 21,District Master Vito Pantaleo at 928-282-3469.

We welcome you all!

If so, you are most welcome to visitour Lodge meetings at the same time.

Our District Conference in DistrictLodge Nr 20 Södra Sverige is takingplace in May. It will be held in Växjöwhere you can also visit the EmigrantInstitute and search your roots in theirarchive. You can find out about theInstitute on www.utvandrarnashus.se/eng/

There are many other Swedish-American Activities as well:

• Sverige-Amerikadagen at KalmarCastle with Swedish Cheesecake(Ostkakegille) afterwards in the oldgarden of the Krusenstierna Family.This takes place on the 7th of June. Itis arranged by the Lodge CalmareNyckel, Nr 628.

• Andrew Pettersson-Day on the 4th ofJuly and Barkerydsdagen on the 2nd

of August are arranged by the LodgeSmåland Nr 618.

• Lodge Malmöhus Nr 643 will holdtheir 50th anniversary in MalmöTown Hall on the 4th of April.

• Sverige-Amerikadagen is also cele-brated in Halmstad on the 4th of Julyarranged by Lodge Tre Hjärtan Nr665.

During spring there are many pleasantoutdoor excursions. The lodges gather toenjoy the first sound of the cuckoo birdearly in the morning and to have a nicepick nick. In May this event “Gökotta” istaking place in Karlskrona, Kalmar andHelsingborg.

For everyone visiting the Internet allactivities can be seen on www.vasaorden.se,press “Kommande Aktiviteter.” Moredetailed information will be given in TheVasa Star May/June edition.

You are welcome to contact me if youlike more information: Margareta BergDistrict Cultural Leader DL 20 SödraSverige.

Du är hjärtligt välkommen att samtidigtbesöka våra logemöten och aktiviteter.

Vi har Distriktsmöte i DL 20 i maj.Konferensen hålls i Växjö den 15-17 maj.Här samlas vasamedlemmar från helaSödra Sverige för att planera för den nyaterminen 2009-2010.

I Växjö kan du också besökaEmigrantinstitutet och leta i arkivet efterdina släktingar. (www.utvandrarnashus.se).Det finns många andra Svensk-Amerikanska arrangemang:

• Sverige-Amerikadagen på Kalmar Slottmed Ostkakegille i KrusenstiernskaTrädgården den 7:e juni. Dagen anord-nas av Logen Calmare Nyckel Nr 628.

• Andrew Pettersson-dagen den 4 julioch Barkerydsdagen den 2:a augustiarrangeras av Logen Småland Nr 618.

• Logen Malmöhus Nr 643 har 50-årsjubileum i Malmö Rådhus den 4:eapril.

• Sverige-Amerikadagen firas också iHalmstad den 4:e juli av Logen TreHjärtan, Nr 665.

Under våren finns många trevliga utfly-kter i naturen. T.ex. samlas Vasalogernatill Gökotta under maj i Karlskrona,Kalmar och Helsingborg.

För dig som är inne på Internet finnsalla aktiviteter på www.vasaorden.se,tryck “Kommande Aktiviteter.” För merdetaljer titta i maj/juni-numret av TheVasa Star där alla arrangemangen presen-teras som tidigare år.

Hör gärna av dig till mig om du vill hamer upplysningar: Margareta Berg.Distriktskulturledare DL 20.

Moving to Arizona,Welcome to DistrictLodge Arizona #21

Reser du tillSverige i sommar?

Are you going tovisit Sweden this

summer?


Rossmoor Pastries baker Andy Guzman andthe Swedish Master Baker Bo Sundstrom showoff freshly baked Postcakes.

huge success, with more than 200,000Postcakes mailed to 70 countries from hisbakery in Sweden.

The Postcake was tested in theAmerican market during a two-year peri-od, and the positive respond from cus-tomers showed a need for more produc-tion space. “Rossmoor Pastries is an idealpartner,” says Bo Sundstrom. “It’s a bak-ery with 87 employees and an enthusias-tic management team that is thrilled toinclude the Postcake in their line of bakedproducts.”

Charles Feder, owner of RossmoorPastries says, “We are excited about hav-ing had a top-notch Swedish Chef work-ing in our bakery and to cultivating valu-able networking opportunities with fel-low industry professionals in Europe. ThePostcake will complement our bakery’stradition of creating the finest celebrationcakes,” continues Feder.

Rossmoor Pastries is known for itsoutstanding wedding and special occa-sion cakes and its customers includeHollywood and sports personalities.Rossmoor also supplies cakes andpastries to many of the major sports andentertainment venues in California.To order Postcakes, go to www.post-cake.com or call 1-888-491-1051.

Bo Sundström: As a result of thePostcake’s success, Bo was recognized asa trendsetter in the art of baking. In addi-tion to picking up the title Swedish PastryChef of the Year, his retail bakery washonored by the Swedish Bakery of theYear award. Bo’s entrepreneurship wasalso recognized by the City Hall in hishometown with a special proclamationand the Swedish small business magazineDu & Co honored him with theirInnovator of the Year award in apprecia-

District Lodge Lake Michigan No. 8Wishes You a Happy New Year

District Master Sheila Lundquist

Vice District MasterTom Cleveland

District SecretaryMarge Gruel

District TreasurerLiza Ekstrand

Asst. District SecretaryJoella Hultgren

Superv. Children & Youth Clubs– Lynda Smith

Executive Board MemberEd Hultgren

Executive Board MemberLisa Cianci

Past District MasterSten Hult

Hospital Fund Sec’y-Treas.Charlotte Tollin

District Cultural LeaderVera Littlejohn

Gott Nytt ÅrTo All Our Vasa Friends

from

Linnea Lodge #504Petaluma, California


Mistletoe and LuciaContinued from page 29

and follow our hostess up the road to par-ticipate in a tradition to shoot downmistletoes. Shoot down…like with agun we asked, thinking this is not whatshe really meant. Yes she said, with arifle!!!

It was not long before those knowingwhat we were looking for started to cranetheir necks and point upwards. Then weall saw the bright green cluster of themistletoe securely stuck high up on thehost tree. The rifle was being readied andthe willing hunters of all ages lined up totry their luck.

Some of the very young boys havingbeen successful in bringing down someof the sprigs had no interest in kissingany of the girls. We think they will out-grow that notion.

The harvest was brought back to thehouse and the children were invited todecorate the tree with all the Swedish-and other decorations.

The “glögg,” we were told, was verygood and very strong.

After an all-American meal of bar-beque sandwiches with all that go with it,all the numerous candles including thereal ones on the live Christmas tree werelit. Our daughter Lisa started playing theLucia song on her “nyckelharpa.” TheLucia procession was lovely and includedall the children plus the hostess herself.We could not help to get emotional to seethis little bit of Sweden celebrated in therolling wooded hills in the State ofTennessee.

Submitted by: Lillemor and RichardHorngren

tion of extraordinary creativity in thebakery industry. This year Bo Sundströmwas bestowed the title HonoraryChairman of Norrlands Bageri ochKonditoriforening.

Rossmoor Pastries: Multi-layeredbakery with a retail shop in the front.Their wedding cake department does anaverage of 60 to 70 wedding cakes aweek and a significant part of their busi-ness is the wholesale side, which reachesall over L.A. Charles Feder, president ofRossmoor Pastries in Signal Hill, CA, isalso known for going “green” with natur-al gas-powered delivery trucks before itwas hip.

Submitted by: Bo Sundström

The PostcakeCompany Signs

PartnershipBo Sundstrom, the creative Swedish

Konditor behind the Postcake concept, iscelebrating the Postcake’s 10th anniver-sary by signing an agreement with LosAngeles-based Rossmoor Pastries to bakeand distribute the Postcake in NorthAmerica. Sundstrom recently spent aweek training the bakery team on how tomake the special “Swedish mix” that isthe Postcake’s hallmark.

It has been ten years since BoSundstrom received the top prize with hisPostnöt recipe in the Swedish PostalService’s contest to bake a cake that wasdelicious and easy to send by mail.Sundstrom’s winning entry has been a

LILY NORDSTROM, member of Skogen Lodge#700, Redding, CA, passed away August 18, 2008.She was born in London, England, December 4,1922. She joined Skogen Lodge #700 on March 18,1986. She is survived by a son Robert, of Canada,and 2 grandchildren. She was active, fun, and avaluable member who is missed.

EVERT NORDSTROM , member of SkogenLodge #700, Redding, Ca, passed away August 8,2008. He was born in Canwood, Canada. He joinedSkogen Lodge #700 on March 18, 1986. He con-tributed to the enjoyment of our members. He willmissed greatly.

JAMES SWANN passed away October 31, 2008,in Thousand Oaks, CA. He was born May 31, 1921,in Denver, CO. James became a member of OakLeaf Lodge #685 on February 6, 1970. He is sur-vived by his wife of 51 years, Marian; son Karl;daughter and son-in-law, Karin and Joe Eckdahl,and grandchildren, John and James Eckdahl.

FLORIDADORIS ELIZABETH LANDERGREN ofSeminole, FL, passed away on December 11, 2008.She was born August 7, 1918, in Yonkers, NY. Shewas a Charter Member of Dalahast Lodge #742,Tinton Falls, ND. Doris is survived by daughterCherstin and son-in-law, Edwin Peterson, Jr., whoare members of Dalahast Lodge and son, Robert anddaughter-in-law, Nina Landergren.

MASSACHUSETTSTORA JOHNSON passed away November 1,2008, at the age of 100. She was born in Gotland,Sweden, June 22, 1908. She is survived by herdaughter Sylvia, son Ralph, 6 grandchildren and 10great-grandchildren. She was a member of Sophiaand Oscar II lodges in Cambridge, MA, and recent-ly received her 70-year membership pin. All of herrelatives joined with her to celebrate her 100thbirthday this past June.

MICHIGANHELEN DEMAR passed away April 17, 2008, atthe age of 96. She was a member of Fram Lodge,1983-2005, then Viking Lodge #730 from 2005-2008. She is survived by a daughter.

ALLEN JOHNSON passed away June 3, 2008, atthe age of 101. He was a member of Viking Lodge#730. He loved gardening, walking, current eventsand the Detroit Tigers. He is survived by his daugh-ter and grandchildren.

LILLIAN LAGERKVIST passed away October13, 2008, at the age of 79. A member of VikingLodge #730. She was proud of her Swedish her-itage. She is survived by 2 daughters and grandchil-dren.

KEN NYLANDER passed away September 28,2008, at the age of 69. He was a member of VikingLodge #730. He is survived by his wife Phyllis and3 daughters. He loved traveling and the familycottage.

ART PIERRE passed away June 21, 2008, at theage of 79. He was a member of Viking Lodge #730.He spent 42 years in education. He is survived byhis wife, children and grandchildren.

NEW YORKBERNICE A. BENGTSSON passed away onOctober 1, 2008, in Brooklyn, NY. She was born inBrooklyn on May 21, 2930. She was a 60-yearmember of Nobel Liljan Lodge #64.

VIOLET KEMPTER passed away in December,2007, at the age of 92. She was born July 23, 1915,and joined Olympic Lodge #235 on April 24, 1932.She was a 75 year member of Olympic Lodge #235.She is survived by her husband Herbert Kempter,also an Olympic Lodge #235 member.

OHIOVIOLA MAE RICHARDS passed awayNovember 5, 2008, at the age of 87, in CopelandOaks, OH. She was born May 4, 1921, inYoungstown, OH, and was initiated into HarmonyLodge #465 on April 1, 1982. She is survived byher husband of 69 years, Thomas S. Richards, 3daughters, Janet Innes, Ruth Bromley and BeckyTymoszewicz; 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

TEXASMAURICE D. HALL passed away November 20,2008. He was a Charter Member of Carl WidenLodge #743. He served as a pilot in WWII and 20years in the USAFR. He is survived by wifeHildegard, daughter Shari, 3 grandchildren and asister. Missed by many friends.

ROSE MARIE B. OLANDER passed awayNovember 27, 2008, at the age of 81. She was bornNovember 19, 1927, in Austin, TX. Rose was a tal-ented musician and vocalist. A member of CarlWiden Lodge #743. She is survived by husbandA.M. Olander, 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and 1great-grandchild.

WISCONSINPAUL NELSON passed away November 2, 2008,at the age of 72, in Milwaukee, WI. He will begreatly missed by his wife Ruth, children, grand-children, relatives, and friends in the USA andSweden. In Stockholm he attendedKonstfackskolan. After returning to the USA, hewas one of the founders of MIAD in Milwaukee,WI. He joined Linde Lodge #492 in 1979 and willbe dearly remembered.

In MemoriamTill minne av hädangångnaordenssyskon genom vilkas

bortgång syskonkretsen gjorten kännbar förlust

In memory of our departedmembers who will be

sorely missed

ARIZONAHARVEY ARMSTRONG, member of TucsonLodge #691, passed away October 1, 2008. He wasborn in Chicago, IL, on November 11, 1919.Harvey joined our lodge March 19, 1998. He is sur-vived by his wife Eleanor, sons Tom and Glen, 5grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

MARY LOUISE (LARSON) NELSON, memberof Tucson Lodge #691 since 1995, passed awayOctober 30, 2008, in Tucson, AZ. She served ourlodge as VC in 1997. Mary was born August 3,1929, in Kiron, IA, and is survived by husbandRobert, sons Jack and Rob, a granddaughter and agreat-granddaughter.

STEPHEN J. TOMETICH passed away onSeptember 25, 2008, in Phoenix, AZ. Born inChicago, IL, on April 16, 1928, he most recentlylived in Phoenix, AZ. He is survived by his wifeMarion, children Debra, Teri, and Stephen John IIIand families. He was a member of Solstad Lodge#709 in Sun City West, AZ, since 2001, and BoardMember of District #21.

JAMES L. VAN TREECK passed away July 30,2008, at Boswell in Sun City, AZ. He was born inWaukegan, IL, on May 18, 1929, and most recentlyresided in Sun City, AZ. He is survived by his wifePatricia A., children Joseph, Richard, Thomas, andPamela (Magnuson) and families. He was a memberof Solstad Lodge #709 in Sun City West, AZ.

CALIFORNIALINNEA CASPERSON passed away on October16, 2008, in Thousand Oaks, CA. She was bornApril 6, 1917, in Lanse, PA. She married Robert onSeptember 12, 1942. Linnea became a member ofOak Leaf Lodge #685 on February 1, 1974. She issurvived by her daughters, Nancy and Linda, son-in-law Don, and grandchildren.

ETHEL LINDFELDT passed away on September23, 2008, at the age of 97. She was born June 11,1912, in Chicago, IL, of immigrant parents fromSweden. Ethel lived in Roseville, CA. She joinedSkandia Lodge #247 and in August, 2004, trans-ferred to Sierra Kronan Lodge #737. She was anHonorary Member of Sierra Lodge #737. Ethelloved all Swedish festivities and is survived by twosons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Shewill be greatly missed by her brothers and sisters ofSierra Kronan Lodge #737.

JOSEPHINE M. NELSON passed away June 6,2008, in Los Angeles, CA, at the age of 93. She wasborn in Nebraska on December 28, 1914, and joinedMayflower Lodge #445 on June 5, 1945. Shereceived her 25-year, 40-year, 50-year pins and wasa Life Member of Mayflower Lodge #445.

MEMORIAL NOTICESshould be mailed with check or moneyorder to: Marie Carlson, 9560Curberry Drive, Mentor, OH 44060.The fee is $8.00 for 1 column inch.Longer obituaries will be chargeda flat rate of $25.00. All noticesMUST be typed and WRITTEN in aformat similar to those in this column.NO newspaper clippings.

Swedish Emigrant Genealogical Seminar

If you have ever wanted to find your Emigrant Ancestor, please join us for our first genealogical Seminar. Our speakers include Stephen Morse, Kathy Meade, Leslie Bouvier, Rebecca Koford and more. This exciting Semi-nar is loaded with information, research techniques, consulta-tions and more. And don’t for-get the door prizes, we have more than $500 in doorprizes.

When: April 11, 2009 Time: 9am to 4:30pm Place: Universities at Shady Grove, Rockville, MD

Drott Lodge #168 VASA Order of America

Email:[email protected] For registration and details Website:www.geocities.com/

drottlodge/Home.htm

Your Emigrant Ship has come in. Let Drott Lodge #168 help you find your family His-tory.

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DL Pennsylvania No. 9 is pleased to announce that it is hosting

the Grand Lodge Convention inWashington D.C. in early July,

2010. Please support DL PA No. 9 by obtaining raffle tickets.

Tickets

will be inserted in the center of

March/April Issue of

The Vasa Star

each year Tickets will also be sent to each lodge

Two more annual raffles for cash will

be held, starting in April of 2009 and

2010 with drawings on July 3 of each

year. Winners of previous raffles are

eligible for the following year’s raffle.

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