Scandinavian Press Sample Issue

Norway’s ‘Lebensborn’ 

CHILDREN OF SHAME 

WINTER 2014-2015 

P R E S S 

 

 

HOLIDAY 

reetin FROM ROVANIEMI, FINLAND 

 

THE OFFICIAL HOMETOWN OF SANTA CLAUS ® 

See story on page 10 

 

 

News from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and of those worldwide who share the Nordic Heritage

A 

WHAT’S IT? 

WHERE’S IT? 

The five pictures on this page are from 

the countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, 

Norway and Sweden (but not necessarily 

in that order). Can you identify WHAT 

is shown in each and WHERE 

it is located (country)? 

B 

Too easy, 

if we showed 

the real flag! 

C 

See page 49 for 

answers. 

D 

E

B 

A 

C 

WHAT’S IT? 

WHERE’S IT? 

The five pictures on this page are from 

the countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, 

Norway and Sweden (but not necessarily 

in that order). Can you identify WHAT 

is shown in each and WHERE 

it is located (country)? 

See page 35 for 

answers. 

E 

D

Scans 

in the News 

Emmelie de Forest 

sings her way 

to Eurovision victory 

Danish singer-songwriter 

Emmelie de Forest won this year’s 

Eurovision Song Contest, 

held in Malmö, Sweden, 

in mid-May. 

e 20-year-old 

de Forest’s rendition 

of “Only Norway’s Husvod contender for 

Teardrops” received 

a total of 

World Cycling Championship 

281 points in the 

glitzy music battle, 

which fea- 

or Hushovd, the veteran Norwegian 

cyclist, won the third stage of that Hushovd’s victory shows the 35- 

Cycling expert Johan Kaggestad said 

tured 10 acts, 

the Tour of Poland race on July 31. year-old veteran from Grimstad on 

including a bizarre 

Now he may be rolling toward another 

ride in the World Cycling very good shape. He’s back at the same 

Norway’s southern coast is “in very, 

pop opera number 

from Romania, the 

Champion ship, set to roll in Italy level where he was in 2011,” before a 

comeback of “Total Eclipse of the 

from Sept. 22-29. 

virus caused him problems last year. 

Heart” star Bonnie Tyler, and an Armenian 

rock song written by the gui- 

It was the fourth victory of the season 

for Hushovd, who rides for the de France in 2011 and badly wanted to 

Hushovd won two stages of the Tour 

tarist of Black Sabbath. 

BMC team. He completed the 226-kilometer 

(140-mile) course with what chosen. He has, however, won the Nor- 

participate again this year, but wasn’t 

“It’s amazing 

for me to 

Oslo newspaper Aenposten called his wegian Championship this year along 

win in Sweden,” 

Em- 

“characteristic strong finish.” 

with laps of the Tour du Haut Var and 

Tour of Austria. 

2@ FALL 2013 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS melie said 

aer the 

winners Short story by Stieg Larsson to appear in 

were announced. 

new anthology… 

“I am half 

Swedish, A Darker Shade of Sweden 

my father was 

Swedish, so he would be so proud. 

A short story written by Stieg e story—entitled “Brain Power”— 

I mean, it’s like my second home country, 

Larsson, creator of the 

has been described as a suspense 

so to win here is amazing.” 

best-selling Millennium 

story set in the near future. It will 

Miss de Forest grew up in northern crime fiction trilogy 

be published as part of an anthology, 

Denmark and has been singing since when he was only 17, is 

A Darker Shade of Sweden. 

she was 9 years old. According to de to be published in English 

Larsson, a Swedish journalist 

Forest, her father descends from an illegitimate 

for the first time 

and writer, became a household 

child of Edward VII, which next year, 10 years aer 

name when the first book in his 

would make her the great-granddaughter 

his death at age 50 of a 

Millennium trilogy, “e Girl 

of Queen Victoria. 

heart attack. 

with the Dragon Tattoo,” 

became

Anniina Nurmi: 

Ethics 

in clothing 

design 

Finnish fashion designer 

Anniina Nurmi considers not only the 

style of the clothing she designs, but 

also its eco-friendliness. 

For Nurmi, ecological clothes are 

not just a matter of lifestyle, but a profession. 

In 2008, she started up a blog 

called Vihreät vaatteet (Green Clothes) 

about ecological style and sustainable 

consumerism. 

Her hobby soon grew into a job. In 

2010, Nurmi established her own company, 

Nurmi Design Oy, which designs 

ecological clothes under the Nurmi 

label. 

Ecological clothing spans the entire 

life cycle of the product from the production 

of the material all the way 

through to the recycling of the clothes. 

e products sold under Nurmi’s 

own clothing label are manufactured 

from, among other things, organic cotton, 

hemp and leover materials. She 

focuses on a transparent production 

process: e clothes bear a clear indication 

of where they have been manufactured. 

a bestseller upon its publication in 

America in 2008, with its two sequels, 

“e Girl Who Played with Fire” and 

“e Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s 

Nest,” also experiencing impressive 

Per Blankens new 

Executive Producer 

of American Idol 

“American Idol” has named a 

new executive producer for 

Season 13 of the reality 

singing competition. 

Per Blankens will take 

over from Nigel Lythgoe 

and Ken Warwick 

when the show returns 

in January 2014. 

sales. e trilogy, adapted by a Swedish 

film company into three films, was released 

in 2011. 

All three of Larsson’s novels were 

published aer his death. 

Blankens may 

not be a big 

name in American 

television 

yet, but he is one 

of the most 

successful producers 

of competition 

shows in 

Europe. He has 

been in charge of the 

Swedish version of 

“Idol” for several seasons 

and also runs 

Scandinavian versions of 

other reality properties like 

“MasterChef ” and “e Biggest Loser.” 

Unlike “American Idol,” which saw 

ratings plummet in its most recent seasons, 

the show’s Swedish counterpart 

was a major hit under Blankens, 

pulling in an average of 51 percent of 

the country’s viewers. 

“Per is a creative and experienced 

executive who has been the show runner 

on the blockbuster ‘Swedish Idol’ 

for more than five seasons,” said Trish 

Kinane, the “Idol” executive producer 

for FremantleMedia North America. 

“He is extremely passionate about ‘Idol,’ 

and I’m very excited about his ideas 

and vision for keeping ‘Idol’ creatively 

vibrant.” 

Blankens added, “e ‘Idol’ franchise 

is a worldwide phenomenon, and I’m 

honored to be a part of the most popular 

of the franchises, ‘American Idol.’ ” 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | FALL 2013 2#

Vesterheim 

Treasure-trove of 

Norwegian-American 

history, culture 

PHOTO BY JO ANN WINISTORFER 

BY JO ANN WINISTORFER 

There’s an old expression in Norway: 

“Beware of the man with too many 

mangletrer.” 

An old Norwegian custom called for 

a suitor to woo the “yenta” of his fancy 

by giing her with a wooden mangletre 

(pronounced mang’-luh-tray) that he 

had hand-carved. Tradition had it that 

the girl would only accept the carver’s 

marriage proposal if she was pleased 

with the design and skill with which 

the mangletre was decorated. If she 

deemed it to be inferior, she would return 

it to the “gutt” who presented it to 

her, thus rejecting his proposal. 

us a lad with “too many mangletrer” 

would have been rejected in his 

efforts to gain a bride. He would then 

go back to work, craing an improved 

model to present to her (or perhaps to 

another). e more mangletres he had 

in his possession, the more rejections! 

What’s a mangletre, you ask? It’s a 

long, thin board used in the Old Country 

in conjunction with a wooden roller 

for smoothing wrinkles from cloth. A 

collection of these “antique irons” are 

among the 24,000-plus artifacts housed 

in the Vesterheim Norwegian American 

Museum in Decorah, Iowa. 

Vesterheim (meaning “western 

home” in Norse) is an independent,

Alison Dwyer, Vesterheim’s Collection 

Manager, retrieves a mangletre from the 

storage facilities. It’s one of more than 

24,000 artifacts held by the museum. 

nonprofit organization featuring one of 

the most comprehensive collections of 

Norwegian-American artifacts in the 

world. Among its collection are samples 

of fine, decorative and folk arts, plus tools 

and machinery of early agriculture, lumbering 

and other immigrant industries. 

Vesterheim is housed in four buildings 

on both sides of Decorah’s Water 

Street. e main building began life as 

a hotel. Several owners and a fire later, 

it became the Arlington House (circa 

1877), a luxury hotel. However, its distance 

from the depot made for a long, 

difficult ascent for train passengers 

planning a stay at the hotel. When a 

closer branch line failed to materialize, 

the hotel was doomed. 

It then morphed into a temporary 

dorm for nearby Luther College. e 

Lutheran Publishing House bought it 

in 1890. When the firm later moved its 

headquarters to Minneapolis, Luther 

College acquired it and turned it into a 

museum. By early 1900, the museum’s 

PHOTO BY MARY PAT FINN-HOAG 

exhibits focused on Norwegian and Norwegian-American 

culture. In 1933, the 

Norwegian American Historical Museum 

opened its doors in the old hotel. 

In the 1970s, the exterior of the 

building was restored to its original elegance 

with the addition of window caps 

and balcony railings. In 1975, King 

Olav V of Norway attended the dedication 

ceremony. Since then, the threestory-plus-basement 

structure has 

undergone such changes as a new front 

entrance, new museum lobby and a gi 

shop. More buildings—such as the 

Amdal-Odland Heritage Center directly 

across the street; the Westby- 

Torgerson Education Center 

(consisting of the Museum Store and 

the Bruening Visitor Center); and the 

Bauder-Landsgard Collections Study 

Center—are also part of the complex. 

Twelve historic buildings behind the 

headquarters make up its open-air division. 

Guides take visitors through a restored 

stone mill, dating from 1851; 

house and grist mill from Valdres, Norway; 

two pioneer log houses; a log 

parochial school; a blacksmith shop; a 

stabbur (Norwegian storage building); 

a shed for drying hops; an early Decorah 

house; and a prairie house and a 

Lutheran church, both moved from 

North Dakota to the museum grounds. 

Charlie Langton, editor of Vesterheim’s 

glossy, full-color magazine of the 

same name, showed us (photographer 

Mary Pat Finn-Hoag of Norfolk, Nebraska, 

and me) around the labyrinth of 

interconnected rooms on multiple 

floors. Around every corner was another 

amazing exhibit or painting. 

Langton explained that the exhibits 

represent three phases in an immigrant’s 

experience: life in Old Norway, 

the crossing, and life in America. 

Far from being “just” a museum, 

Vesterheim is also a center for folk-art 

education, preserving tradition 

through classes in Norwegian culture 

and folk art. 

Our next tour guide, Alison Dwyer, 

Vesterheim’s Collections Manager, led 

us through a myriad of classrooms for 

rosemaling (decorative painting), 

woodcarving and woodworking, knifemaking 

and textile arts, taught by 

skilled artisans from both sides of the 

Atlantic. Many of these artisans have 

earned Vesterheim Gold Medals in 

their respective arts. ese medals go 

to artists who have repeatedly won ribbons 

in the annual National Exhibition 

of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition. 

At any one time, only 15 to 20 percent 

of artifacts held in the museum are 

on display in either the open air division 

or its main building. e rest is 

stored in one of six storage facilities. Each 

artifact in storage has been catalogued 

and put on shelves with like items. 

Alison shows us through an upstairs 

room containing a sophisticated series 

of metal pull-out shelving. She picks up 

a rosemaled ale bowl from one of the 

shelves with her gloved hands. As we 

admire its beauty, she explains that the 

museum rotates its exhibits, periodically 

swapping items from the shelves 

with other artifacts on display. 

Across the narrow aisle from the 

smaller handcraed items loom the 

emigrant trunks, many brightly painted 

and bearing the scripted name of the 

owner on its side. 

Vesterheim is one of the 700-plus 

(out of 17,500) museums in the U.S. to 

earn accreditation by the American Association 

of Museums (AAM). 

A sampling of Vesterheim’s collection 

can be viewed online at: 

vesterheim.org. 

Meanwhile, take a tour of the museum 

on the following pages. Enjoy! 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | FALL 2013 1&

The exodus 

PHOTOS COURTESY VESTERHEIM 

Farewell, beloved homeland! Emigrant trunks, loaded with tools and goods for use in the 

New World, were hefted aboard ships that would carry their owners across the Atlantic 

to U.S. and Canadian ports. The sea voyage by sailing vessel might take two to three 

months. And when the weary travelers stepped ashore, they still had to venture many 

more miles inland before reaching their destination. Some managed to carry family 

keepsakes—textiles, silver ornaments, a hardanger fiddle, perhaps an ale bowl carved 

by their bestefar—to their new land. Many of these items, donated to Vesterheim Norwegian 

American Museum by their descendants, serve as a legacy to these valiant pioneers 

who transplanted their roots deep into the soil of America. 

1* 

FALL 2013 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS

Unto a new land 

CENTER PHOTOS BY MARY PAT FINN-HOAG 

PHOTO COURTESY VESTERHEIM 

Life was hard for those who arrived first. They cleared the forests and fought disease, 

grasshopper plagues, prairie fires and sometimes, Indians. The open-air section of 

Vesterheim features a log home (center, right), a Lutheran Church (left), an old schoolhouse, 

a mill, a stabbur and other buildings established by the pioneers. Maryanne 

Esgate, volunteer guide, shows visitors through the authentically furnished home of one 

of the original settlers. The spirits of the former inhabitants seem to linger there still.

Keeping 

heritage 

alive 

PHOTOS COURTESY VESTERHEIM 

The crafts of Old Norway are alive and 

well, thanks to folk-art classes ongoing 

at Vesterheim. Above: Rosemalers try 

their newly honed skills. Left: Gold 

Medal woodcarver Harley Refsal demonstrates 

technique to a student. Below: 

Weaving classes yield colorful tapestries, 

table runners and more. 

2) 


Sigmund Aarseth’s painting of the emigrant ship Restauration 

hangs just outside the gathering room. Right: Sigmund’s primstav 

interpretations line the walls of the gathering room, now named in his honor. 

TOP PHOTOS BY JO ANN WINISTORFER 

Sigmund Aarseth: 

Artist, teacher, friend 

Vesterheim, the Norwegian American Museum in Decorah, 

Iowa, lost one of its most beloved artists, teachers 

and mentors last December when Sigmund Aarseth of 

Valders, Norway, passed away. 

e walls in the museum’s gathering room are covered 

with Sigmund’s colorful interpretations of symbols on ancient 

Norse calendar sticks called “primstavs.” e room, 

painted in 1999 and named for the artist, is a lasting tribute 

to his memory. 

Sigmund was born in Saebo on the west coast of Norway 

in 1936. He had two brothers who are also artists. He married 

Ingebjørg and moved to Volbu, Valdres, her home area. 

He lived there for 50 years, in the old-style farm compound 

he created. e barn doubled as his studio. 

While studying arts and cras in Oslo, he earned status as 

a Master Painter. His earlier projects varied from sign and 

banner painting to interior decoration, restoration and architectural 

drawing. His interest in rosemaling, the Norwegian 

decorative art, brought him to the Telemark area, where he 

studied with Gunnar Nordbo, a noted rosemaler. 

Sigmund’s first projects, commissioned in 1965 by the 

Norwegian Board of Export, were related to trade shows in 

large malls. In 1968, he was invited to teach rosemaling 

classes at Vesterheim. Since then, he returned every year or 

so to the United States—to teach, exhibit and paint. He has 

done dozens of interiors, most notably the Ann Sather 

restaurants in Chicago; historical buildings in Spring Grove, 

Minnesota; and wall scenes at the Norsk Høstfest in Minot, 

North Dakota. His rosemaling was illustrated in two books 

which he co-authored with Margaret Miller in 1974 and 

Diane Edwards in 2001. 

Sigmund and Ingebjørg outside of the barn-studio in Volbu, Valders. 

Sigmund’s fame in Norway is mostly as a landscape 

painter, who painted directly from life. He spent the majority 

of his time outdoors, catching the ever-changing light and 

seasons of Norway on canvas. During the long winters he 

painted interiors, many of which are featured in his book 

“Painted Rooms,” authored by his son, Gudmund Aarseth. 

In 2008 he collaborated with son Gudmund and daughter 

Marit on a book on his landscape painting, “Norway, Painted 

in Light and Color.” He has exhibited in Norway, Sweden, 

Iceland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, Spain, the 

Canary Islands and the United States. 

Sigmund’s enthusiasm and his emphasis on the Norway of 

tradition and history culminated in his being awarded the St. 

Olaf Medal of Culture in 2009, given by the King of Norway 

for his work in introducing people worldwide to the Norwegian 

culture. 

Sigmund leaves his wife, Ingebjørg; three children, 

Halldis, Gudmund and Marit; and three grandchildren, 

Andreas, Joachim and Sunniva. 

PHOTO COURTESY AARSETH FAMILY 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | FALL 2013 2!

The 

Wayfinder 

by Larrie 

Wanberg 

The “Danish Capital of America”— 

Solvang, California—rests in the 

Central Valley near Santa Barbara, 

where a quaint, nostalgic town seems 

almost transplanted in magical ways 

from the homeland. 

Sunset Magazine recognized the city 

as one of the “Ten Most Beautiful 

Towns in the Western United States.” 

e trees along the streets at night 

seem like a year-round festival of lights. 

Days are bustling with visitors and lineups 

of tour buses, and 

i 

FALL 2013 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS 

RVs flow steadily. 

e population of 

Solvang is slightly over 

5,200, located a couple of 

miles off a main north 

and south U.S. 101 highway. 

Solvang has 14 hotels, 

32 restaurants, 5 

museums and upwards 

to 150 shops and storefronts. 

e town attracts one and-a-half 

million visitors annually. Wine-tasting 

shops in town draw from the 85 

wineries across the local landscape. 

Art, architecture and pastries. e 

city is alive with art, where galleries 

line the streets, and authentic bakeries 

or coffee shops are plentiful. 

e city is known for its arts in thea - 

ter, photography, painting, fiber art and 

textiles, culinary art, Indian art, woodworking 

in carving and furnituremaking, 

brewing and winemaking, and 

even garden arts. 

Within a circle of a few miles of 

Solvang (which means “sunny fields” in 

Danish), tourists are offered an adventure 

in three primary cultures: the 

Danish Village, the Spanish frontier village 

of Santa Ynez, and the Chumash 

Indians community with its Casino Resort. 

e resort, which opened in 2004, 

attracts about 6,000 visitors per day. 

I spent some winter months in 

Solvang, researching my Danish greatgrandfather, 

who was a wagon maker 

Solvang, California 

‘Little 

Denmark’ 

 

in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in the late 

1880s. He built “prairie schooners,” 

large covered wagons which were used 

to transport supplies from ports in the 

Great Lakes and immigrant families 

from railheads near Chicago westward 

in frontier times. 

e Danish side of my Nordic family 

tree originated in Langeland, Denmark, 

and when I’m in Solvang, I feel that I 

am at “home” visually with my ancestors 

in a distant village. I fantasize over 

good coffee and real “Danish” pastry 

that maybe some of my relatives found 

their way here, or even experienced a 

part of the journey in a prairie schooner 

made by “Hansen Wagon works.” 

A folk school settlement. Many 

early pioneer Danish immigrants hopscotched 

across the West in a series of 

seven folk school (Folkhøg skoler) settlements. 

Solvang was the seventh and 

furthest west. Folk schools from Nordic 

countries traditionally combine academics 

with heritage arts and religion. 

Solvang was organized in 1911 by a 

group of Danish educators to preserve 

a cultural colony. ese pioneers created 

a folk high school named “Atterdag 

College,” and nearly 100 original immigrant 

families resettled in the new town. 

What makes Solvang so unique is 

that much of the art that was transported 

by the folk school movement 

from Denmark is preserved and practiced 

even today in this one town. 

Businesses sport Danish facades. 

e Danish architecture of Solvang’s 

central village is what sets it apart from 

other rural towns. 

Aer World War II, city planners, 

led by architect Earl Petersen, transformed 

older buildings throughout the 

main center of Solvang with Danishstyle 

facades from the so-called 

“provincial” period. I have enjoyed coffee 

with Earl in the fashionable hotel 

dining room of the Petersen Village 

Inn, hearing his history and stories 

from earlier days. 

His son Adam sets the pace for hospitality 

as current manager of the family 

owned Mortensen Bakery, while his 

brother Aaron developed the Garden

Café and the café “Chomp,” where locals 

gather. 

In another popular eatery called 

Olsen Bakkeri, a large banner serves as a 

backdrop for showcases loaded with exotic 

pastries. e banner reads: “Cakes, 

Sweets, Art and Love each day, make all 

your troubles fade away.” e slogan 

speaks truth, once one tastes the goodies. 

Since 1970, Bent and Susy Olsen 

have employed a fourth-generation line 

of master bakers to produce traditional 

pastries that visitors carry away in 

shopping bags or order online for shipping 

anywhere. e Olsens also own 

the Red Viking Restaurant that specializes 

in Danish cuisine and the Solvang 

Inn and Cottages, where I spent time 

enjoying a heritage of hospitality. 

From fairytales to theater. e 

statue of Hans Christian Anderson in 

the city park along Main Street adds to 

the town’s fairytale ambiance. e Hans 

Christian Andersen library and museum 

on Main Street, combined with a 

book store and a sidewalk café, houses 

a collection of his stories in print and 

in display cases that depict his life and 

history. Tourists can buy a book of 

fairytales and enjoy it themselves for a 

few moments over coffee before they 

wrap it and mail to their grandchild. 

Where imagination and reality come 

closest together in this charming town 

is across the street in the “Actors Corner 

Center.” e building is a landmark 

beauty of architecture in Solvang and 

one of the most 

enchanting places 

in town, freshly redecorated 

as a 

gallery, a new coffee 

shop, and a center for 

training of children and 

youth as actors or storytellers. 

e owners are Santo Cervello and 

his wife, Grace Lebecka. Santo is an 

artist and former theater director who 

previously produced national radio 

programs and founded a children’s 

theater program over many years in 

Canada. Grace manages the Center. 

Santo believes that children’s theater 

is one of the most empowering experiences 

for learning. “It builds empathy 

and understanding if one can put oneself 

into the role of another and understand 

the ‘character’ within,” he says. 

Santo explained that costumes, 

masks and props help children translate 

today’s stories from Denmark into a 

drama that they can act out. e husband-wife 

team performs enactments 

of Danish folktales. 

During the day, art is showcased in 

two windows separated by a wide 

courtyard. One serves as a gallery of 

personal artwork by husband Santo; the 

other offers the culinary art of a European 

café—wife Grace’s forté. 

In the inner recesses of the 

courtyard, families at outdoor 

tables, in the dimness of an 

evening, create echoes with 

sounds of excitement and 

laughter. e echoes reverberate 

pleasantly from wall 

to wall until the sounds make 

their way to the street or beyond 

the roofs. SP 

Editor’s note: “The Wayfinder,” authored 

by Dr. Larrie Wanberg of Grand Forks and 

Stanton, North Dakota, features Nordic 

heritage places across North America. His 

“real” home, though, is on the World Wide 

Web, where he promotes preservation of 

family and community heritage through 

Web-based historical vignettes. 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | FALL 2013 j

Rasmus Klump still sailing 

the world after 50 years! 

Rasmus Klump is a comic strip series for 

children created in 1951 by the Danish wife and 

husband team Carla and Vilhelm Hansen. 

The series tells the adventures of the bear cub 

Rasmus Klump and his friends: Pingo (a penguin), 

Pelle (a pelican), Pilskaden (a turtle), Skæg (a seal) 

and others. Always dressed in red dungarees with 

white polka dots, Rasmus Klump travels the world 

on board his boat Mary, which he builds with 

his friends in the first episode. 

Rasmus Klump began as a 

newspaper strip and was successfully 

published in translation worldwide, 

with total sales running over 30 million. 

When fans appealed for more, the 

Hansens began publishing 

storylines in book form. A 

television series was recorded in 

Danish between 1997 and 2000. 

Fisherman Kristján 

Lár Gunnarsson, who lives 

in Stykkishólmur, West 

Iceland, sent a message in a 

bottle from the islands 

Bjarneyjar in Breiðafjörður 

bay in 1995, when he was 

there collecting eggs with 

his family. This summer, 

Kristján happened upon 

the same bottle. 

Kristján, who was a kid 

at the time, and the other children who 

were there, wrote down how many eggs 

they had collected, put the note in an 

Egils Appelsín soda drink plastic bottle 

and tossed it in the ocean, visir.is 

reports. 

2^ 

WINTER 20142015 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS 

•✓ 

NORDIC P 

KS 

NORDIC PICKS 

Let Trampe 

push you 

up the hill! 

(Above): 

Proper form is 

important 

when using 

Trampe. Keep 

your right foot 

on the 

footplate, lean 

forward, and 

enjoy the ride! 

Message in a bottle returns to owner 

Nineteen years later, 

when Kristján was 

collecting eider down in 

the Breiðafjörður area, 12 

km (7.5 miles) from 

Bjarneyjar, earlier this 

summer, he found some 

bottles which he collected 

and put in a garbage bag. 

Recently, when 

Kristján was sorting the 

bottles in his garage, he 

noticed that there was a piece of paper 

inside one of the bottles. It was his 

message from 1995. 

“It’s unbelievable, I’m speechless … 

I will frame the message and hang it in 

our house in Bjarneyjar,” Kristján said. 

Trampe is 

the world’s first 

bicycle lift intended for 

urban areas. The prototype 

was built in 1993. During its 15 

years of operation, Trampe pushed 

more than 200,000 cyclists up the 130 

meter (426 ft.) long hill Brubakken in 

Trondheim. Already from the 

beginning, it has become one of the 

most popular tourist attractions in 

Trondheim. 

In 2013, Trampe was upgraded to 

meet new safety regulations. The new 

industrialized version, CycloCable®, 

will be introduced to the international 

market by the French cableway 

company SKIRAIL in the Poma Group. 

Trampe is free to use. It works like 

this: The right foot is placed on the 

starting point (the left foot stays on the 

bicycle pedal). After pushing the start 

button, the user is pushed forward and 

a footplate emerges. 

A common mistake among tourists 

and other first-time users is that they 

don’t keep their right leg outstretched 

and their body tilted forward. This 

makes it hard to maintain balance on 

the footplate, and can result in falling 

off. 

In the summer months, Trampe is 

used extensively by both commuting 

inhabitants of Trondheim and tourists.

Finnish innovation 

creates trash-free 

deliveries 

Unboxing and disposing of piles 

of packaging material is deemed a 

necessary evil of online shopping. But 

not anymore; a Finnish startup thinks 

it has the solution. 

Every year over 3.7 billion disposable 

packages are delivered to 

consumers in Europe solely from e- 

commerce shopping. The result is vast 

amounts of waste, something Finnish 

sustainable design startup Repack 

believes can be avoided. The company 

has created packaging which is reusable 

up to 50 times, returnable and stylish. 

How Repack works is simple: When 

shopping online, a customer chooses 

Repack as the delivery option for a 

small extra fee, usually around five 

euros. After their 

shopping is delivered, 

the customer folds 

the packing and 

places it into a post 

office or post box 

anywhere in the EU 

(European Union). 

When the webstore 

receives the returned 

packaging, the user is rewarded 

with a voucher (usually ten 

euros) to use at any web store 

using Repack service. 

According to Repack, its 

postal returns system reduces 

CO 2 emissions by up to 75 

percent in comparison to 

recycling and remaking new, 

disposable packaging. 

(Left): Various 

size reusable 

packages. 

(Below): The 

packages are 

folded and 

dropped in 

any EU Post 

box for 

return. 

May we offer you a hot, rich, BIG cup of coffee? 

The TV spokeswoman for Folgers Coffee, made by 

Procter & Gamble, was introduced in 1963. Mrs. Olson 

(Virginia Christine) was a Swedish woman who seemed to 

know all the young couples in town whose husbands never 

asked for a second cup of coffee. Of course, that was her cue 

to sell them on the idea of Folgers Coffee, whose 

catchphrases were “Mountain Grown” and “It’s the richest 

kind.” The commercials ended in 1985. 

Virginia made her motion picture debut in the 

1943 film Edge of Darkness starring Errol Flynn 

and set in World War II Norway. As fate 

would have it, she played a peasant girl 

named Miss Olson. 

Born in 1920 as Virginia Christine 

Kraft in Stanton, Iowa, the 5-foot-4 

actress appeared in more than 150 

movies and 300 television shows. Her 

last TV series job was providing voices 

to the cartoon series Scooby and 

Scrappy-Doo (1979). Her movies 

included High Noon (1952), The Invasion of the Body 

Snatchers (1956), Judgment at Nuremburg (1961) and Guess 

Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967). 

In 1971, Virginia’s hometown honored her Folgers 

commercial work by transforming the city water tower into a 

giant coffee pot (120 feet high). 

Due to an overhaul of the city’s water system in the year 

2000, the coffee pot water tower became obsolete for 

its main role, and a new larger, 150,000-gallon 

water tower, made to look like a cup and 

saucer, was added. But the old coffee pot 

tower, unused and expensive to 

maintain just as a lankmark, was in 

danger of being scrapped until just last 

year when funding became available to 

save the coffee pot tower. So, just this past 

spring, the water tower was lowered and 

relocated to the Stanton Historical Society 

grounds in the heart of town. But instead 

of towering 125 feet in the air, the world's 

largest coffee pot now will be tucked 

among the rooftops, with its underbelly a 

mere three or four feet off the ground— 

making it easier for tourists to photograph. 

And it will be lavished with a 

$73,000 paint job to make 

sure the coffee pot gleams for 

decades to come. 

On July 24, 1996, 

Virginia Christine died in 

Los Angeles due to heart 

ailment complications.

T h e l i g h t s h o w 

Scandinavia is again hosting the most beautiful light 

show on the planet. Shown here are views from 

previous years, but this year promises to be one of 

the most spectacular displays in recent times. 

Lola Akinmade Åkerström/imagebank.sweden.se 

Summer Northern Lights, Finland. 

The 

Kakslauftanen 

Igloo Village, in the 

Saariselkä Fell area of Finnish 

Lapland, provides a unique 

Northern Lights viewing experience 

from inside glass igloos. 

They’re made from thermal glass, 

keeping guests warm in Arctic 

conditions. All have luxury 

beds and a private toilet, 

with shared shower 

facilities. 

Finnish Winter Lights (Lapland) 

Northern Sweden (Jukkasjärvi, Lapland) 

2$ 


Now this is the way to enjoy the show, 

from a comfortable bed inside 

your own cozy igloo.

i s s p e c t a c u l a r ! 

The physics behind the auroras 

Photo by Visit Finland 

The typical “northern lights,” or 

aurora borealis, are caused by 

collisions between fast-moving 

electrons and the oxygen and 

nitrogen in Earth’s upper 

atmosphere. The electrons – 

which come from the 

magnetosphere, the region of 

space controlled by Earth’s 

magnetic field – transfer 

energy to the oxygen and 

nitrogen gases, making them 

“excited”. As they “calm 

down” and return to their 

normal state, they emit 

photons, small bursts of energy 

in the form of light. 

When a large number of 

these collisions occur, the 

oxygen and nitrogen can emit 

enough light for the eye to 

detect. This ghostly light will 

produce the dance of colors in 

the night sky we call the 

aurora. Most of the light comes 

from altitudes between 60 and 

200 miles. Since the aurora is 

much dimmer than sunlight, it 

cannot be seen from the 

ground in the daytime. 

Why the different 

colors? 

The color of the aurora 

depends on which gas – 

oxygen or nitrogen – is being 

excited by the electrons, and 

on how excited it becomes. 

Oxygen emits either a 

greenish-yellow light (the most 

familiar color of the aurora) or a 

red light; nitrogen generally 

gives off a blue light. The 

blending of these colors can 

also produce purples, pinks and 

white. The oxygen and nitrogen 

also emit ultraviolet light, 

which can be detected by 

special cameras on satellites 

but not by the human eye. 

Why the different 

shapes? 

Scientists are still trying to 

answer this question. The 

shape of the aurora depends on 

the source of the electrons in 

the magnetosphere and on the 

processes that cause the 

electrons to precipitate into 

the atmosphere. Dramatically 

different shapes can be seen 

over the course of a single 

night. 

Do other planets have 

auroras? 

Auroras have been observed on 

Saturn, Jupiter and Uranus. 

Any planet with a magnetic 

field and an atmosphere should 

likely have auroras. 

Popular myths about 

the aurora 

• Auroras are caused by 

sunlight reflecting off the 

polar ice cap. 


moonlight reflecting off ice 

crystals in the atmosphere. 


electrons arriving directly 

from the sun and guided by 

Earth’s magnetic field into 

the polar atmosphere. 

In any of these cases, the 

aurora would look very different 

from the beautiful displays we 

see. 

Photo by 

Sven-Erik Knoff 

Visitnorway.com 

Top photo: Northern 

Lights, and the Imagine 

Peace Tower, near Reykjavík, 

Iceland; Above: 

Norway; Right Sweden; 

Below: Iceland. 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | WINTER 20132014 2% 

Fredrik Broms/imagebank.sweden.se

Adapting to change 

Back in earlier times, mariners 

might spend weeks between sailings. 

They needed a place to stow their beive 

me your tired, your poor, 

Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, 

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, 

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, 

I lift my lamp beside the golden door. 

—Emma Lazarus 

SeafarersInternationalHouse:Aharborofhope 

by Jo Ann Winistorfer 

What prompted Marsh Drege, 

born and raised in the most 

land-locked state in the United States, 

to answer the call to minister to men of 

the sea? 

Reared in Minot, North Dakota, 

Drege—a Lutheran pastor—spent 14 

years as a camp and retreat director at 

Metigoshe Ministries, a summer camp 

and retreat center located along a lake 

in the north central part of the state. 

When the call came, he and his wife, 

Ann (nee Siegle), checked out New 

York, as well as the mission’s headquarters—the 

Seafarers International 

House—in New York City. 

They were hooked! 

That was in 2008. Since then, the 

Rev. Marsh Luther Drege has been pastor 

and executive director of the Seafarers 

International House, a guest house 

for seafarers, sojourners and others. 

Only these days, instead of tending 

to a flock of campers who gather at the 

1$ 


waters of Lake Metigoshe for summer 

fun and camaraderie, Drege’s primary 

mission is to serve seafarers whose 

ships, fresh from voyages on the world’s 

oceans, dock in the port of New York. 

A historical mission 

The seaman’s house began in 1873, 

when the Church of Sweden sent an 

Augustana Lutheran pastor to start a 

mission to Swedish seafarers and 

Swedish immigrants in the Port of New 

York. Dedicated in 1874 (150 years 

ago), its purpose was to serve as a seafarers’ 

hotel, a spiritual home away 

from home for seamen on shore leave 

and for immigrants seeking homes in 

America. 

For two decades, the Swedish 

Lutheran Synod collaborated with a 

similar mission for German seafarers to 

provide hospitality and accommodations. 

On March 6, 1898, the ministry was 

incorporated by the Augustana Lutheran 

Synod and named the “Evangelical 

Lutheran Augustana Synod’s Immigrant 

Home in New York City.” The 

emphasis was now primarily on serving 

immgrants at their port of entry. 

World War I (1914-1918) slowed 

immigration to a trickle. Following the 

Stock Market collapse of 1929, men left 

homeless and destitute by the Great 

Depression (1919-1933) were included 

under the mission’s wings. 

In 1962, the Augustana Evengelical 

Lutheran Church joined three other 

Lutheran bodies to form the Lutheran 

Church in America. A final merger in 

1988 gave birth to the Evangelical 

Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). 

In addition, the German Seamen’s Mission 

of New York and the Lutheran 

Home for Women would eventually 

merge with the seaman’s house to form 

a more inclusive mission.

PHOTO BY NOAH LEON 

longings and regain their land legs before 

heading back to sea. 

a lot has changed since then. it’s 

rare for seamen now to have more than 

a day or two away from their ship. for 

security reasons, some are not allowed 

shore leave at all. 

“few people spend a lifetime at sea 

anymore,” Drege says. “Now, our seafaring 

guests are younger and just passing 

through town.” 

in 1963, the guest house reinvented 

itself, moving to its present location 

and opening its doors to visiting pas- 

Pastor Drege (top photo) oversees the Seafarers International House in Manhattan’s heart. 

tors and student groups. in 1986, the 

name changed to seafarers and international 

house; the “and” has since 

been dropped from the name. 

the guest house is a hub for the relligious 

community. there are meeting 

rooms to hold business conferences, retreats, 

education forums and fellowship 

opportunities. at the same time, it continues 

to be a place of refuge for immigrants, 

sojourners and asylum seekers. 

Numerous congregations across the 

country have gathered there to connect 

with the “City service” program to volunteer 

at soup kitchens, meal delivery 

programs, neighborhood refurbishment 

projects and community Bible 

school programs. 

some of its 84 rooms are rented out 

to the public at reasonable rates, with 

the revenue going to support the port 

chaplains. 

the facilities are located at the corner 

of east 15th street and irving Place 

in Manhattan, one block east of Union 

square and near several subway lines. 

Life at sea 

approximately 3 million people 

make their living on the sea. twothirds 

of them are fishermen; the others 

(excluding members of the world’s 

navies) spend most of their time working 

aboard ships ranging from tankers 

to merchant carriers. 

“we live in a global village,” Drege 

points out. “it’s said that without seafarers, 

half the world would starve and the 

other half would freeze.” 

the average ship is the size of an 

eight-story building laid sideways. 

Crews number from 20 to 24, including 

the captain. Many of the officers are 

scandinavian, according to Drege, 

whose own roots are in Norway. 

Crew members are mostly from 

third world countries; around 60 percent 

are from the Philippines, india or 

China. 

Crew contracts generally call for 10 

months or more of service at modest 

wage rates and few benefits. for those 

10 months, the seafarer works and lives 

in virtual isolation in the middle of the 

ocean. he has no access to television, 

phone service or daily newspapers. 

when he runs out of toothpaste and 

other necessities, he barely has any 

time or opportunity to shop, to see a 

dentist or even to call home. 

and then there’s the condition of the 

vessel. some ships are more seaworthy 

than others; many are older and may be 

in poor condition. 

“ships in which most accidents take 

place are more than 15 years old,” 

Drege says, noting,“seafarers in these 

ships have to work more to keep the 

ships seaworthy, and that causes more 

fatigue in seafarers.” 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | FALL 2014 1%

Crews on container and vehicle-carrying vessels are of special concern to Pastor Drege, 

who tends to their needs through his port chaplains. 

in those 10 months at sea, homesickness 

can set in. a family member 

may pass away. there may be an illness 

in the family. Or the seafarer may receive 

a Dear John letter. Or he may 

have a child he’s never seen. 

“his mother may have just died; his 

wife may have left him,” Drege says. 

in addition, seafaring is one of the 

most dangerous occupations in the 

world. “life on the high seas is not always 

glamorous,” Drege says. 

the ship may encounter a storm, 

rough seas, mechanical difficulties, 

fires—the list is long. 

Drege cites the example of a recent 

ship that endured three storms. “its 

cargo included cars, and they were so 

severely damaged they incurred $400 

million in insurance claims,” he says. 

add piracy to the list and you get an 

idea of how harrowing life at sea can 

be. there are no easy answers to piracy, 

but the emotional toll on seafarers is 

enormous. 

Port chaplains lend aid 

for the brief time that the ship is in 

port, the seafarer is regarded as a security 

risk and often denied shore leave. 

since 9/11, homeland security has 

clamped down on shipping terminals. 

“it’s hard to get off the ship,” Drege 

says, noting, “sadly, some seafarers can 

1^ 


only view the statue of liberty from 

their porthole.” 

that’s where the port chaplains— 

mostly elCa pastors—come in. 

“Our port chaplains board merchant 

ships in the ports of Baltimore, Phila - 

delphia, New York/New Jersey and 

Connecticut/Rhode island with a fleet 

of 25 cell phones plus international 

telephone cards, with wi-fi hubs for 

skype communications, and newspapers 

and magazines. 

“last year the port chaplains visited 

2,222 ships,” Drege says. “we bring 

them devotionals, Bibles—sometimes 

even rosaries, if requested.” 

seafarers may be hindus, Buddhists 

or Muslims as well as Christians. 

“we bring services to the ship,” 

Drege says. services may including the 

blessing of the ship, or a memorial 

service for a suicide victim. 

when homeland security allows, the 

port chaplains will take the men ashore 

to go shopping, to see a doctor or dentist, 

or just to “stand” on solid land. 

“thirty years ago, the crew had two 

weeks on shore. Now they have 12 

hours to load and unload,” Drege says. 

“One of the best services our port 

chaplains offer to seafarers is getting 

them off the ship for an hour or two. it’s 

so important to their well-being.” 

the seafarers international house 

has seven vans to take the men on errands, 

sightseeing, to the clinic or 

drugstore, or perhaps to Victoria’s secret 

(where they often buy lotion for 

their sweethearts back home). 

Port chaplains listen to the stories, 

the hopes and joys, sorrows and concerns 

that the seafarer has no one else 

to tell. if the person is traumatized, the 

chaplains offer prayers and comfort. 

“the seafarers are real people no 

less than ourselves, and they are entitled 

to our care, compassion and community 

support,” Drege says. 

shortly before Christmas, port 

chaplains turn into santas, “bearing 

gifts” to the seafarers—satchels containing 

items such as hooded sweatshirts, 

hand-knitted caps, socks and 

t-shirts, cans of nuts, and candy. 

items in the Christmas-at-sea packets 

comes from churches around the 

country. 

Immigrants, asylum 

while the statue of liberty extends 

a welcoming arm to those entering the 

U.s. via the Port of New York, nearby 

stands the elizabeth Detention Center—the 

temporary home for those 

needing asylum. 

Upon entering the country, asylum 

seekers are held there for the 12 to 24 

months before their asylum requests 

are decided. 

seafarers international house helps 

bridge their housing needs between detention 

and independent living. 

“last year we served 19 asylum 

seekers and domestic violence survivors,” 

Drege says. “we also visit immigrants 

in the detention center.” 

Drege says the re-emerging target 

mission at seafarers international 

house—reaching out to help refugees 

and asylum seekers with lodging, pastoral 

care, social assistance, advocacy 

and prayer—has been as much a blessing 

to him as it has been a blessing to 

those being helped. 

“Our mission to sojourners in New 

York City is to help them reclaim their 

lives amid adversity,” Drege says. “we 

seek to be a home away from home.” 

— — — 

For information or to make a room 

reservation, visit: www.sihnyc.org

PHOTO BY NOAH LEON 

The voice at the 

other end of the 

line may ask, 

“Mom, can you 

pick up us?” 

“Mom” is Sigrid 

Jaegersen 

Erickson, a port 

chaplain for 

Seafarers 

International 

House in New 

York City. 

There’s love and laughter on the line! 

by Jo Ann Winistorfer 

atypical day for sigrid ingeborg 

helene Jaegersen erickson (yes, 

that’s her full name!) might begin with 

a phone call: “Mom, can you help us?” 

the call comes not from her biological 

children (she hasn’t any), but from a 

seafarer aboard a container or cargo 

ship docked in the ports of New York 

or New Jersey for a brief time. 

“these seafarers are my kids and 

grandkids,” sigrid explains. “they call 

me their american mom.” 

sigrid is one of seven port chaplains 

for the seafarers international house 

(sih) in New York City, a ministry of 

the evangelical lutheran Church of 

america. she keeps her schedule flexible 

enough to answer such calls. 

since ships may come into port late 

in the evening, sigrid may drive down 

to the docks in the wee hours to touch 

base with her “children.” 

her husband, Charles (who’s 

swedish and in his 80s), worries about 

her when she stays out until 1 or 2 in 

the morning. (sigrid, in her late 60s, is 

three-fourths Norwegian—and proud 

of both of those facts.) 

her “charges” may come from as far 

away as Ukraine, sri lanka, Russia, 

China or the Phillipines. they’re 

mostly men. they may be Christian, 

Muslim, hindu or nothing at all. 

Most know at least some english, as 

that’s the preferred language on most 

ships. for sigrid, who says she’s picked 

up a few words in each tongue, the 

most universal language is loving and 

caring. and laughing—something that 

comes naturally to her. 

from 22 to 26 crew members man 

each ship, but not all are allowed shore 

leave for security reasons or because of 

work schedules. the ships they work 

on may stow up to 5,000 containers or 

5,000 cars. Most ships are not in port 

for more than a day—just long enough 

for unloading. Before that, the men 

may have been at sea for weeks or 

months, confined in cramped quarters 

and performing hard labor for long 

hours. 

Dr. samuel Johnson (1709-1784), 

author of the acclaimed “a Dictionary 

of the english language,” once wrote: 

“seafaring is like being in jail, with the 

chance of being drowned.” 

indeed, there are many dangerous 


Above: Some of Sigrid’s seafaring “sons” pose for a photo. At left, a container ship typical 

of one the boys might crew. (Photos on these two pages by Sigrid Erickson.) 

situations aboard ship—including 

storms. sigrid hears the stories from 

seamen who experienced stormy seas 

first-hand. 

“On one ship, the captain put the 

whole crew in an inside room while he 

guided the ship through a storm,” she 

says. “Outside, 30- to 40-foot waves 

rose as high as the wheelhouse.” 

On another ship, all the dishes were 

broken during a storm—with no chance 

to replace them until the next port was 

reached. the sound of the engine, the 

vibration of the ship, strange foods—all 

are disconcerting to anyone not used to 

being aboard an ocean-going vessel. 

Go-fer girl 

Once in port, it’s often difficult 

(sometimes impossible) for the men to 

go shopping to replace staple items such 

as toothpaste or shampoo. in such 

cases, sigrid shops for the requested 

items herself, based on their list of 

needed supplies. 

“there’s a shopping mall near the 

port where i pick these things up for 

them,” she says. 

and if it’s deodorant that’s needed? 

“well, that’s an emergency trip!” she 

quips. 

another much-requested item is vitamins. 

“i think they’re keeping the 

1* 


Centrum company in business,” she 

says with a hearty laugh. 

Many calls, sigrid says, begin with, 

“Mom, can you pick up us?” that’s just 

the way they say it, she claims. 

that’s where sih’s white, 12-passenger 

van with the seafoam green logo 

comes in. it’s one of seven used for this 

purpose by the port chaplains. 

sigrid pops on a red cap over her 

blond hair, grips the wheel and manipulates 

the van to the shipyard. there, 

she packs the vehicle with her human 

cargo. 

“i’m supposed to have 12 people, but 

i’ve noticed a lot more heads in the 

rear-view mirror,” she says. 

Most of them want to go shopping, 

she says. Others may want to wire 

money home to their family. still others 

may just want to see the sights or get a 

bite to eat. 

the main goal, sigrid says, is to get 

them off the ship for the sake of their 

mental health. 

Sea salt in her blood 

sigrid can relate to the long absense 

of a loved one: her father was 

a seafarer from leka island in Nord 

trondelag, Norway. in the late 

1930s, he served as engineer on a 

45-foot boat that was sailed from 

Norway to New York to test its ability 

to serve as a lifesaving vessel for the 

just-formed Norwegian coast guard. 

the boat—dubbed the Colin archer— 

passed the test. (it is now in a living 

museum in Oslo, Norway). 

her dad’s occupation led to months 

away from home. “My dad wasn’t there 

for the delivery of any of his four kids,” 

sigrid says. “he was stuck on the ships.” 

sigrid was the second of the four, 

the second girl—followed by two boys. 

when she was born, her dad had 

wished for a son to carry on his life at 

sea. But neither of sigrid’s brothers had 

any interest in the seafaring life. 

“every day i’m at the docks, i look 

up and say, ‘Dad, do you 

see who’s down here 

at the ports?’ ” 

sigrid says.

she credits her dad as “one of the 

reasons i’m doing what i’m doing. it 

was part of my heritage to feel the loss 

of not having a family member home.” 

the pastor of her church, Redeemer 

lutheran in Dumont, New Jersey, was 

on the board of the seafarers international 

house. he put sigrid in touch 

with the need for a port chaplain. that 

was nearly nine years ago. 

“seafarers international house is 

amazing—it’s like a lifeboat,” she says, 

noting what a blessing it is to serve the 

seafarers and represent that organization. 

“People don’t really understand the 

need of these seafarers. how do you 

think all the stuff you get comes to 

your store? Most is shipped on the 

water,” she says. “we should be respectful 

of them and thankful to them; without 

their work, we would have very 

little.” 

‘Mom’ to the rescue 

what men fresh from the sea miss 

most is keeping in touch with their 

home and family. Popular stops for the 

van are walmart or Best Buy—places 

where they can pick up electronic items 

that enable them to contact parents, 

wives, sweethearts, kids. 

“they buy cell phones and siM 

cards, then send pictures of themselves 

to their loved ones via skype or visit 

them via facetime,” sigrid says. 

One sunday, she drove to the port. 

Pulling up to the front of a seaman’s 

church building, she spied a seafarer 

sitting on the concrete steps. 

Sigrid is proud of her Norwegian roots. 

She’s a member and former president of her 

Sons of Norway chapter, sings in her church 

choir. and belongs to a Norwegian dance 

group that performed at Norsk Høstfest 

some years ago. At right: “Lilly” acts as ambassador 

for those riding in the SIH van. 

“The guys love her,” Sigrid says. 

finding him on the verge of tears, 

sigrid asked him what was wrong. “he 

had walked from the ship to the seaman’s 

church, only to find out it was 

closed,” she says. 

the building had wifi access, and 

he had wanted to check his computer 

to see a picture of his new baby, whom 

he had not yet seen. But his computer 

was out of juice. 

“i said, ‘Come over here and plug 

into my van.’ with the signal coming 

from the outside of the building and 

the current from the van, we opened up 

the post. and there was his wife 

and the new baby!’ ” 

in another case, a 

“rating”—the lowest 

seaman on the totem 

pole as far as wages 

and perks are concerned—had 

gotten a 

promotion. the new 

position required 

him to stay aboard 

the ship for three 

more months. the 

only problem: he was 

scheduled to be 

married within that 

time! he was forced 

to make a choice between his new job 

and his wedding. 

Many of the men have met “Mom” 

on past port calls. some who haven’t 

might say something like, “My uncle 

told me about you; he said i’d be lucky 

to get you.” 

sigrid makes herself available for 

emergencies—such as a seafarer being 

stranded or lost who needs to be picked 

up and returned to the ship, or an 

emergency doctor or dentist visit. 

On many of these trips, sigrid’s chihuahua, 

lilliput (“lilly” for short) rides 

along in a tiny box. sigrid describes 

lilly as “blonde and blind,” noting that 

“the men hold her and talk to her.” 

Giving back 

seafarers aren’t the only recipients of 

sigrid’s tender care. During the school 

year, she works as a crossing guard, 

guiding children across the street near 

the school twice daily. she also volunteers 

at a hospital two days a week. 

why, you ask? “i try to give back,” 

she says. “i want seafarers to know 

there are people in this country who 

care, and that God cares for them.” 

she adds: “when you touch their 

hearts, they touch you back.” 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | FALL 2014 1(

SCAN 

ROYALS 

QUIZ: 

How much 

do you know 

about 

Scandinavian 

royalty? 

Here’s your chance to 

test your knowledge of the royal 

families of the Nordic countries. See if 

you can identify the monarchs of 

Sweden, Denmark and Norway, plus 

their spouses, children and grand - 

children from their pictures below. 

If you can’t guess the names, at least 

try to group the families and identify 

the countries they represent. 

Note that Finland and Iceland are 

not included here, and there’s a good 

reason for that! e nation of Finland 

has never been an 

independent sovereign 

monarchy: no attempt 

to establish one ever 

met with success. 

1 

When it finally became established as a 

modern, independent nation-state, it 

became—despite a very brief flirtation 

with monarchy—a republic. 

Iceland was a constitutional 

monarchy while under the control of 

Denmark (1918 to 1944). is situation 

lasted until June 17, 1944, when a 

national referendum established the 

Republic of Iceland in its place. 

Give up? You’ll find the answers on 

page 15. How did you do? If you got all 

14 right, including the names, you’re 

either a true Nordic, or you peeked! If 

you identified the countries which 

they ruled, you get a “B”. If you got 

less than half right, we have one 

word for you: Uffda! 

3 

2 

4 5 

6 7 8 

9 

11 12 

10 

13 

14

Princess Madeleine with 

her “Prince Charming,” 

Chris O’Neill. The couple 

wed on June 8 in Sweden. 

O’Neill is a New 

York banker; the 

Princess works for 

the World Childhood 

Foundation, also 

in New York. 

Royal June wedding 

Princess Madeleine of Sweden 

revealed plans for a June 8 wedding 

during an interview released several 

months ago by the Royal Household. 

By the time you read this, the 31- 

year old will have wed financier Chris 

O’Neill in Sweden. 

“We planned everything to the last 

detail, even though I’m in New York 

and working for the World Childhood 

Foundation,” she says. “We will have an 

aernoon wedding fol lowed by dinner 

held out at Drott ningholm Palace, 

Norwegian Princess Ingrid Alexander (left) reins in her dog, Milly. At right, the U.S. 

President’s daughter, Malia Obama, takes Bo for a run. (Or is it the other way around?) 

Royal pooches? 

What happens when you mix a 

Labradoodle named Milly Kakao with 

a Portuguese water dog named Bo? A 

Bodoodle? A Billy? A Bokakao? 

Odds are the two will never meet. 

Milly belongs to 9-year-old Crown 

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway 

(pictured above le); Bo resides in the 

White House, the family pet of the 

Obamas (Bo is shown above with 

Malia, age 14; not pictured is Malia’s 

younger sister, Sasha, 11.) Bo was a gi 

to the First Family from the late Sen. 

which I am very happy about. Drott - 

ningholm Palace means a lot to me 

because I was born and grew up there.” 

Madeleine, the younger daughter of 

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen 

Silvia, started dating 37-year-old Chris 

Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). 

Princess Ingrid’s parents are Crown 

Prince Haakon and Crown Princess 

Mette-Marit of Norway. Ingrid has a 

younger brother, 7-year-old Prince 

Sverre Mag nus, and a 16-year-old halfbrother, 

Marius Borg Høiby, son of 

Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a 

previous relationship. 

Milly Kakao is a rescued Labrador- 

Poodle cross. Her “mistress,” Princess 

Ingrid, keeps a firm grip on her during 

the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, held in 

Oslo in mid-March, which the Royal 

Family attends annually. 

in January 2011, but their relationship 

wasn’t confirmed until a month later. 

Madeleine fell for Chris aer 

moving to the Big Apple following the 

end of her relationship with Swedish 

lawyer Jonas Bergstrom. 

e ceremony will unfold inside the 

church of Stockholm’s gilded Royal 

Palace. It was there Sweden’s future 

queen Princess Estelle—daughter of 

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince 

Daniel—was christened a year ago. SP 

Left: Drottingholm Palace (literally meaning 

“Queen’s islet”) is located on the island 

Lovön (in Ekerö Municipality of Stockholm 

County). It is the private residence of the 

Swedish Royal Family. 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | SUMMER 2013 2!

SCAN 

ROYALS 

Danish royal family 

tours Greenland 

hRh Crown Prince frederik and 

his wife, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 

have wrapped up their eight-day 

tour of Greenland, which included a 

stop in the remote village of Qeqertarsuatsiaat. 

e trip took place aug. 1-8. 

while Greenland is an autonomous 

country, it is within the kingdom of 

Denmark. Greenland has been politically 

and culturally associated with 

europe (specifically Norway and later 

Denmark) for more than a millennium. 

e family of six visited the settlement 

of just 300 people, meeting children 

the same ages as Princess isabella, 

7, twins Princess Josephine and Prince 

Vincent, 3, and Prince Christian, 8, at 

the local childcare center, amauligaq. 

toward the end of their trip, the 

Crown Prince and Princess were honored 

at a special red-carpet function 

held at the hotel hans egede in Greenland’s 

capital, Nuuk. it was one of the 

rare moments when their children didn’t 

accompany them. 

e day before leaving for home, the 

royal couple took e Royal Yacht 

Dannebrog around the south and west 

of the country. 

Above: Danish Crown Prince 

Frederik and Crown Princess 

Mary pose with their children 

during their August 2014 visit to 

Greenland. Left: The young Danish 

royals (seated at left) listen 

to a song by the children at the 

Amauligaq center. Below, left: 

The Crown Prince and Princess 

attend a dinner in their honor. 

Below, right: The Greenland trip 

was very much a family affair! 

Norse royals don traditional costumes for Constitution Day celebration 

Norwegian royal family in traditional costumes. 

2^ 


traditional garments in red, white and blue, the colors of the Norwegian 

flag, were on parade across Norway during that country’s Bicentennial Constitution 

Day, celebrated on May 17 (syttende Mai), 2014. 

On that special day, Princess Mette-Marit (kneeling in foreground) and 

Prince haakon (center), their children Prince sverre Magnus (le) and 

Princess ingrid alexandra (in white apron), as well as Mette-Marit’s son Marius 

Borg høiby (right), all donned bunads, traditional Norwegian costumes 

that include white shirts, long dark skirts, aprons, red accents and knee socks. 

Milly kakao, the family’s labradoodle, joined the festivities sporting a red 

ribbon around her neck. 

Celebrations hailing the 200th anniversary of the constitution signing at 

eids voll are expected to continue throughout the remainder of the year.

Princess Ingrid to attend private school 

like many parents this month, Crown Prince haakon and Crown Princess 

Mette-Marit of Norway escorted their child to her first day of school. Only this 

child—10-year-old Princess ingrid—happens to be second in line to the Norwegian 

throne! ingrid started classes at the Oslo international school in Bekkestua, a 

private institution, in mid-august. e young princess will be expected to communicate 

in english, as most lessons are conducted in that language. she’ll also be 

learning math, reading, writing, science, history, geography, technology and culture, 

along with taking three classes in Norwegian each week. accompanying 

ingrid and her parents was ingrid’s younger brother, Prince sverre Magnus. 

Above: Norway’s royals usher their 

daughter, Princess Ingrid, to her new 

school. Dad carries her backpack. 

Do you know? 

1. What province in France was 

founded by Viking leader Rollo? 

2. Which Scandinavian country was 

the first to adopt Catholicism? 

3. After 1530, what religion was 

adopted by Scandinavian countries? 

4. What country was united by King 

Harald Fairhair? 

5. What did the Norsemen call the 

democratic meeting places where 

they gathered to decide law? 

6. Which Scandinavian country is 

noted for its carvings of Dala 

horses? 

7. Name the capitals of the 

Scandinavian countries. 

8. Which country shares its border 

with Russia? 

9. Which Scandinavian country is 

ruled by a woman? 

10. What’s the difference between 

“Scandinavian” and “Nordic” 

countries? 

ANSWERS ON PAGE 30 

Sweden’s most eligible bachelor to wed 

Eat your heart out, girls! Sweden’s most eligible bachelor has now 

been taken! e Swedish Royal Court just announced the engagement of 

Prince Carl Philip to Sofia Hellqvist, former model and reality TV 

partici pant. e court said the wedding date hasn’t been decided but 

would likely take place during summer next year. 

e 35-year-old prince is the second oldest child of King Carl XVI 

Gustaf and Queen Silvia, and is third in line to the throne. 

e two started dating in 2010 and have lived together on the 

Stockholm island Djurgarden since 2011. 

Sofia used to pose in lightly clad attire in magazines and once 

participated in the Swedish reality TV show “Paradise Hotel.” Since then, 

she has changed her image. She is now involved in aid work and runs a 

charity organization. 


Swedish-American artist 

Haddon Sundblom 

created Coca-Cola’s Santa 

2013 marks the 82nd anniversary of the first 

Coca-Cola Santa illustration crafted by a clever artist 

with Scandinavian roots. His images continue to 

influence our impressions of Santa today! 

By Jo ANN WINISToRFeR 

ever wonder where our modern-day 

version of Santa Claus comes 

from? In part, we can thank the son of 

Scandinavian emigrants who settled in 

Muskegon, Michigan. 

2* 


FOR 

MORE THAN 

three decades, famed 

illustrator Haddon Sundblom 

was the creative genius behind 

the Coca-Cola Santa campaign. 

Today, his work is on display 

in galleries and sought 

after by collectors. 

Haddon Hubbard 

“Sunny” Sundblom was born 

on June 22, 1899, to Karl Wilhelm 

Sundblom, from the farm 

Norrgårds in the village of Sonboda 

in Föglö in the Swedish-speaking 

Åland Islands (at that time a part of the 

Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, now 

Finland), and Karin Andersson of 

Sweden. 

A talented illustrator, Sundblom 

studied at the American Academy of 

Art in Chicago. He was a partner in 

several Chicago-based advertising 

agencies over the years. 

In the 1920s, the Coca-Cola Company 

was under attack by the Women’s 

Christian Temperance Union and others 

who were critical of its formula, 

claiming it was addictive and harmful 

to one’s health. In 1921, one U.S. senator 

went so far as to claim it caused 

“sterility in women and dissolved brain 

power, the digestive power and the 

moral fabric.” 

e company needed a positive 

image to advertise Coke as a refreshing 

drink with no harmful effects. eir 

motive was to increase sales. 

In 1931, the Coca-Cola Company 

hired Sundblom (described as a “hard 

drinking” man standing at 6 foot 3 

inches) to paint Santa Claus as 

part of an annual advertising 

campaign. Aer all, if Santa 

enjoyed Coca-Cola, it had to 

be wholesome! 

Sundblom’s assignment 

was to depict Santa as a real 

man, not just a man dressed as 

Santa. A neighbor was his first 

model, and aer the man died, he 

himself became the model, painting 

while looking into a mirror. 

To come up with the “ideal” Santa, 

Sundblom did considerable research. 

He patterned his Santa aer Clement 

Clark Moore’s “A Visit From St. 

Nicholas” (more commonly known as 

“Twas the Night Before Christmas”). 

e resulting Santa evolved from a 

“jolly old elf” to a full-sized grandfatherly 

fellow dressed in red and white. 

By coincidence, those just happened to 

be Coca-Cola’s logo colors. 

 

 

Old-time Santas were not necessarily 

chubby, dressed in red—or jolly! The 

Santa at near left, created by Thomas 

Nast in the latter 1800s, wore a 

tannish-brown outfit.

Santa is descended from St. 

Nicholas (also called Nikolaos), Bishop 

of Myra in modern-day Turkey in the 

fourth century (also known as Nikolaos 

the Wonderworker because of his many 

miracles). He had a reputation for secret 

gi-giving, and thus became the 

model for Santa Claus, whose modern 

name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas. 

rough the centuries, Santa Claus 

has been depicted from tall to elf-sized, 

and depending on the country, wearing 

a bishop’s red robe or a Norse huntsman’s 

animal skin. A 1653 woodcut of 

the English Father Christmas depicts 

him wearing a red-and-white outfit. 

As early as 1841, Santa was used as 

an advertising device by merchants 

promoting their stores as “Santa’s headquarters.” 

By the 1870s, Santas were appearing 

in department stores in the 

U.S. and Canada. e first Christmas 

cards, designed by Louis Prang of 

Boston, were published in 1874. 

e Civil War cartoonist omas 

Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper’s 

Weekly in 1862; Santa was shown as a 

small elf-like figure who supported the 

Union. Nast continued to draw Santa 

for 30 years, and along the way 

changed the color of his coat from tan 

to red, the color Sundblom used for all 

his Santa paintings. 

Prior to Sundblom’s rendition of 

Santa, Norman Rockwell had painted 

Sundblom’s Santa was portly and grandfatherly, with a fluffy white beard and dressed 

in a red suit with lush fur trim. So popular and prolific were these ads that people 

around the world grew to accept the artist’s rendition as the “official” 

portrait of Santa Claus. 

saintly Santas, but without consistent 

features. Sundblom’s designs standardized 

the character of Santa. His work 

appeared in magazines and on 

posters and billboards. 

In 1949, Sundblom created 

the “Sprite Boy” (above) character, 

who appeared with Santa on 

Coke ads in the 1940s and 1950s. 

By that time he was living in Tucson, 

Arizona. His last work with 

Coca-Cola was done in 1964. 

Besides his work for Coca-Cola 

(which he did for 33 years), Sundblom 

designed the Quaker Oats man 

and the Aunt Jemima “mammy,” and 

was a well-known pin-up artist, painting 

pieces for calendars, posters and 

magazine covers. In 1972, his work—a 

buxom beauty clad in a low-cut Santa 

suit—appeared on the cover of Playboy. 

Haddon Sundblom passed away on 

March 10, 1976. rough his many 

paintings, he le behind a version of a 

mischievous, roly-poly, likable Santa 

that changed the world’s perception of 

the North Pole’s most-famous resident 

forever. 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | WINTER 20132014 2(

NEWS at a 

Glance 

Finnair gives wings 

to Marimekko design 

To celebrate 50 years of one of its 

most iconic patterns, Finnish textile 

and clothing design company 

Marimekko has again teamed up with 

national carrier Finnair. 

A Finnair Airbus 330 will soon 

feature a previously unseen blue 

colorway of Marimekko’s classic 

Unikko floral print. 

The plane will fly from Finnair’s 

Helsinki hub to the airline’s long-haul 

destinations starting from the end of 

2014, joining a sister aircraft painted in 

a different Unikko colorway in 2012. 

The design collaboration between 

Marimekko and Finnair began in 2012, 

and Marimekko for Finnair textiles and 

tableware were brought to all of the 

Finnish airline’s aircraft in 2013. 

The collection was designed 

according to the airline’s needs by 

Marimekko designer Sami Ruotsalainen, 

in original Marimekko 

patterns by Maija Isola. 

The blue, green and gray colors and 

the classic prints used 

in the collection 

are inspired by 

Finnish nature. 

1* 


The face of chess grandmaster 

Magnus Carlsen adorns the stamp 

Norway Post issued on Aug. 1 to mark 

the Norwegian Chess Association’s 

centenary in 2014. 

Magnus Carlsen’s winning of the 

World Chess Championship in 2013 

led to enormous interest in this game, 

which first became known in India in 

the 7th century. His triumph led to 

chess becoming a TV sport and one 

that young people flocked to. 

Norway Post honors 

chess grandmaster Carlsen 

“So it’s natural for Magnus Carlsen 

to be part of the image on the anniversary 

stamp. Magnus is now one of the 

world’s most famous Norwegians and a 

wonderful representative of an exciting 

sport,” says Halvor Fasting, Norway 

Post’s stamp director. 

Norway’s oldest chess club, Oslo 

Schakselskap, was formed in 1884, and 

the Norwegian Chess Association was 

established 30 years later. It has around 

2,900 members in some 110 clubs. 

Taste testers say Icelandic Skyr 

clear winner over Greek yogurt 

In a recent article, the Huffington Post asks, “Could Icelandic yogurt be 

the new it-girl?” A taste test, put together by the Post, was devised to 

determine how Skyr would compete with various popular yogurts. 

In the test, 11 blindfolded taste testers were asked to try 12 plain, nonfat 

yogurts, with the majority comprised of Greek-style yogurts. 

Despite Greek-style yogurt accounting for over 40 percent of the 

U.S. market in recent years, Iceland’s Skyr came out the 

clear winner. 

Could the Icelandic product become the next big 

thing on the low-fat dairy market? 

Only time can tell, but the signs 

look positive as it is gaining 

wide acclaim in the UK, U.S. 

and the Scandinavian region. 

A bit of history: Legend has it 

that the Vikings introduced Skyr 

to Iceland when they settled in the 

country some 1,100 years ago. 

Learn more at: skyriceland.com

Historic amusement park Tivoli to get major facelift 

One of Copenhagen’s busiest 

corners will get a new modern makeover. 

Copenhagen amusement park Tivoli 

is one step closer to a major facelift 

after receiving the unanimous approval 

of the City of Copenhagen’s technical 

and environmental committee. 

The plans call for a major change to 

the area near the park’s main entrance, 

which will result in a new first 

impression of the Danish capital for 

travelers arriving at Copenhagen 

Central Station. 

Plans to revamp the corner of 

Vesterbrogade and Bernstorffsgade 

have been circulating since 2008. A 

previous design that was developed by 

the architects behind the Louvre’s glass 

pyramid was rejected by the city for not 

fitting in with the surrounding area, 

but Tivoli and the architecture firm Pei, 

Cobb, Freed & Partners have now 

managed to change the design enough 

to win local politicians’ approval. 

Questions remain 

Swedish navy hunts 

mystery submarine 

This past October, the Swedish 

navy was involved in its largest antisubmarine 

effort since the end of the 

Cold War. 

For six days, it hunted for an 

unknown foreign submersible, likely 

from Russia, spotted numerous times 

off the coast close to the capital of 

Stockholm. 

The Swedes called off the search 

without finding the mystery craft, but 

reportedly collected a trove of 

intelligence information for further 

analysis. 

The search for a mystery 

submersible says much about the state 

of the Swedish navy in particular, and 

European fleets in general. It should 

also prompt a new effort to address the 

need for high-end warfighting 

capabilities across European navies. 

Called an intelligence gathering 

operation—the effort off the coast of 

Stockholm lasted for nearly a week and 

included surface combatants, 

helicopters, ground troops (to sweep 

the islands in the Stockholm 

archipelago)—and more than likely one 

or more of Sweden’s air independent 

propulsion (AIP) attack submarines. 

The mystery deepened when 

Sweden’s largest daily, Svenska 

Dagbladet, reported that the Swedish 

signals intelligence agency had 

intercepted emergency communications 

between a transmitter off the coast of 

Sweden and Kaliningrad—the home of 

Russia’s Baltic fleet—which suggested 

that the intruding submarine might be 

in distress. 

A Russian merchant vessel, the NS 

Concord, circled just outside Swedish 

territorial waters throughout the 

operation, leading many to think that it 

was serving as a mother ship, and that 

the Swedish navy was tracking the 

scent of a Russian mini-submarine far 

inside Swedish waters. 

There are several theories as to what 

this mini-submarine could be doing so 

far into Swedish territorial waters, 

including that it was an exercise under 

real operational conditions for Russia’s 

naval special forces, or that the minisubmarine 

was deploying or replacing 

sensors in order for the Russian Baltic 

fleet to be able to monitor the 

movements of the Swedish navy in and 

out of their bases. 

The most likely explanation seems 

to be that the mini-submarine was 

there to observe the multinational 

naval exercise Northern Archer, in 

which Swedish, Dutch, Danish and 

Polish naval units met up for training, 

including anti-submarine warfare 

(ASW). 

The minesweeper HMS Visby was used to 

search for the mystery submarine in the 

Stockholm Archipelago. 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | WINTER 20142015 1(

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shop, friendly people 

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SUMMER 2014 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS 

Reader suggests— 

Visit Visby, go medieval! 

e received the following email from 

WCarol Wickstrom, member and 

past president of the Scandinavian 

Club of Columbus, Ohio. 

Carol writes: 

“I designed and led seven private 

tours of the Scandinavian countries 

between 1992-2007. The last several of 

my tours attended the Medieval 

Festival in Visby, Gotland, Sweden— 

that is an experience unique to all 

others in Scandinavia and the ‘favorite’ 

event of all my tours. I would 

recommend you highlight that festival 

in a future issue of Scandinavian 

Press. So few Americans know what 

a treasure Gotland is.” 

Carol includes more details on 

her tours in another letter: “Each of 

my seven private tours were a bit 

different. However, ALL included 

Bergen, Stockholm, Dalarna ... 

some included Copenhagen, Oslo, 

the Crystal District in Småland 

(Sweden) and/or Helsinki (which 

had an optional three-day 

extension to St. Petersburg on a small 

ship from Helsinki, which docked in 

downtown St. Petersburg. The last 

three of my tours included Visby, 

Gotland. 

“I took a group every other year. My 

husband and I traveled to Scandinavia 

the year prior, to check out itinerary 

and hotels. I would not take my clients 

to an area or hotel I had not experienced 

first-hand. I chose my hotels for 

charm and convenience. 

“My tours (I felt!) showed the ‘best’ 

of Scandinavia in a short 16 days. The 

Dalarna area of Sweden is very special, 

where traditions (folk costumes, crafts) 

are revered. It’s the birthplace of my 

father-in-law; Dalarna cousins living 

there assisted in planning unique 

experiences the normal tourist does not 

encounter. The Swedish cousins and 

my tour people enjoyed each other; 

that was special also!” 

Carol adds: “I feel Americans are 

missing the experience of Medieval 

Week in August.” (Continues next page)

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 

Swedish American Museum, 5211 

N. Clark, Chicago. 773-728-8111: 

Sep 26 - Walking tour of Andersonville 

(learn about the infamous Civil 

War prison as it relates to Swedish 

heritage). 

Nov 16, 11am-4pm. Genealogy 

session: Exploring your Swedish 

roots. 

Dec 7, 10am-5pm. Julmarknad: 

Christmas Bazaar, visit from Santa. 

Includes a kaffestuga, Lucia processions, 

folk dancers. 

swedishamericanmuseum.org 

DECORAH, IOWA 

Vesterheim Norwegian-American 

Museum, 502 W. Water St., Decorah, 

IA, 563-382-9681: 

Oct 3 - Back by popular demand! 

Reopening of the popular open storage 

trunk room in Vesterheim’s 

Main Building. 

Nov 7, 10am - Ski-themed “Bonus 

Barnetimen” featuring Jan Brett’s 

book, “Trouble With Trolls.” 

1:30pm - Gathering Room of the 

Amdal-Odland Heritage Center - 

Glenn Borreson presents: “From 

Telemark to Tamarack: Ski Jumping 

in Western Wisconsin.” 

Dec 5 - Author Kathleen Ernst will 

present a special activity connected 

to her popular “Chloe Ellefsen” mystery 

series. 

Dec 7-8 - Norwegian Christmas 

Weekend: Holiday traditions with a 

variety of music, demonstrations, 

folk art, stories, food, and hands-on 

experiences. vesterheim.org 

Nov 22-23 - Hotel Winneshiek, 

Decorah: Deck the Tables: Celebrate 

the season with fantastic decorations, 

music, and food. 

ELK HORN, IOWA 

Danish Immigrant Museum, 2212 

Washington St, Elk Horn, Iowa 

51531-2116; 800-759-9192: 

Thru Jan 5, 2014 - Exhibit: Danish 

4) 

Calendar 


modern designs for living (from furniture 

to housewares). 

Oct 10-12 - Innovation: The Danish 

Way. Presentations from both Danish 

and American experts on innovation 

in everything from energy to 

culture and the arts. Exhibits, tours. 

danishmuseum.org 

LINDSBORG, KANSAS 

Sep 28-29 - 2-day Swedish Genealogy 

Workshop. Evangelical 

Cove nant Church & VisionTek Computer 

Center, Lindsborg. 

Speakers/instructors are genealogists 

from Sweden, members of the 

“SwedGenTour.” 

oldmillmuseum@hotmail.com 

Oct 4-5 - Svensk Hyllningsfest. 

Community-wide festival features 

Swedish folk dancers and costumes, 

ethnic music, arts & crafts, 

Smörgåsbord, genealogy. Downtown 

Lindsborg. 

www.svenskhyllningsfest.org 

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA 

Oct 1-5 - Norsk Høstfest, North 

America’s largest Scandinavian festival, 

All Seasons Arena, State Fairgrounds, 

Minot. Tues eve, Oct 1 - 

opening cere monies, concert; Wed- 

Sat, Oct 2-5 - 4 full days of activities, 

music, ethnic dining, shopping, 

culture, fun. Great Hall of Vikings 

performances by Frank Sinatra Jr., 

Kris Kristofferson, Alabama, Marty 

Stewart & Bellamy Brothers, Charley 

Pride, Bill Cosby & more. Side stage 

acts include Oak Ridge Boys, 

Williams & Ree, Mollie B, Bjøro Håland 

& more. hostfest.com 

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 

American Swedish Institute, Turnblad 

Mansion, 2600 Park Ave., 

Minneapolis, Minnesota. 612-871- 

4907. 

Thru Oct. 13 - Pull, Twist, Blow: 

Transforming the Kingdom of Crystal. 

Presented in partnership with 

The Glass Factory of Sweden, the 

exhibit showcases innovative 

pieces by 11 Swedish glass artists, 

presented alongside traditional 

glasswork from The Glass Factory’s 

extensive collection. 

Sep 29, 4:30pm - 15th anniversary 

of the Twin Cities Nyckelharpalag 

(Key Fiddle Group) Gala and Dinner. 

www.asimn.org or 15years. 

tcnyckelharpalag.org 

MOORHEAD, MINNESOTA 

Oct 2, 8am-4:30pm. “The Journey”: 

38th annual Family History 

Workshop, Horizon Middle School, 

Moorhead. Ethnic groups covered: 

Norwegian, Swedish, German, 

Dutch, English. For beginning to advanced 

research. heritageed.com. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK 

American-Scandinavian Foundation 

at Scandinavia House: Nordic 

Center in America, 58 Park Ave. 

at 38th St, New York, NY 10016; 

212-779-3587 

Oct 7, 6:30pm - Hunting for Hecla: 

Danish-Norwegian Contribution to 

NYC’s Modern Architecture. 

www.scandinaviahouse.org 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 

Nordic Heritage Museum, 3014 

NW 67th St, Seattle, WA 98117: 

Oct 13, 4pm - Novus Project presents 

concert of Edvard Grieg works. 

Oct. 19, 4pm - Lecture: The Sails & 

Sailcloth of the Vasa. Louie Bartos, 

Vasa expert, talks about 17th century 

sail making, including the Vasa. 

Oct. 24, 

5:30pm - 

19th annual 

Raoul Wallenberg 

Dinner. 

Honors 

the life of 

Swedish 

diplomat 

Raoul Wallenberg who helped save 

thousands of Jews from the Nazis 

during the final stages of WW II. 

Nov. 23-24, Yulefest: An annual 

Nordic holiday celebration. 

www.nordicmuseum.org 

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA 

Scandinavian Cultural Centre. 

764 Erin St., Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

R3G 2W4; 204-774-8047 

Oct. 19 - Viking Feast 

Oct. 25 - Storyteller Mary Louise 

Chown talks on Norse Mythology 

Dec. 1, 11am-3pm - Christmas 

Market featuring imported Scandinavian 

foods, handcrafted items. 

www.scandinaviancentre.ca 

Send calendar information to: 

Scandinavian Press Magazine, 

calendar@scandpress.com 

Phone: 701.852.5559 

PO Box 1 

Minot, ND 58702-0001, USA 

Canada: Box 567, Melita, MB 

R0M 1L0 

Next deadline: Nov. 15, 2013

The 

Scandinavian 

Heritage 

by Arland O. Fiske 

Iceland, called it “Daughter of Fire.” 

The country’s earliest name was 

Those of us who love the Scandinavian 

heritage owe a great debt to 330 B.C. Roman coins minted between 

“Thule,” given by a French navigator in 

Snorri Sturluson (also spelled Snorre 270-305 A.D. have been found on the 

Sturlason), Iceland’s most famous saga island, indicating that the Roman navy 

writer. A saga is a story usually based stationed in Britain had visited there. 

on facts, which tends to grow a little as The first know inhabitants of Iceland 

were Irish monks in search of soli- 

it is retold. Who was Snorri, and how 

SNORRI STURLUSON: 

did he become so famous? 

tude during the seventh century. It was, 

Chronicler and 

Iceland is an unusual place. According 

to geologists, it is the newest coun- 

large numbers during the late ninth 

however, the Norwegians coming in 

try in the world. It was formed through century who built the colonies that still 

saga wrıter 

a series of volcanic eruptions “only” 20 exist. Despite its closeness to the Arctic 

million years ago. Kathleen Schermann, 

who wrote a delightful book on settlers. Its temperature was two de- 

Circle, Iceland was a hospitable site for 

The Snorri Sturluson Museum is 

located in Reykholt, Iceland, in 

the basement of the town 

church. Reykholt was home to 

Snorre in the 13th century. 

Statue of Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic 

poet, politician and saga writer. 

Right: Sturluson’s Prose Edda, Codex 

Wormianus version, is pictured here. 

It is housed in Copenhagen. 

2* SUMMER 2014 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS

tracted to take care of an elderly farmer 

with a large estate which became his. 

Among his wives and mistresses was 

the wealthiest widow in Iceland. He 

also married off his daughters to politally 

influential families. 

In politics, Snorri advanced quickly. 

At 35, he was elected “Lawspeaker,” the 

highest office in the land. This required 

a thorough knowledge of legal matters. 

His education at Oddi was not wasted. 

Having succeeded so well in Iceland, 

Snorri next tried to establish his fame 

with the kings of Norway. In the style 

of the times, he wrote poetry to flatter 

the people from whom he wished favors. 

All went well for a while. It 

brought him gifts and titles. But absolutist 

kings give nothing for free. Each 

time Snorri received recognition, his 

political position in Iceland was compromised. 

The Icelanders had good 

Author Arland O. Fiske 

Editor’s note: This column is the fourth in a series by pastor 

Arland Fiske, of Moody, Texas, retired from Evangelical 

Lutheran Church ministry. Fiske has written nine books on 

Scandinavian heritage. The chapter reprinted here is from 

“The Scandinavian Heritage.” 

PHOTO BY MARY PAT FINN-HOAG 

Illustration from the Prose Edda: This drawing of Thjazi the Giant 

(in the form of an eagle) and Loki depicts the abduction of the 

goddess Idunn. The Prose Edda (1223) was the work of Snorri 

Sturluson, who planned it as a textbook for writers of skaldic 

poetry. Seven manuscripts of the Prose Edda have survived: six 

compositions of the Middle Ages and another dating to the 1600s. 

Right: Recent versions of the “Heimskringla,” which has 

appeared in many editions and languages over the years. 

grees warmer then, and 24 percent of 

its surface was covered by trees. There 

are very few trees in Iceland today. 

The original Norwegian settlers 

were of very proud and capable stock. 

They left their native land because of 

the oppression of civil rights by King 

Harald Haarfagre (Harald Fair-hair). 

This caused landowners to pack their 

belongings in their “knorrs,” Viking 

cargo ships. In Iceland they laid the 

foundations for the world’s oldest 

democracy. 

The Sturlusons were latecomers 

among the chieftain families of the island. 

Snorri was born in 1178 to a 

minor chieftain named Sturla. His 

grandmother, however, had descended 

from Egil Skallagrimsson, the greatest 

scaldic poet of the land. 

Though a gentle man himself, 

Snorri’s life was turbulent. He was constantly 

involved in feuds, lawsuits and 

politics. When Snorri was 3, a famous 

judge, Jon Luftsson, became his “foster 

father.” This was not unusual in those 

days. Jon’s grandfather, Saemund the 

Learned, had studied in France and had 

founded a famous cultural center at 

Oddi in southern Iceland. He had written 

a history of the Norse kings in 

Latin. Jon’s mother was an illegitimate 

daughter of King Magnus Bareleg of 

Norway. (The matter of irregular birth 

was not a social handicap among 

Vikings.) This placed Snorri into a position 

for social climbing. 

When Snorri was only 5, his father 

died and left him little inheritance. His 

foster father died when Snorri was 19, 

leaving him an education. He gained 

his wealth and power by good business 

skills, family support and favorable 

marriages. At 21, Snorri married the 

daughter of a wealthy farmer. Three 

years later, the farmer died and Snorri 

became a rich chieftain. Then he conmemories. 

They knew that their freedom 

was safest when Norse rulers were 

looking in other directions. 

Finally, the very success which he 

had purchased through marriages and 

favors turned against him. Two of his 

sons-in-law, having feuded with Snorri 

about land, became agents of Norway’s 

King Haakon. They were ordered by 

the king to either arrest Snorri and return 

him to Norway, or kill him if he 

resisted. They chose to murder him on 

his farm. He was 61 years old. 

So why do we remember Snorri Sturluson? 

He has written the sagas of the 

Norse kings called “Heimskringla.” It is 

our best source of information on the 

Viking age. His style is gripping, even 

in translation. Basic to his writing was 

the belief in the sainthood of King Olaf 

Haraldsson, which has remained a central 

feature of Norwegian Christianity. 

It is ironic that the Icelanders, themselves 

refugees from Norway, became 

the recorders of a major part of the 

Scandinavian heritage. 

What’s more, the Icelanders are the 

only people in the world today who still 

speak a language similar to the “Old 

Norse” of the Viking days. 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | SUMMER 2014 2(

Nordic 

Treats 

Easter traditions of Scandinavia 

Easter in Scandinavia is a blend of 

customs and cuisines. Our “treats” 

page this month features some Nordic 

delights, gleaned from each of the 

Scandinavian countries. Armed with 

these recipes, you can prepare your 

very own Nordic-style Easter buffet! 

As a bonus, we’re including 

information on Easter traditions in the 

Nordic countries—some shared, some 

unique, but all unusual. Enjoy! 

Sweden 

• In olden times, people were forbidden 

to touch a needle or scissors so they 

wouldn’t violate the memory of Christ’s 

suffering. 

• An old tradition that continues is 

the påskris, birch twigs that are brought 

indoors and decorated with feathers. 

• Lamb is the main course for Easter 

Sunday. e custom of eating lamb 

comes from the Bible story of the 

Passover, which gave birth to the tradition 

of eating paschal lamb. 

• On Maundy ursday, little girls 

dressed as witches go door to door begging 

for treats. is custom is called 

påskkärringar(Easter witches). According 

to an old superstition, this was the 

day witches consorted with the devil. 

Denmark 

• Many homes and shops are decorated 

for Easter in green and yellow, especially 

with branches and daffodils. 

• e main symbol of Easter is the 

egg—real, imitation or chocolate. Other 

decorations include small artificial hens 

and chickens and gradually the Easter 

hare, formerly exclusively common in 

the areas by the German border. 

• A unique tradition in Denmark in- 

volves sending teaser letters with elaborate 

designs cut out with scissors and 

containing a verse. e letter is anonymous; 

the idea is for the recipient to 

guess who sent the letter. 

Norway 

• A peculiar national pastime during 

Easter is the reading of crime novels. 

Publishers churn out books known as 

"Easter-rillers" or Påskekrimmen, and 

Nowegian readers spend the long holiday 

trying to solve the mysteries. 

• Besides dining on roasted lamb on 

Easter Sunday, Norwegians stuff themselves 

with oranges, eating three times 

as many on Easter as they do the rest of 

the year. 

Finland 

• Some Finnish families sow grass in 

small pots before Easter, and put eggs in 

them when the grass has grown. ey 

add little yellow chicks and Easter eggs 

to decorate their grass “gardens.” 

• e traditional Easter food in Finland 

is lamb. A special treat called 

mämmi (a kind of malt pudding) is 

bought or prepared, and served with 

cream and sugar. 

• An old spring custom involves cutting 

and decorating pussy willows. 

Iceland 

• It’s traditional to give store-bought 

chocolate Easter eggs filled with various 

sweets and strips of paper with sayings 

(similar to fortune cookies). 

• roughout the 18th and 19th century, 

when good, fresh food was scarce, 

porridge made from barley or rice was 

served on Easter Sunday. 

Roast Leg of Lamb 

(Lambalæri, Iceland) 

Serves 12 

1 (10- to 12-pound) leg of lamb, 

deboned and tied 

2 tablespoons ground black pepper 

2 teaspoons salt 

10 cloves garlic, cut into slivers 

4 sprigs fresh rosemary 

2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

2. Rub the leg of lamb all over with salt 

and pepper. 

3. Use a small knife to make punctures 

in the lamb about 1 inch apart. Press 

slivers of garlic into each hole so that 

they are about 1/2 inch below the 

surface. 

4. Place the 

meat in a 

roasting pan. 

Remove the 

rosemary from 

the stalk and 

sprinkle and 

rub into the meat on all sides, or simply 

use the string from the lamb to secure 

the rosemary against the meat. 

5. Pour the cans of tomato sauce over 

the whole thing. 

6. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated 

oven, then lower the temperature to 325 

degrees F, and continue roasting until 

the internal temperature of the meat is 

at least 160 degrees F. If you want the 

meat well done, wait until the internal 

temperature reaches 170 degrees F. 

Swedish Pickled 

Herring Eggs 

Serves 12 

4) 

SPRING 2014 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS

Grated Potato 

Casserole (Finnish 

Riivinkropsu) 

Serves 8 

Butter (for greasing pan) 

2 eggs 

2 cups whole milk or light cream 

4 tablespoons rice flour 

2 teaspoons salt 

6-12 small-to-medium potatoes, 

peeled and grated (see note 

within instructions below) 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter 

an ovenproof good-sized baking dish. 

2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the 

eggs and add the milk or cream, rice 

flour, and salt; stir to combine. Then add 

the potatoes. 

3. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Turn the oven to 

broil and broil for several minutes to 

brown the crust. 

(Note: You can tell you have the right 

amount of shredded potatoes if there’s a 

thin layer of shredded potatoes above 

the milk and egg mixture. This means 

the covered potatoes will soften and get 

creamy during baking while the top layer 

will get crispy and golden.) 

6 eggs (hard-boiled) 

Mayonnaise (1-2 tablespoons) 

Pickled herring • Fresh parsely 

1. Boil eggs for 7-10 minutes until hard. 

2. Once cooled, cut the eggs in half lengthwise 

and remove the yolks, keeping the 

halved egg whites intact. 

3. Put yolks into a mixing bowl and mash. Mix 

mayonnaise with yolks, about 1-2 spoonsful. 

4. Cut the pickled herring into small pieces; 

add to mayonnaise-egg yolk mixture. 

5. Spoon mixture into halved egg whites. 

6. Top with fresh parsley. Serve cold. 

Norwegian 

Orange Cake 

Serves 10-16 

3/4 cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened 

1 cup sugar 

3 eggs 

Grated zest of 1 orange 

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons orange juice, 

divided 

1 1/3 cups flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

3 ounces dark chocolate (preferably 

70%), finely chopped 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of 

a stand mixer using the beater attachment, 

or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat 

the butter and 1 cup sugar until light and 

fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at 

a time, until thoroughly incorporated. Beat 

in the orange zest and 1/3 cup juice. 

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour 

and baking powder. With the mixer 

running, slowly add the flour mixture until 

combined to form the cake batter. Fold in 

the chopped chocolate. 

3. Place the batter into a greased and 

Danish Stuffed 

Strawberries 

w/Cream Cheese 

Makes about 30 

2 (1 pound) containers strawberries 

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, 

softened 

6 tablespoons powdered sugar 

2 tablespoons orange juice (fresh, 

or from a bottle) 

1 cup frozen whipped topping 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Dash salt 

Blueberries (at least 30) for garnish 

1. Wash berries and pat them dry. (Keep 

stems on strawberries!) 

2. In stand mixer, or large mixing bowl, 

beat 2 packages of softened cream cheese 

until smooth. Add 6 tablespoons of 

powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons orange 

juice, 1 cup whipped topping, 1 teaspoon 

vanilla and a dash of salt. Beat until well 

floured 9-inch 

bundt pan, 

smoothing 

the top of the 

batter. (The 

batter will 

come slightly 

less than 

halfway up the sides of the pan.) 

4. Bake the cake until puffed and lightly 

browned on top and a toothpick or cake 

tester inserted comes out clean, 45 to 55 

minutes. Remove from the oven and cool 

in the pan on a cooling rack, then remove 

from the mold. The finished cake will be 

about 3 inches tall in the center. 

ICING: 

3/4 cup powdered sugar 

Reserved 2 tablespoons orange juice 

GARNISH: 

Candied orange peel 

5. While the cake is cooling, make the 

icing: In a medium bowl, sift the powdered 

sugar. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons 

orange juice and whisk to form the icing. 

6. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake, 

then garnish with the candied orange. 

combined 

and smooth. 

3. Set the 

strawberries 

upright on 

their green 

stems. With 

a sharp knife 

cut a slit 

through the 

top of each 

strawberry, making sure you don’t cut all 

the way through to the stem. 

4. Cut another slit along the top, forming an 

x pattern. 

5. Place a large open star tip in a pastry bag 

and fill the bag with the cream cheese 

mixture. If you don’t have a large star tip or 

a pastry bag, you could just use a large 

plastic sandwich bag and cut a small hole 

in the end. 

6. Pipe the cream cheese filling into the cut 

end of each strawberry. 

7. Place a blueberry on the top and set 

them on a pretty platter. Refrigerate until 

serving. 

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | SPRING 2014 4!

ScanMust 

MustView 

if you’re planning a visit to 

stockholm anytime soon, you won’t 

want to miss this spectacular way to 

view the city—from the air! 

skyView was conceived by Ulf 

larsson, CeO for Globen (e 

ericsson Globe), the 

national indoor arena of 

sweden. shaped like a 

large white ball during 

the day, it has a seating 

capacity of 16,000 for 

concerts and sporting 

events. at night it is 

awash with color, thanks 

to artificial lighting. 

wanting to attract more 

visitors to Globen, Ulf created the 

skyView with its gondola-and-rail 

system to take people to the top. 

Moun tain climbers were hired to do 

the work, outside and inside the roof. 

in early 2010, construction of the 

gondola line was complete—a project 

costing a total of 30 million swedish 

kronor (around $4.61 million). 

taking a tour via skyView provides 

a unique view over stockholm. You 

travel slowly inside a gondola up to the 

top of Globen, where you’re 130 meters 

(426 feet) above the 

sea. each of the two 

glass cabins fits up to 

16 people. 

e gondolas depart 

several times each hour. One 

ride takes about 20 minutes. 

inside skyView’s shop, you can buy 

items ranging from souvenirs to a 

photo of you and your family during 

your gondola trip. a café beside 

skyView allows you to eat lunch or stay 

for a fika (a swedish term for a short 

coffee break with munchies). 

a stockholm pass enables you to 

ride free each morning or to pay extra 

for rides aer noon. 

for more information visit 

www.destination-stockholm.com. 

For a really cool vacation, book a 

room in a floating ice crystal hotel, 

opening in December 2016 off the 

coast of Tromsø, Norway. 

MustStay 

Dutch architect koen Olthuis and his building partners 

are designing a 5-star floating hotel “in one of the most beautiful 

natural surroundings on earth”—off the coast of tromsø, Norway! 

e hotel, called the “krystall,” is shaped like a giant floating 

snowflake. e hotel will feature 86 luxury-venue rooms, 

conference rooms, and spa and wellness facilities. inside, you’ll 

float through hallways lined with cool, blue shapes, recline by a 

fireplace faced in bricks resembling ice blocks and sleep in 

rooms tricked out in minimalist, winter-themed designs. 

You’ll also gaze out of a curtain wall of windows at the 

forested, snow-dusted coast of Norway, and perhaps 

even glimpse the Northern lights via the glass roofs. 

log on to VisitNorway.us for more on the krystall, 

scheduled to be completed in December 2016. 

3^ 


MustYoga 

Passengers departing helsinki 

can now reduce the stress of travel by 

participating in pre-flight yoga and pilates 

classes being offered through the 

airport’s travellab, which aims to improve 

the experience of flying. 

as part of a testing phase, a limited 

selection of 20-minute sessions are 

available to all passengers, regardless of 

which airline and class of service they 

selected. Classes are held in the newly 

opened “kainuu” relaxation space. 

for more information visit 

www.helsinki-vanta.fi. 

MustBath 

Visit www.bluelagoon.com 

take a dip in iceland’s Blue lagoon! in 1976, a pool formed at the site from 

the waste water of the svartsengi geothermal power plant that had just been built 

on Reykjanes Peninsula south of Reykjavik. in 1981, people started bathing in it 

aer discovering its healing powers for psoriasis. in 1992, the Blue lagoon resort 

was established, and the bathing facility was opened for the public. 

iceland’s natural resource is almost-free power. e amount of geothermal activity 

is so high that iceland has more power stations than what it needs. it doesn’t 

pollute, and it’s cheap to drill down to hot rocks and tap into the steam. hot water 

is piped through households aer being warmed by the volcanic activity. 

iceland encourages development of electricity-hungry industries. aluminium 

production is just one; with a range of smelters in production across the island. 

iceland is also becoming a growth market for data centers, which continue to consume 

large amounts of power to supply cloud-based computing data. 

MustLEGO House 

Construction on the leGO house, a hands-on, 

minds-on experience center that challenges creativity and 

imagination, began last month. scheduled to open in 2016, 

the 12,000-square-meter (130,000-square-foot) leGO 

experience center is being called a place for people to 

have the “ultimate leGO experience.” 

e “leGO house” is located in the small town of 

Billund, hometown of the leGO Group. 

e leGO house is being envisioned as 

a “hands-on, minds-on 

experience center” where 

people can 

interact and play with various installations and displays that 

engage and challenge their creativity and imagination. e 

center will house a cafe, a leGO store, a public square, openroof 

terraces, and four specially designed play zones that offer 

unique leGO experiences to visitors. 

e exterior of the leGO house will resemble massive 

leGO bricks stacked and attached to each other, with one 

large brick at the very top of the 23-meter (75-foot) tall 

building. e leGO house will appear like a cloud of interlocking 

leGO bricks. Outside, the bricks form the 

roof as well as interconnected terraces 

and playgrounds. Read more at 

www.lego/LEGOHouse

han o 

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