Following our major blowout success with the Viking Fair, the Lodge kept up the momentum with nearly three hundred guests at our Lutefisk and Meatball dinner. We had many volunteers, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the kitchen crew of Phil, Cheryl, Carol, Loise, Maria, and Kathy Godsil. Bjørg was our shopping queen while Jean, Jane, and Nancy managed the bar and baked goods sale. Dave is still trying to get the smell of lutefisk out of his car.
Our November Heritage meeting featured the current Norwegian food fads of taco Fridays and pizza. With members bringing salads, desserts, and other favorites, it was easy to see why Norwegians are second only to Mexicans in per capita taco consumption.
Our cooking club finished the “six” traditional Christmas cookies, but we never got to kransekakestenger. The classes were well attended, and everyone enjoyed the cookies they had labored over.
New officer elections for 2026 took place at the November Heritage meeting. Mark Wedo will be our Lodge President, Kerry Hefta will be our Vice President, Kathy Godsil will be the Treasurer, and Karen Ravnaas will be our Secretary. There are further opportunities to contribute to the lodge as program directors, so please contact the incoming officers to volunteer.
Throughout October and November, we have been doing double duty, making lefse every Tuesday and Wednesday to support the Christmas Market at Trollheim and our own lutefisk requirements. We are taking a well-deserved break until 9 December, but we will have our lefse baking for the Holidays on 6 December. Like last year, the lodge will provide lefse dough for members/guests to make their own lefse. The lodge will also offer packing material for the finished lefse. There will be two sessions starting at 9:00 and 11:00. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet your lefse holiday needs! So lefse baking for the Holidays on 6 December and our normal lefse baking on the 9th.
Our Heritage Program on 10 December will be a presentation by Janice and Faye on their trip to Ukraine. Our Family Christmas Potluck will be held on 13 Dec, starting with a social at 2:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 3:00 p.m. We hope you can come. If you are bringing children, please let us know when you make a reservation so we can have a small gift ready.
In closing, Bjørg and I want to wish you a Happy Holiday Season. I hope everyone is finding activities in the Heritage meetings, cultural presentations, language and painting classes, and special events to enjoy. Next year, we will be restarting our book club with details to follow. If you have suggestions, please contact me. We are willing to try anything!
