NYHETER BREVET Vol 31 No 4 April 2012 Valkyrien Members:. April showers bring... What a surprise! It seems March and April have changed places!! For the past few days, I thought we were moving quickly into fall! Not to worry, though. Our lodge will surely warm things up shortly with our Syttende Mai activities. Just all our busy efforts will work wonders by generating some heat!! Be sure to contact Judy Johnson, or one of her sub-committee chairs, to get in on the action. We will need everyone to help in one way or another. In fact, I hope you were just being slow to call me about participating in the parade as part of The Norwegian Walkers. As one of the lead elements, the Walkers are generally in the news photos a great way to represent our involvement with all things Norwegian. Let me know you want to participate maybe the parade official will have to allot TWO spaces for the Walkers!! As we know, Woodville s Syttende Mai is the first of the area celebrations. It marks our lodge s first big project of the year, too. With all our projects, our involvement gets us warmed up along with helping the weather to dive into a variety of programs for the rest of the year. So far, the district convention is on our lodge calendar. We ll be sending delegates and a supply of Norwegian treats for the zone-sponsored coffee break. Hopefully, many of you will be able to attend as convention observers. It is a great way to learn more about the district and the society. To keep our momentum going, we have the opportunity to have a booth at the St Croix County Fair, with the possibility of re-creating our fair booth in Pierce County. In fact, May 1 is the deadline to register for the St Croix County fair. Be ready to vote at our April lodge meeting. The program committee developed a great palette of events for our lodge. I look forward to each of these programs. We re headed for another great lodge year!! Fraternally, Don Hermanson Lodge President NEXT MEETING: Woodville, Lion s Den: Monday, April 23, 2012 6:30 pm Refreshments Hosts: Judy & Jerry Johnson & Sandy Olson 7:00 pm. Opening Business Meeting Program: German Exchange Student at Glenwood City HS. NEXT MEETING: Woodville, Wisconsin Lion s Den: May 21, 2012 NOTE THE **EARLIER DATE DUE TO Memorial Day! * Agenda: Syttende Mai Follow-up Syttende Mai Plans from Judy Johnson, Chair Friday, May 18, 2012:, 3:30 pm - 7:30 pm Outside Lena s Gifts --Gordon & Judy Otterson are in charge of serving the pølse in lefse, rømmegrøt, coffee and bottled water. We have enough workers for this.
Saturday, May 19, 2012: Donald Hermanson in charge of the float for the parade. Serving food inside Lion's Den, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm - Almond cake, Flatbrød, Finska kakor, pølse in lefse, Rømmegrøt, Fattigman, Fyrstekake, Vafler, Krokanor, Krumkake, Rosettes, Sandbakkels, Kransekake, Snø Baler, lemonade, coffee, and bottled water. We have all the food we need but need more workers for every shift. Saturday, May 19, 2012: Inside Lion's Den, 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm Norwegian-English Church Service Don Olson is in charge and we could use a couple more workers. Jimmy Miller will be carving both on Friday night and all day on Saturday. We will not have lefse being made on Saturday as Arlys and Sue both are unable to make it. We are not having a baking day this year as most would rather cook at home. -Marilyn Olson Lear is in charge of publicity. Meet Your Valkyrien Member: Mark P. Helling Jobs/Employment History: Master Chief Petty Officer with United States Navy Reserve. Currently deployed as an action-officer to a Navy command located in Norfolk, VA. Previous deployments include duties as the S2 with a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan from 2006-2007, Senior Enlisted Advisor and Non- Commissioned Officer in Charge for a Division and Branch at US Central Command from 2003-2004 and Operations Representative and Analyst with the Northeast Field Office of the Navy Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) from 2001-2002. Deployments as a contractor include Iraq in 2009 and Afghanistan in 2010. When not deployed with the US Navy, I am defense contractor. Heritage: I am the son of Marvin C. Helling, grandson of Albert S. Helling and great-grandson of Sven Oleson (Halling). My great-grandfather was born in 1827 near the Village of Al, in Als Parish, Buskerud County in the Hallingdal Valley of Norway. Sven was not the oldest son in his family and as a result, he had no inheritance. Europe was over-populated at that time and opportunities were poor. He was also a deeply religious man and did not like the fact that the State in Norway chose your church and pastor so Sven and his young wife Marta were part of the Great Migration to American from 1860 to 1910 by legally immigrating in 1872. Due to the greatest piece of legislation in the 19 th Century, The Homestead Act, my Great-Grandfather applied for and received a quarter section of land near Luverne, Minnesota in 1874 in the heart of Rock County. It is there that he settled on his own land and realized the American Dream. Sven and Marta are the first generation of our family in America. Sven and Marta had five children. One of their sons was Albert Sven Helling, my grandfather. When Sven died in 1899, Albert left the farm and moved to Luverne. It is there that he met Johanna ( Jennie ) Skyberg (her parents were from Kongsvinger, Norway) and they were married in 1910. Albert was a construction laborer working for a house moving company. Jennie encouraged Albert to go into business for himself and was soon known throughout the Tri-State Area (Minnesota, Iowa & South Dakota) as a house moving contractor without peer. Albert and Jennie represent the second generation of our family in America. They were blessed with eight children. One of their sons was Marvin Clifford Helling, my father. Dad entered the US Navy in 1943 and was commissioned as an Ensign after completing training at Camp McDonough in Plattsburg, NY. He was assigned to USS LCI(G) 452 in the Central Pacific with duties as Deck Officer, Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of the same ship that was awarded four Battle Stars for the invasions of the Palau Islands, Saipan, Liberation of the Philippines and Okinawa. After WWII he graduated from Macalaster College and began a coaching, teaching and athletics administration career. Dad married Marcia M. Hanson of Redwood Falls, MN in 1948 and they represent the third generation of our family in America. They had three children. I remain Mark P. Helling and represent the fourth generation of our family in America. I married Kate L. Johnson of Golden Valley, MN in 1983. We have three children, Erik, Sean and Claire. Erik graduates from Santa Barbara College in May 2012 with a
degree in Criminal Justice and works for an energy company in Santa Barbara. Sean graduated from Dakota County Technical College in 2010 as a Certified Welder and works in River Falls. Claire is full-time student at UW-LaCrosse. Erik, Sean and Claire represent the fifth generation of our family in America. They too, will live the American Dream! What is my favorite thing about the Sons of Norway? Due to multiple deployments and contract assignments I am rarely home so I have not been able to enjoy the activities of my Lodge. My favorite thing is the recognition and celebration of our Nordic heritage and history. Why I joined the Sons of Norway: My reason for joining the Sons of Norway is the preservation of Nordic blood, culture, history and tradition in America and the passing of those values to our future generations. It is vital that our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren learn, honor and remember the sacrifices made by our ancestors who left a known land and heritage in Europe, legally immigrated to America, asked for nothing more than an opportunity and with hard work and faith, built their life in America. Favorite hobbies: Hunting, fishing and all vigorous outdoor activities. Kate and I enjoy weekends at the lake. Where was I born and raised: I was born in Detroit Lakes, MN and raised in Grand Forks, ND where dad was the Head Football Coach at the University of North Dakota (The Home of the Fighting Sioux). We moved to New Brighton, MN in 1968 after dad retired from coaching. I graduated from Irondale Senior High School in 1972, UW-River Falls in 1976 (BS) and Emporia State University, KS in 1977 (MS). I settled in River Falls and met my future wife, Kate L. Johnson in 1981. We were married in 1983. We ve raised three kids, four black labs, five cats and other critters that come with country living. Future Plans: I hope to be more involved with the Lodge once my deployments are completed and depending on the location of my contracts. Kate works part-time for the River Falls School District. We enjoy country living in rural Kinnickinnic Township and weekends at the lake. You can e-mail Mark at cv63scpo@yahoo.com he d love to hear from you! Norsk i et Nøtteskall (Norwegian in a Nutshell) We use certain words in all languages to denote ourselves or others in speaking or writing. These words are called pronouns and they tell something about the subject and object of the sentence. Here is an abbreviated list of some pronouns in Norwegian and their English equivalent: singular forms subject object jeg = I meg = me du = you deg = you han = he ham = him hun = she henne = her plural forms vi = we dere = you de = they oss = us dere = you dem = them There are two words for you in Norwegian. Du is used to address a single person and Dere is used to address a group. In English we use the single word you for both cases. The formal form of addressing an individual in Norwegian using De is rapidly disappearing in Norway. One of the objectives of these articles is to learn a few Norwegian words. Spring has arrived in Wisconsin so here are a few nouns that pertain to that season: masculine nouns feminine nouns neuter nouns vår spring sol sun regn - rain blomst flower søle mud gress grass årstid season jord ground tre tree Next month we will learn a few Norwegian verbs and how to construct a simple sentence.
$$$ Treasurer s Report $$$ April 2012 Beginning Balance: (3/9/12) $1669.73 Income: None Total Income: (4/9/12) $0 Expenses: None $0 Total Expenses: $0 Balance in Checkbook: (4/9/12) $1669.73 Account with Sons of Norway: Balance: (3/9/12) $6969.73 Interest $30.13 Balance: (4/9/12) $6999.86 Share a Recipe Diamond Cookies 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 2 heaping tsp. vanilla sugar 2 TBLS. Lyle's Golden syrup 2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt Put all in bowl and mix with hands. Divide into portions and make rolls like a hot dog. Place 2 or 3 rolls on a cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees 10-12 min. until very light brown. Do not underbake or overbake. Slice diagonally while warm, right away from the oven, then cool. Amount: I get 4 rolls on my 12 x 14 1/2 cookie sheets. Also the amount of cookie pieces you end up with depends on the size you cut them. Note: this recipe was submitted by Audrey Halverson who received it from Linda Curtis of the Eau Claire Son. It was evidently a very good recipe brought to the Barnebirke. Editor s Note: According to Amazon (where Lyle s Golden Syrup is available): it is a 454 gram tin of partially inverted refiners syrup ; a delicious spread and sweetener for cooking and comes in an easy to store tin and is made by Tate & Lyle PLC in United Kingdom. UPDATE: I found Lyle s Golden Syrup at the Williamsburg Pottery Outlet (actually now a brand new huge store with an unbelievable gourmet & International food section. I have purchased 2 extra 11 oz. bottles (from England) of Lyle s Golden Syrup $4.30/bottle. If anyone wants to try these cookies and the syrup I will bring you one! THOUGHTS FROM YOUR EDITOR: Hello from Williamsburg, VA and area. We are spending a week here before we begin the journey back to Wisconsin. We spent a very interesting week in the Washington DCarea (at a huge campground in College Park MD) with 48 RVs & 96 people from 23 different states. If you haven t been in this area for a number of years, do return! There are so many new, updated visitors centers and displays that it s almost like you ve never been here. Some things don t change the Lincoln memorial etc. but others do the WW II memorial is relatively new, the Capital visitor center is excellent. We even visited Annapolis and Baltimore. See you in April Julie
VALKYRIEN LODGE OFFICERS: Lodge President Donald J Hermanson 715-698-2502 hermansondj@att.net 2721 US Highway 12 Woodville, WI 54028-7144 Lodge Vice President Sandra J Olson 715-698-3433 packerland@baldwin-telecom.net 733 250th St Woodville, WI 54028-7025 Lodge Secretary Kathy L Williams 715-531-1604 kathrynwilliams120@comcast.net 120 Quail Cir Hudson, WI 54016-7732 Lodge Treasurer Don E Olson 715-235-8272 olsondon@hughes.net E2946 470th Ave Menomonie, WI 54751-5332 Lodge Social Director Karen M Eicher 715-265-4075 theeichers@gmail.com 3092 County Rd E Glenwood City, WI 54013-3724 Lodge Editor Julie M Backus 414-745-4362 (cell) jewelsdi@yahoo.com 405 315th St Wilson, WI 54027-2522 Lodge Cultural Director Judith A Otterson 715-265-7027 gojo_otterson@yahoo.com 103 Main St Downing, WI 54734-9452 Lodge Counselor Carmen D Peterson 715-698-2468 car1vir@mymailstation.com 247 S Church St Woodville, WI 54028-9785