The Ager Newsletter The Waldemar Ager Association Nov. 2014-Jan. 2015 Advent at the Ager A Nordic Christmas Celebration Sunday Dec. 14 1-4 pm Featuring: Coming Events Advent at the Ager Sun. Dec. 14, 1-4 pm Ager House Children s Swedish: Ager House. Begins Jan. 10, 2015 Board Meeting Mon. Jan.19, 9:30 am Ager House Ager Association Spring Program: Mar. 23, 7pm L.E. Phillips Library Board Meeting Mon. Feb 16, 9:30 am Ager House Syttende Mai Fri. May 15,4 pm Resurrection Luth. Church Crafts for Kids Traditional Desserts Tours ECCO Performance Christmas Carols Santa Lucia will sing and hand out cookies. All Are Welcome!! Everything Is Free! Ager House 514 W. Madison St. Agerhouse.org The Waldemar Ager Assn. 514 W. Madison Street P.O. Box 1742 Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54702-1742 715.834.3985 www.agerhouse.org
From President Doug Pearson We are in the midst of a very busy season for the Ager House. At our fall meeting in early October we elected Mary Elworthy to the Board for a two-year term. Thank you, Mary, for agreeing to serve the organization. Then we turned our attention to the screening of Babette s Feast. About 60 people showed up for this party. When the film was finished, we enjoyed some Scandinavian treats and a discussion led by Tim Hirsch. If you were there, you know we had fun. If you weren t, you have probably been told, You should have been there! On the 8th of November the rosmaling group had a Christmas sale of ornaments and other work. They sold 189 tree ornaments painted by members of the group, and the rosmalers donated the proceeds to the Ager Association. THANK YOU, rosmalers, for your creativity and for your support of the organization. On Sunday, November 2, Stan and Yvonne Hillestad, Sue and I set up the Ager Table for the UW-Eau Claire International Folk Fair. We provided the coffee for those who were scooping up the pastries at the Sons of Norway tables. And we had a Nordic Culture trivia quiz and managed to have a conversation about the Ager House and Nordic matters with about 150 people. On November 20th, Robert Fossum attended our monthly Board meeting. He has agreed to accept an appointment to take the place of Patrick Mattson, who resigned a few months ago. On the 22nd of November, the Association opened the Ager House to the Chippewa Valley Symphony Christmas Stroll. Our house was one of six on the tour that spanned the city. Thanks to Borgny Ager, Norb Wurtzel, Tim Hirsch, Vicky Finstad, Mary Elworthy, and Ingrid Coobs for helping with safety and information while more than 300 strollers worked their way through the main floor, the library, and the basement, where Edith Kling demonstrated the art of rosmaling and also sold some of her works. Now we are readying for Advent at the Ager. The Christmas tree has been up since November 7th, and other decorations were added before the strollers came along. Come to the house on December 14th, and celebrate the season with food and song. PLEASE NOTE: The House needs the following: 3-hole punch (should be durable) A few rolls of paper towels 3 reams of printer paper 2
REPORT ON THE MAKEOVER: How It Turned Out, and What s Next? We had big plans underway last April. Although we were still painting the decks and ramp in 38-degree weather in November, we managed to complete all of our projects just before the snow fell. To sum up: O We replaced all of the siding on the old part of the house while following the protocol for lead abatement. O We repainted the trellises and the back section of the house (the new part). O We added new handrails in all of the appropriate places. O We repainted all of the window and door trim and the special features of the front porch, the gables, and the large windows of the parlor and dining room. O We removed all of the storm windows, glazed and repainted them. O While the storms were off, we repainted the window sashes. O We repainted the decks and the ramp. THANKS TO ALL who contributed time, money, and talent to make the house look so sharp. It s catching the eye of people driving by. I know. Nonmembers such as a nurse I see at Mayo tell me how wonderful it looks. One note of caution: The fresh paint on the decks and ramp makes them a little slick in cold, snowy weather. We have installed an outdoor carpet on the ramp, but be careful everywhere. What lies ahead? We discovered that our sidewalk adjacent to the house has cracked and is not suitably assisting with run-off from the house. We need to do something about that relatively soon. Also, the summer construction and general aging have worn out our landscaping. This too will need some attention relatively soon. Save the Date: March 23, 7 p.m. L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire Book Discussion Night: Ager s On the Way to the Melting Pot. Tim Hirsch, Discussion Leader 3
Challenge for 2015 The Board and I ask that you accept one or both of the following challenges for 2015. Starting in January, we intend to have wireless internet access in the Ager House. This will be of enormous help to the Library Committee and to those visiting the library to do research. But, as Board member Eric Anderson has pointed out, wireless access makes it possible to enhance our visibility when we host events at the Ager House. We can upload pics and videos and show what a good time can be had at Ager events. Challenge One: Adopt a Month of Payment for Internet Service The internet portion of our AT&T bill is about $55. Robert Fossum and I have already covered January and February. If you will adopt one of the other months, please contact our treasurer, Stan Hillestad (hill33@charter.net), so that he can receive your donation and keep track of the people supporting this effort. Or just send your donation, indicating support for the internet, to Stan at PO Box 1742, Eau Claire, WI 54702-1742 Challenge Two: Adopt a Month to Help Us Be Open to the Public Our plan is to expand the effort initiated by the Library Committee in September. We want to open the house twice a month on the second and fourth Saturday each month from 10 1. We need two people at each shift one to assist people wanting to use the library or know more about it, one to greet people on the main floor and introduce them to the house and give tours. Doug Pearson will do the library in January. Carol Anderson has volunteered to be the greeter on the main floor in January. What month(s) will you help out? Please let me know: 715 834 5204 or pearsoda@uwec.edu. Beginning Swedish for Kids and Adults Begins Jan. 10, 2015! Beginning Jan. 10, the class will run for five weeks. It will meet Saturdays at 9:00-9:50 am at the Ager House. The cost is $20.00 per student. We will learn beginning Swedish through culture (food, sports, geography, songs, children s books, etc. Parents are welcome. Adults are encouraged to enroll and enjoy the class. Eric and Erin Anderson are the instructors. 4
Ager House Participants at the International Folk Fair at UWEC in November. Pictured right: Vicky Finstad and her cousin. Below: Stan Hillestad and Sue and Doug Pearson answer questions for visitors Photos by Deb Jarvar 5
Library News, November 2014 By Miriam Hansen Those who attended Babette s Feast on October 5 had a sneak preview at the latest addition to the Ager House Resource Library. Thanks to the generosity of Bob Esse, we now have the three- volume set of Norwegians in America, Their History and Record, by Martin Ulvestad. Some of you have attempted to look for your Norwegian ancestors in our 1907 edition of this title (Nordmændene in Amerika, Deres Historie og Rekord), and you ve struggled, not only with the Norwegian language, but also with the Gothic script! These wonderful new volumes include both the English translation as well as a Norwegian transcription, and provide you with a wealth of information about your ancestors: where in Norway they came from, where they emigrated to, how they traveled (including some of the hardships of their journeys), their military and public service, information about their cultural events and organizations, and much more. The books are available for use in the Ager Resource Library. We hope that you ll have an opportunity to come to the library during our open Saturdays to do some research, or to just browse and get acquainted with the wealth of interesting materials that are in the collection. Many thanks to the volunteers who have kept the library open on alternate Saturdays this fall. They include John Peterson, Ken and Lynne Ziehr, Tim Hirsch, Jeanette Fredrickson, Norb Wurtzel and Bob Esse. We welcome more volunteers! Please contact Norb Wurtzel (nkw1@charter.net) or Miriam Hansen (hansenjm@uwec.edu). The library is open on alternate Saturdays from 11 a.m.to 2 p.m., or by appointment by contacting John Peterson (johnpet@charter.net). Please check our website for the winter schedule. Pictured left: Tulla Froyen visited the Ager House library recently to research the Reform for articles pertaining to a book she is writing about her grandfather E.E. Lobeck. Jan Hansen assisted her in the translations. 6
The Ager Association 2015 Board of Directors Doug Pearson, President pearsoda@uwec.edu 715.834.5204 Vicky Finstad, Vice President vfinstad@yahoo.com Ella Fossum, Secretary, Newsletter ella_fossum@wi.rr.com 262.554.6014 262.664.3615 Stan Hillestad, Treasurer hill33@charter.net 715.834.3749 Eric Anderson, Programing eem_anderson@yahoo.com 715.830.0122 Carol Anderson, House activities pcanderson6@yahoo.com 715.834.7891 Ingrid Coobs, House activities ingridcoobs@yahoo.com 715.933.4105 Robert Esse, robertesse@yahoo.com Marian Klish, Arts program, mklish@hotmail.com 715.831.8468 Mary Elworthy elwortek@uwec.com 715.379.7491 Robert Fossum robertfossum@gmail.com 715.924.4111 Orv Bierman, Rep. from Norden Folk; biermaol@uwec.com Steve Loken. Webmaster bravo@sjloken.com YOU! Recent Acquisitions Barbara Bergh Culver Framed picture set of Col. Hans Heg Eric and Erin Anderson Autographed picture of winning team at 2014 World Championship Kubb Tournament, Gottenberg, Sweden Bob Esse Norwegians in America, Their History and Record, volumes 1-3, by Martin Ulvestad. Steve Johnson Antique mink stretchers for the rosemalers John Peterson Ibsen s Drama by Einar Haugen and The Life of Ibsen by Halvdan Koht Doug Pearson Meek Heritage,an Epic Novel by the Finnish author, F. E. Sillanpää Jan and Miriam Hansen Family Sagas: Stories of Scandinavian Immigrants and Norwegian Newspapers in America: Connecting Norway and the New Land by Odd Lovoll Norb and Helen Wurtzel My Enemy s Child by G. R. Revelle, Utvandring til Amerika by Rolf Svellingen, and Eau Claire County, by Frank Smoot and the Chippewa Valley Museum. Louise Koxlien The Restoration Contributions Esther Hjemboe In memory of Alf Hjemboe Maria Raffel House Restoration Fund Vicky Finstad House Restoration Fund Peter Torgerson House Restoration Fund Marian Stephenson In memory of Martin Stephenson Lauren Ager In memory of Roald S. Ager Ella Fossum In honor of Nancy and Ben Greenebaum New Members Norma Lionberger Stan and Jeanette Fredrickson C.C. and Judy Anderson Annmarie Anderson Roger and Joan Albertson Peter Torgerson Kathleen Rau Ralph and Elaine Pitzrick With this issue of the newsletter we welcome two new members to our Board of Directors: Mary Elworthy and Robert Fossum. At the end of the membership campaign Stan noted that we have 110 paid memberships and 16 life members. Happy Holidays to all! Note: The next meeting of your board is Monday Jan.19, 2015 at 9:30 am. 7
The Ager House 514 W. Madison St. P.O. Box 1742 Eau Claire, WI 54702-1742 JULEØNSKE Snaar klokkerne ringer Vår julehelg in; Må gleden fra oven Da fylde vårt sinn! Må samlet vi stanse Ved Betlehems stalden Og troende lytte Til hyrdernes kalden! Må juledagsfreden I sjelen seg sænke Og bryde hver ufredens Bindene lenke. Må livet, vi lever, En fredspreken vere, Så verden vi gavne Og himlen vi ære! (From Helge Hoverstad s book, Programhjaelp.) CHRISTMAS WISH Soon the bells ring Bringing Christmas in; May the happiness from above Then fill our thoughts! Together we ll gather By the Bethlehem stable And faithfully listen To the shepherds calling. May the peace of Christmas Settle in your soul And break each Hostile link. Let the way we live our lives Be a message of peace, So the world will benefit And we will honor heaven. (Translated by Jan Hansen) 8