Stoughton
Courier Hub The
Syttende Mai edition
Thursday, May 16, 2019 • Vol. 137, No. 43 • Stoughton, WI • www.unifiednewsgroup.com • $1.25
A taste of tradition Decades of baking, memories at Sons of Norway Mandt Lodge AMBER LEVENHAGEN Unified Newspaper Group
Photo by Amber Levenhagen
Margaret Arneson, 95, checks the lefse before packaging. Arneson has been a member of the Mandt Lodge since 1968 and has been baking with the group for just as long.
Some wait all year for the treats of Syttende Mai. K r u m k a ke , l e f s e a n d donuts, the lines for these N o r w eg i a n f o o d i t e m s often stretch all the way down Main Street – which, c o nv e n i e n t l y, o ff e r s a d e l i g h t f u l v i ew o f t h e parades. Behind the scenes, dozens of volunteers spend countless hours creating the traditional cookies and snacks that so many look forward to enjoying. While it’s not the only group that bakes for the festival, the Sons of Norway Mandt Lodge has a tradition dating back to its inception. The lodge is a hub of activity on any given baking morning. “And we can’t get going without our coffee,” Rich Hosfeld said last week. Hosfeld and his wife, Fern, were preparing the kitchen in the basement of the lodge for a day of baking. The group was making cookies, specifically Krumkake, having made donuts the day before and lefse the week prior. T h e S o n s o f N o r wa y (Sønner av Norge) is a
Living on through rosemaling If You Go
EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
The spirit of the Norwegian rosemaling lives on through artist Ethel Kvalheim, even though she died on Nov. 16, 2011. You can already find relics of her in various places around Stoughton, most notably the Livsreise Norwegian Heritage Center, 277 W. Main St., and Home Savings Bank, 400 W. Main St. Inside the bank, Kvalheim lives on in works that adorn the walls, as well
What: “The Artistic Life of Ethel Kvalheim” art exhibit When: Friday, May 10, through Sunday, May 19 Where: Livsreise Main Hall, 277 W. Main St. Info: 873-7567 as designs that decorate the restroom door and beams above where tellers serve customers. She can even be seen on a road sign just outside the bank on its drive-thru lane – it’s not an official city street, but can be seen from South Prairie Street.
Livsreise already displays some of Kvalheim’s pieces year-round, but the center will host rosemaling exhibit “The Artistic Life of Ethel Kvalheim” starting May 10, showing Kvalheim’s art through Syttende Mai weekend, May 17-19. Ethel’s son Keith Kvalheim and his wife, Fanny, loaned all of the art for the exhibit, Marg Listug, Livsreise manager said. Kvalheim integrated many of the aforementioned forms into her rosemaling designs – on trunks, furniture, dishes, walls, doors and canvases – throughout her career as an artist. The artist was born on March 5, 1912, in the Town of Pleasant
Turn to Rosemaling/Page 15
Courier Hub
fraternal organization that principally represents people of Norwegian heritage around the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1895 as “The Independent Order of the Sons of Norway.” Stoughton’s Mandt Lodge, 314, was organized on Oct. 20, 1840. The group regularly hosts programs geared toward Norwegian culture and history, though it is not limited to individuals who are Norwegian. Hosfeld isn’t Norwegian, but he and Fern – who is very Norwegian – have been coming to the Mandt Lodge for years. And beyond being members, the two spend a lot of time baking in that basement kitchen.
This year, the group had four baking days for both lefse and donuts, which resulted in over 1,200 of each, and there are very few, if any, left after the festival every year. W h i l e d o n u t s h ave a rather defined cooking method, the group agreed that lefse is a divisive treat. “You could have a lefse contest and see 100 different kinds,” Todd Fossum said. Fossum was among the group baking lefse last month, when a group of a dozen people made roughly 400 pieces in one day. “Everybody has a lot of pride in their lefse,” Fern added.
Turn to Lefse/Page 14
Inside Meet the royalty
A Viking contest Page 8
Page 2 Schedule of events Page 3
Sample Norwegian culture Page 10
What is Syttende Mai? Page 5
Parades, canoe race return
Stoughton Village Players return Page 6
Page 12 Norwegian Dancers performance schedule
Festive food
Page 13
Page 7
Experience Our Annual Syttende Mai Cheese Tasting! Saturday, May 18, 11-1pm • Sunday, May 19, 11am-1:30pm
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‘The Artistic Life of Ethel Kvalheim’ art exhibit starts May 10
Photo by Amber Levenhagen
Lefse, made from a potato-based dough, is a Norwegian specialty that is treated like a tortilla. From start to finish, members of the Sons of Norway Mandt Lodge prepare the dough, roll it out, fry it, cool and package it to be enjoyed during the Syttende Mai festival.