Thursday, May 14, 2020 • Vol. 138, No. 43 • Stoughton, WI • www.unifiednewsgroup.com • $1.50
Prince is third-grader Hunter Lewis.
Princess is third-grader Saphira Fankhauser.
Separate Mai: A different kind of independence Without the annual festival, Stoughtonites celebrate their heritage in creative ways
Do-it-yourself Syttende Mai
SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
The Norse are a patient people, and that can come in handy from time to time. Nothing demonstrates that quite like Syttende Mai, the celebration of Norwegians around the world that marks the May 17, 1814, signing of Norway’s constitution. And for the past 67 years – until this year’s was canceled this year because of COVID-19 – Stoughton has been the world leader in celebration of Syttende Mai. While the event that brought about the annual parades and celebrations here ended 500 years of Danish rule, it would be nearly 100 years before the country would win true independence through victory over another neighbor (insert your favorite Ole/Lena joke): Sweden. Sticking it out through challenging times seems to be a common trait for Norwegians – after all, they’ve thrived in harsh, northern climates for generations, and many still willingly enjoy lutefisk, an air-dried, often salted whitefish that’s soaked for days in lye, of all things. And those are the qualities (lutefisk aside) that endear them to the area’s many other ethnic groups, because after all, we’ve all chosen to live here, too. Since 1868, Stoughton’s Syttende Mai festivals have been a way to share and spread the area’s proud Norwegian heritage, sparked then by a surge of immigrants seeking work in post-war tobacco houses or Targe Mandt’s wagon works factory. At one point around the turn of the 20th century, Stoughton was one of the most Norwegian cities in America.
To help keep the spirit of the festival alive, Stoughton Chamber of Commerce events and visitor services manager Callie LaPoint is asking people to decorate and share their Norwegian flair from home (chalk art, window art, etc.) and tag #SyttendeMaiStoughton on Facebook or Instagram. She’ll be posting updates throughout the week on Facebook @ SyttendeMaiStoughton, Instagram @ SyttendeMai_Stoughton and the festival website, stoughtonfestivals.com. Times changed, but the city would return to those roots, reviving Syttende Mai in 1953, and turning it into the annual event that continues to grow and evolve. That’s all going to change this year, and possibly into the future. But while the large crowds and parades will be gone – at least for now – that doesn’t mean Stoughton can’t still celebrate Syttende Mai together, even while we’re apart for a while. And maybe there’s nothing more typically Norski-stubborn than having a Syttende Mai issue when there’s no Syttende Mai celebration in Stoughton. So in that spirit, we look back here on the Syttende Mais of the past and ahead to what new, creative ways people find to celebrate this year. And hopefully next year and ever after, we will be back for the parades, the bunads, the canoe races, the Norwegian Dancers and, above all, the camaraderie. And possibly even the lutefisk.
Photo submitted
‘Olaf’ and his twin brother Thor bring a sad message about Syttende Mai this year, as Stoughton’s popular annual festival celebrating Norwegian heritage has been canceled for 2020. The Vikings traditionally stand ‘guard’ on opposite ends of Main Street announcing the festival.
Inside
A Syttende Mai primer
Norwegian Dancers say goodbye Page 2 A look back through the years Page 3 Hub reporter shares nostalgia of growing up with Syttende Mai Page 4 17 Syttende Mai recipes Pages 6-7
Courier Hub
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Randy and Donna Olson are crowed Syttende Mai 2020 King and Queen during the Norse Afternoon of Fun on Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Stoughton High School gymnasium.
A royal message Syttende Mai 2020 king and queen Randy and Donna Olson will be respecting the “Safer at Home” order while enjoying some traditional celebrations at home. Donna, who was the city’s mayor from 201018, said the couple will spend some time baking some of grandma Olson’s favorite Norwegian recipes: Rosettes, krumkake, doughnuts and “maybe even some lefse and rommegrot.” “We have our Norwegian windsock and flags proudly displayed, as well as a new sign by Bill Amundson,” she emailed the Hub last week. “Randy and I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Syttende Mai!” Email Unified Newspaper Group reporter Scott De Laruelle at scott.delaruelle@wcinet.com.
In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, Norwegians gathered on May 17, 1814, in the small village of Eidsvoll to ratify their own “grunnloven” (constitution). That event established Norway as an independent country — in theory, if not in practice — due to wars with Sweden that would last until 1905. To honor that day, when their country was legally born, Norwegians throughout the world have celebrated May 17 as Syttende Mai, (Seventeenth of May) the Norwegian Constitution Day. In Stoughton, the Syttende Mai festival is held on the weekend closest to May 17. From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, the area saw an influx of Norwegians, and many residents spoke Norwegian. The city has hosted Syttende Mai celebrations on and off since 1868; more frequently between 1915-39 before Germany’s invasion of Norway in 1940. That essentially forced a pause that would last until Walter Eggleston and other city leaders revived it for May 1953, and it has since grown and evolved as an annual event. In 1967, the Stoughton Chamber of Commerce took over the festival, and it has planned the event each year since. The event drew more than 30,000 per year in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. These days, as many as 20,000 people attend, Syttende Mai serves as a way to preserve the city’s Norwegian heritage and share its culture with a new generation. Email Verona Press editor Jim Ferolie at veronapress@wcinet.com.