NEWS

NEWS ITEMS

Happy Birthday NRK!
This month, NRK, one of Norway's largest television and radio networks, celebrates 50 years.

Among the many reasons to congratulate NRK on it's long history of success, is the final shift of one of the station's most well-known Channel hosts (otherwise known as a "hello-lady"), Kirsten Schøyen.


Kirsten says she was proud to have worked 45 wonderful years with NRK and was grateful to be part of an institution that offered so much more than other channels.  She stated proudly in an August 18th interview with Aftenposten that "when you choose to watch NRK, you are more knowledgeable afterwards than when you turned the TV on".
<CREDIT: Nordmanns Forbundet>.
 
Tourists flock to Oslo Friday, 20 August 2010 06:22

While fewer tourists visit Norway, an increasing number of them visit Oslo. According to Statistics Norway (SSB), 10 per cent fewer tourists have come to the country in the last ten-year period.

In the same period, Oslo experienced an increase of 39 per cent in tourist visits.

Chief of tourism in Oslo, Tor Sannerud, says the following about the statistics:- Today, more International flights come to Oslo than before. In addition, some of the ferries to the Continent have increased capacity. Part of the reason is also that Oslo is both the gateway to Norway, as well as a destination for visitors in itself.

(NRK)

Contributed by Thor Steinhovden
 
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WEBCAMS - See what it is like in Norway right now
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Live "webcams" are available at www.norway.com.  Just go to www.norway.com and click on their "Live Webcams" icon and then select a city or location.  Many of the webcams are updated every few minutes.  Each is a little different.  Some show you a harbor - others might show you a city square.  The Bergen webcam is often focused on the market at the end of the warf area. Check it out.


 
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NORWEGIAN AUTHOR LOOKING FOR INFORMATION
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Information about your immigrant Norwegian ancestors could be part of a book to be published in Norway.

Author, Hans Olav Løkken (60), from Stjordal, outside Trondheim, Norway, is a full time local historian, having already written 10 books.  A newspaper columnist, he has also been involved in a recurring historical radio program on NRK P1, Trøndelag (similar to National Public Radio in the U.S.) for ten years. His last two books dealt with people from Trøndelag who immigrated to America.

He has been to the U.S. twice in the last 2 years for research.  As an historian, he is always looking for “stories” or “happenings” about these immigrants and is interested in everything in their lives: happiness, sadness, fighting for survival, murder, struggles, or years of hard work.  It does not matter if they were famous or unknown, rich or poor, pioneers or townspeople.  Some were attacked by Indians.  Some lived in a dug out "cave" the first year.  Each person had their own special story.

If you have something to share, please contact Hans Olav. If it is only 10 words or two sentences, based on written material or verbal tradition, it does not matter. It will be combined to become many pages in his next books.

Hans Olav especially wants information about people from: Stjørdal, Meråker, Malvik, Selbu, Tydal, Frosta and Åsen in Trøndelag in Norway. But he is also interested in those from Dovre and Lesja in Gudbrandsdalen.

Contact Hans Olav at:
Hans Olav Løkken,
 Thyholtvn. 26
7500 Stjørdal, Norway
E-mail: hans.olav.lokken@online.no
Web site: www.historiefortelleren.no
The website is in Norwegian, but don't forget you can use Google translation for a close approximation in English
Try this link where I have pre-loaded the translation information.  It should take you to Hans Olav's web site with a Google translation into English.  <CLICK HERE>

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SYTTENDE MAI 2010 - A FEW PICTURES UNTIL WE GET MORE PHOTOS Click for larger photo
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Row 1: Ray Syverson with his 1913 car, a big hit with the parade watchers. Gene and Tordis Kaczmarek before their ride in the convertible. Ed Waters, Tordis Kaczmarek, Jostein Bakken, Gregg LeDuc,
Row 2: Jon Satrum, UNK, Lorraine Straw helping promote the Viking ship,
Row 3: The Grand March and a Viking helping Lorraine with the Viking Ship.

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Book release by Skjold member and local author - Bob Wangard
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ABOUT THE BOOK
TARGET - A Pete Thorsen mystery.

When Pete Thorsen comes to Clear Lake for his August vacation, his only thought is to escape the Chicago rat race. Listen to his oldies, play some one-on-one basketball with a friend, renew old acquaintances. And practice with his replica tenth century Viking longbow.

All that changes when he meets the mysterious Cara Lane and she turns up dead the next day. Suddenly Pete’s forced to investigate the woman’s death to fend off an aggressive young deputy who eyes him as a suspect. Then his archrival at their law firm inexplicably learns of the incident and tries to oust him from his position. To cap things off, he’s run off the road one dark night and left for dead.

Battered and virtually alone in his belief that Cara Lane was murdered – only the deputy, who still has him in his gunsights, seems to feel the same way – he fights doggedly on, pursuing the truth. It all comes to a head one night when he finds his own life on the line and uncovers a stunning web of intrigue where old wounds still fester and an insatiable thirst for vengeance lurks just out of sight.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Like Pete, Skjold member, Bob Wangard grew up in rural Wisconsin of Norwegian-American heritage. After serving a stint in the army, most of which was spent in Germany, he attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He worked a variety of jobs to get through – stoking blast furnaces in a Milwaukee steel mill, selling encyclopedias door-to-door, working on an artificial breeding farm where he helped lead wild-eyed 2,000 pound bulls out to do their thing.

After graduating from law school, he joined one of the oldest firms in Chicago where he enjoyed a long career specializing in cross-border transactions. He satisfied his urge to write during that period by cranking out a stream of professional articles that were published in the United States and Europe. Then he took a fiction writing course. He knew he was hooked when he found himself stealing time from the latest eighty-two page acquisition agreement to work on fiction writing exercises. Bob put the practice of law in his rearview mirror a couple of years ago and now writes full-time. He splits his time between a Chicago suburb and “the lake” in northwest Michigan. "TARGET" is his first novel, but he’s published many crime-fiction short stories. He’s also busy at work on his second book.

A new member to Skjold Lodge, Bob is a member of Mystery Writers of America and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Visit Bob's website for more details about the book and Pete's heritage. <Click Here> for details.

Skjold Lodge does not endorse specific products or services, but does from time to time make members aware of products and services which may be of interest to them.

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Skjold Lodge receives award
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April 23, 2010:  
OFFICE OF THE COOK COUNTY TREASURER
Maria Pappas
TOPS - Treasurer’s Outreach Program and Services
118 North Clark Street, Room 218
Chicago, Illinois 60602

PAPPAS PRESENTS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE TO SONS OF NORWAY - SKJOLD LODGE

Pat Michalski, Mike Hanson, Treasurer Pappas, Geri Hanson

<Click on Photo for larger version> Photo caption:  Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas presents an award of excellence to Mike Hanson, president of the Sons of Norway Skjold Lodge, for promoting Norwegian heritage and culture.  The organization celebrated the lodge’s 100th anniversary April 10, 2010.  The Sons of Norway Skjold Lodge provides scholarships, does charitable work and promotes Norwegian heritage, causes and culture.  Hanson is retired after working 43 years as an environmental engineer and is a veteran of World War II.  From left:  Pat Michalski, ethnic affairs director with the Treasurer’s office; Mike Hanson; Treasurer Pappas, and Hanson’s wife Geraldine.

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SKJOLD LODGE MOVES TO NEW LOCATION
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Our meetings are now being held at:

SEE OUR LODGE MEETING PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO GET THERE.

Please join us for our meetings and events at this new location.

Lodge meetings continue to be held at 3:00PM on the 4th Sunday of each month.
Board Meetings continue to be held at  7:00PM on the 2nd Tuesday of each month.

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SONS OF NORWAY FOUNDATION - WILL YOU HELP?
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"Focused on the future - Building on our history"
October is "Foundation Month" at Sons of Norway.  While you can make a donation at any time of year, we give the Foundation special focus in the month of October.

More than ever, Sons of Norway Foundation needs your help this year!

GRANTS
From General Heritage & Culture grants like the one we received in Chicago to help raise money for the preservation of the 1893 Viking ship, Lodge Partnership grants, Helping Hands to Children grants, or Helping Hands to Member grants to assist Sons of Norway members who lose their homes due to natural disasters. the Sons of Norway Foundation helps members in many ways.

SCHOLARSHIPS
Another way the foundation helps, is by granting scholarships to deserving students.  In 2008 over $100,000 in scholarships were awarded.  The Foundation is focusing on the future through our scholarship recipients as they learn Norwegian history and language and keep us up to date on the Norway of today.

If you would like to you can target your giving to a specific type of scholarship.

Read more about the different scholarships by <clicking here>.

Not to favor any one scholarship, but as an example, each year my wife and I donate to the Foundation with the money designated to go to the Nancy Lorraine Jensen Memorial Scholarship Fund and women majoring in science.

Dr. and Mrs. Arthur S. Jensen established this fund in memory of their remarkable daughter, Nancy Lorraine Jensen, an aerospace engineer/chemist at NASA, who died unexpectedly at age 35. The fund encourages female American citizens between 17 and 35 to apply for financial assistance for programs in chemistry or physics, or in chemical, electrical or mechanical engineering. The candidate, or parent/grandparent of the candidate, must be a current member of Sons of Norway.

As a further example you can read more about this year's awards for this scholarship and the accomplishments of these young women at the Sons of Norway web site by <clicking here>.

Emily Santee (left) is a junior at the University of Washington, where she studies chemical engineering.

Amanda Sorensen (right) is a sophomore Honors Program Aerospace Engineering major on the Dean’s List at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.








Amanda Lund (left) is a physics major and member of the honors college at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who just finished her third year as an undergraduate. She is currently doing research with one of her professors for the Borexino Solar Neutrino Detector, which is located at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy (the largest underground lab in the world).

Kristin Ward (right) is a freshman at Villanova University, where she is taking introduction to engineering courses, including engineering computation, physics (mechanics), and chemistry.

Read about these scholarships and find one which matches your desire to help.

Please consider giving to the Sons of Norway Foundation this year.  The current worldwide financial situation has also affected the Foundation and this year they need your help more than ever to continue their worthwhile efforts.

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TELL US ABOUT YOUR EVENT
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Skjold lodge will post information about your Norwegian or Scandinavian themed event on our Programs and Events page

Members of Sons of Norway lodges:  Please let us know about your activities.  Skjold Members attend meetings and activities of other lodges.

Members of bygdelags:  Please let us know about your activities.  Skjold members have ancestors from all over Norway.  Many would be interested in what your lag is doing.

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MORE PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE!
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Mange Tusen Takk to Lorrie Brenner who has been busy and made even more photos of lodge and related events available.  Go our Photo Gallery Page to view.  Members - please join us at events, there are a lot of fun and interesting things going on.  Not a member?  Please consider joining Skjold Lodge - Learn more on our Membership Page.