|
Recently the Sons of Norway Culture Desk had some questions about the Sons of Norway shield - that familiar symbol found on stickers, patches, websites and those stylish vests throughout the organization. So they did some research, looking at history books and old copies of the Viking. Here's what they found.
1901
In 1901 Sons of Norway's board of directors voted to approve an emblem to represent the fast growing organization. This logo consisted of a tricolor shield that's more rotund than later shields (like a sheriff 's badge). In the top red stripe there was a symbol representing the midnight sun, while the bottom blue stripe contained the North Star. The center white stripe was reserved for the abbreviation "S. af N." for "Sønner af Norge" as the organization was then known.
1922
That shield remained in use until a 1922 committee selected a new design. The new emblem, created by Martin J Grindheim (then president of Nordkap 1-008) in many ways resembles the current one; a narrow shield with a Viking ship, and the North Star. However the Viking ship is shown from a side view, and the North Star is found at the bottom of the shield, where it had been in the pervious design. Other differences include the letters "FBF" (Frihed, Broderkjærlighed, Fremskritt - Freedom, Brotherly Love, and Progress, in the Norwegian of the time) over the ship and an American eagle perched over the top of the shield.
1929
As early as 1914, a movement was started to include Canadian symbolism in the shield, and in 1929 another revised version of the logo was presented. The 1929 emblem is a circle, containing a shield with a forward-facing Viking ship with the midnight sun behind it. Above the shield a banner appears, with the initials "SN" separated by a star. On the left of the shield is an American eagle; on the right, the Canadian maple leaf. This symbol was used in the masthead of the organization's newsletter, and later the Viking, for many years afterward. At least as early as 1948 a slimmed-down version of the shield (integrating the "S N" into the top of the shield and omitting the eagle and flag) appears on the cover of a Sons of Norway songbook. This leaner logo also appears in the Viking as early as 1951, and was in widespread use by the time the current Headquarters building was built in 1962. At what point this symbol came into official use, we are unable to say.
Current
The current Sons of Norway logo includes both the shield and the words "Sons of Norway." For more information about usage of the logo, contact Jessica at jgleason@sofn.com.
*SN*
|
|
