Viking Magazine - March 2014 - 8

Nordic Life
A Horse by Any
Other Name
E
inar Leistad, a 150-pound
farmer of Elk Horn, Ia., can
support a 1000-pound horse, "
proclaimed " Ripley's Believe It
or Not " on March 4, 1939. The
syndicated cartoon panel's
creator, Robert L. Ripley, traveled
the world over in search of
odd, strange or unbelievable
phenomena. He once visited
Hell, Norway, and sent back a
photo of himself in front of the
train depot, inscribed " With the
warmest regards, from Ripley in
Hell, Norway-1928. "
Leistad and other NorwegianAmericans
were occasionally
featured over the years for their
unique endeavors. Bergen,
Norway, immigrant Didrik
" Dick " Thompson served as a
BY JEFF M. SAUVE
police offi cer in Seattle, Wash.,
from 1921-1955. According to
family lore, " Ripley's " featured
Thompson as the longestserving
traffi c offi cer at the same
intersection-22 years.
Two Norwegians, Frank
Samuelsen and George Harbo,
were highlighted for their
unbelievable feat of being the
fi rst to row a boat across the
Atlantic, from Battery Park, N.Y.,
to Le Havre, France, in 1896.
" Ripley's " noted, " They reckoned
that they would row home
and see how the old folks were
getting on. "
Leistad's cartoon panel
included a short footnote:
" Leistad performs this feat
from the wrestler's bridge
position. The horse standing
on a platform is then lowered
onto Leistad's arched body by
means of an especially designed
derrick. " In 1979, Leistad, who
was born in Trondheim, Norway,
recounted his amazing life and
that of his trained horses in a
book, " The Man with the White
Horse. " Apparently two of
his extraordinary horses were
named Frank and Twinkle-
believe it or not!
Jeff M. Sauve serves as an
archivist for the NorwegianAmerican
Historical Association
in Northfi eld, Minn.
Feb. 28-March 6,
Minneapolis
Nordic Lights Film Festival
Check out fi lms including
features, shorts and documentaries,
from Denmark, Finland,
Norway, Iceland and Sweden.
612-331-7563,
nordiclightsfi lmfestival.org
March. 6-15 Alta, Norway
Finnmarksløpet
More than 150 teams will line
up for Finnmarksløpet, Europe's
longest dogsled race. The 8-dog
class runs 500 km and the
14-dog class runs 1,000 km.
+47 78 44 54 50,
fi nnmarkslopet.no
Mar. 7-9 Oslo, Norway
Holmenkollen World Cup
Cheer on cross-country skiers
and ski jumpers at the World
Cup at world-famous Holmenkollen
ski jump. +47 22 92 32 00,
holmenkollen-worldcup.no
March 27, New York
Keyboard Conversations
with Jeffrey Siegel
Pianist Jeffrey Siegel returns
to Scandinavia House for one
of his trademark Keyboard
Conversations. " Chopin and
the Romance of the Piano "
includes a performance with
commentary and a short
Q&A session. 212-779-3587,
scandinaviahouse.org
IMAGE COURTESY OF (TOP) NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
http://www.lmfestival.org http://www.nnmarkslopet.no http://www.scandinaviahouse.org http://www.holmenkollen-worldcup.no
Viking Magazine - March 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Viking Magazine - March 2014
