Viking Magazine - August 2020 - 36

Member Matters
Hilsen fra Oseberg 8-001
P
Norway's first lodge helped launch District 8. BY DENISE LOGELAND
icture this: In November, around
the time some North American
lodges are hosting lutefisk dinners or
gearing up for julebord buffets, Oseberg
Lodge 8-001 in Tønsberg, Norway,
is sitting down to a turkey dinner
with traditional Thanksgiving fixings.
Come June, lodge members tuck into
American pancakes with a good drizzle
of maple-flavored syrup.
" I got the
recipe from
[family in]
the U.S., "
says Solveig
Kjønnerød,
Oseberg
lodge
president.
Nearly 40
years ago, in March 1981, Kjønnerød
showed up at an organizing meeting
for Sons of Norway in Tønsberg
because she'd heard of the group from
her North Dakota relatives who were
members. Oseberg, Norway's first
lodge, formed and held its first meeting
just a couple of months later.
By 1982, Norway had three lodges
and was designated District 8. Now
the district is home to 14 Sons of
Norway lodges, from Kristiansand to
Trondheim.
Keeping Ties to America
Kjønnerød points out that Tønsberg
is one of Norway's oldest cities. It's
known for the nearby Viking grave
excavation in 1904 that unearthed the
Oseberg Viking ship, from which the
lodge gets its name. Compared to other
parts of Norway, though, Tønsberg is
not known for high levels of migration
36 VIKING AUGUST 2020 sonsofnorway.com
to North America, Kjønnerød adds.
Still, Oseberg Lodge has always had
strong ties there.
" We have [had] three sister lodges
in the U.S., " she says. The lodges have
welcomed each other's vacationing
members to meetings, and have
sometimes provided other hospitality,
too. Oseberg members have hosted a
touring high school band and a square
dance troop from the U.S. through
sister lodge relationships.
Thankful for Friendships
Oseberg contributes to its community,
Kjønnerød says. The lodge gives
financial support to help youth with
physical handicaps, survivors of
sexual abuse, and a social-safety-net
organization called Kirkens Bymisjon
(Church City Mission). It also provides
scholarships for young students to go
abroad. How do Oseberg members
raise the money? " We have a big lottery
once a year! " she laughs.
There used to be other fundraising
activities. Some of those have fallen by
the wayside as members got older. But
Kjønnerød says there's a hopeful flicker
of new participation in the lodge: young
people who joined after spending time
in the U.S., and members' children
and grandchildren who turn out for
Oseberg's annual turkey, pancake, and
picnic meals.
Kjønnerød, a charter member for
four decades, has served as lodge
president several times. " It gives me
a lot, " she says-a connection with
extended family in America and " we
have got very good friends from all over
Norway and in the U.S. I'm thankful
for it. "
Oseberg 8-001
Location:
Tønsberg, Norway
Members:
About 75
Meetings: Every
month but July.
Many take place
in rented space at
Løkken, the 1870s
home of a local
ship's captain and
merchant.
http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - August 2020

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