From the chair - pat bellingham

Svea Lodge has a calendar filled with wonderful activities, dedicated members, new members, and a renewed sense of our purpose; bringing the Scandinavian culture to our community.  There is a lot happening so you'll need to visit our website often to keep up!

From Sweden.se - we give you five must-dos for a Swedish Midsummer!  

Next Midsommar, we will be prepared!   The comments below showed how we fared in the must-do category.  All in all, I'd give us a 3.75.  

Raise the maypole! It’s not Midsummer until the leafy pole is up and proud. Once it's raised, dance around it like you mean it!  (our maypole was gorgeous)  +1

Dance the 'Frog Dance'! ('Små grodorna' in Swedish) Yes, you must hop in a circle pretending to be a frog. We don’t question it.  (we didn't exactly do the Frog Dance, but in some cases it kind of looked like we were jumping around instead of waltzing)  +.5

Make a flower wreath! Crown yourself in wildflowers – and feel like a Scandinavian woodland fairy.  (see photos of the beautiful garlands)  +1

Feast on 'sill och potatis' – that's Swedish for pickled herring and boiled new potatoes! Then as many strawberries as you like for dessert. Trust the tradition!  (we had Cheryl's pickled herring, some potato salad, and there was fruit with strawberries)  +.75

Sing schnapps songs ALOUD!! Every sip deserves a song, if you ask us. Bonus points for dramatic eye contact during the toast.  (Presque Isle doesn't allow alcoholic beverages on the park grounds but we did have a rousing round of Ja Ma Hon Leva)  +.5

As part of our membership perks, each family receives a copy of the The Vasa North Star, published by Nordstjernan, a Swedish American Newspaper.  It is published for us 4 times per year.  Individuals may also subscribe to the Nordstjernan for monthly subscriptions.  You can learn lots of cool information about happenings in Scandinavia.  

Be kind to your neighbors, you never know who may need a kind word.

Pat

Sov I Ro - Our sympathy is extended to member Ellie Supinski on the death of her father, Ralph Erickson.  Ralph passed away on June 1st.  Ellie brought Ralph to a few of our events where he delighted us with some stories and jokes.  His very full and interesting life means he will be missed by many.