DHA XLIV
(1/22/2004)

With a few contributions trickling in from the recent mass mailing of a solicitation from DHA, it seems appropriate to, from time to time, list those who have made financial donations to DHA. This first listing extends from DHA's founding until the present time, and is as follows, in chronological order:

*Notes: VM after a name indicates a voting member for DHA. Voting membership is awarded to anyone who contributes $100 or more within a 12-month period. This is a lifetime, non-transferable membership.  Holding a lifetime membership does not bar the member from giving in excess of $100, as a few of those above have done. More are welcome.

Should any omissions or errors be discovered, please notify the person named at the head of this column. [Lester Lauritzen]

In addition to the financial contributions above, DHA especially appreciates the Lockwood family's gift of the building we are developing into a museum, and the gift of a garage door for the ramp entrance on the west end of the building, by the Farmer's Lumber Co.

Smaller gifts, including equipment, labor, artifacts, archives, and other help cannot be acknowledged in this list, but are a benefit, which DHA thankfully receives.

Note: A considerable number of these letters have been returned as undeliverable. Attempts will be made to obtain corrected addresses, and correct them on the alumni mailing list, also.

Viborg native, Everett Rasmussen, now of St. Cloud, MN, furnished some information for this column's readers:

"My father was born in Denmark and my mother's parents were both emigrants of Denmark. They could speak the pure Danish language. Denmark is a small country, and they did say there was a slight difference, depending upon where they born in the country.* Often times they would comment upon how the younger residents of Viborg would speak in a combination of Danish and English. A good case in point is the food served at the Beresford Danish Heritage display. Danish meatballs in Danish are 'frikadeller,' sweet-up is 'sodsuppe,' and peppernuts are "pebernodder,' not 'pepnodder.'**

"We think it is just wonderful that there are so many people in Viborg that want to keep the traditions of Denmark going. We got a picture from one of our cousins in Denmark where they dance and sing around the Christmas tree with lighted candles on the tree. As beautiful as that is, it is so dangerous to have burning candles on natural trees. Many homes have been burned due to that practice."

*LRL: My mother commented that she had difficulty with the Danish that my father learned from his parents compared to what she learned from hers. Also, her parents spoke English to their children, but my father had to learn English when he started school. (Sometime I may have room to relate other reports of how various immigrants learned to speak their new language, U.S. English.)

**LRL: Misnaming "frikadeller" and "sweet-sup" in the Beresford program report (1/1/04) was faulty reporting by this "reporter." "Pepnodder" was just choice of the moment of several cookbook spellings I've seen.

("Pebernodder" by whichever spelling, is an interesting topic itself. I was surprised a few years ago, on attending Smeckfest at Freeman, to find the Mennonite Germans from Russia, making and selling them by one of the name variations. And, they were just as surprised when I told them that Danes and other Scandinavians also considered them a traditional treat.)

DHA Mystery Album

Everett Rasmussen also enclosed these two photos for readers to identify if possible.
Photo E was taken in front of the house in the east part of Viborg that Chris Rasmussen's family lived in sometime between 1923 and 1933.
Photo F shows Everett's father, Chris, on the left, with the unidentified man on the right. Can anyone identify him?

LRL: Also, can any antique car buffs ID the make, model, year, etc. of the car? The car appears all bundled up for the winter. More so than the men, though if it were really cold, in those days they would have been wearing heavy long-john underwear. Sometimes early cars had their radiator drained and were put up on blocks to protect their tires during the winter, and horses were used.

Accidentally, the photographer caught a good view of the RR windmill and water tank on the left, and the depot, with an elevator beyond between the tree and the auto.