Swedish American Historical Society of Wisconsin

2023 SAHSWI Annual General meeting was held Saturday October 21, 2023, at Martin Luther Lutheran Church. The meeting was divided into two parts, an Annual Business meeting for SAHSWI members and a program presented by member Cookie Anderson about the island of Gotland, Sweden.

Business Meeting

The business meeting elected two new Directors, John Engel from West Allis and Tracy Redman from Sun Prairie to serve SAHSWI for a 3-year term starting Jan 1, 2024. Officers and Directors presented 2023 annual reports. Joann Kreimendahl showed 2022 Business meeting minutes which were unanimously approved, Irene Roberts, Treasurer, presented the Treasury report and Janet Taylor presented reports for Hospitality, and Midsommar Committees, Bev Wenzel, Membership Secretary presented the membership report. Jan Ehrengren reviewed the past year activities. Overall, 2023 was a good year for the organization, all events well attended, program presentations very interesting, Genealogy research team growing, general membership maintained, spending and income well balanced, and progress made in the Historical Marker project. Reports and summary of events can be found in the presentation below:

2023 SAHSWI Summary

“Tack så mycket (thank you very much) to everyone that has made this past year a very successful year for the organization. Our members and other meeting participants, all volunteers at our meetings and celebration events, the Program Presenters, our Officers, Board and Committee members, our Historical Project Team members, Leader and members of the Swedish Genealogy Research Group, all contributing to a very good year. We can now look forward to a new year of exploring and celebrating our Swedish heritage and advancing our Swedish American agenda in Wisconsin.” Jan Ehrengren, President SAHSWI

Gotland

After the business meeting SAHSWI member Cookie Anderson talked about her experience and impressions of a trip to Gotland, the largest island in Sweden.

Gotland, the Swedish island located in the Baltic Sea is rich in history going back to the Stone age, there are burial mounds from the Bronze age, it was a merchant center during the Viking age, both Germans and Danes have occupied the island but since 1645 it has remained under Swedish rule. Russians invaded in 1809 during the Finnish war but were defeated.

Cookie also discussed Gotland’s important role it plays today for Sweden. A popular vacation destination for Swedes, it was the home of the Swedish film maker Ingemar Bergman and the children’s character Pippi Longstocking, and Prince of Sweden and Norway Oscar Bernadotte, the Duke of Gotland.

Cookie Anderson Gotland Presentation

Fika and Swedish Food

After the presentation Fika was enjoyed by all. Starting last year with “Exploring our Swedish Food Heritage” meeting, a recipe of a Swedish dish is shared by a meeting participant bringing his or her dish to the meeting. This recipe is then published on the SAHSWI website.

At this Fika meeting, SAHSWI new member, Chris Fleissner shared her recipe Swedish Rhubarb Tart with Vanilla Cream. Chris commented “I just joined the sahswi this year. I am enjoying learning about Swedish culture and learning to research my ancestors. I have been very impressed with the Fika and wanted to contribute. This is the first Swedish dish I have made. I used fresh rhubarb from my garden.“

For the May 2023 meeting Mary Stetson and Mary Yokus both submitted their favorite Bakery. Mary Stetson shared her Grandma Nelson’s Cardamom Bread, and Mary Yokus shared a Swedish Nut Cake. Go to the SAHSWI Dessert and Bakery webpage to learn more about these dishes and recipes. SAHSWI desserts and Bakery