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

The SAHSWI project to honor Gustaf Unonius, New Upsala, and the Scandinavian Parish with an official State of Wisconsin Historical Marker will in a new section of the website publish stories told by descendants of the New Upsala colonists. Gustaf and Charlotta Unonius and friends arrived in the Territory of Wisconsin in October of 1841, they claimed land and settled in an area east of Pine Lake, later named New Upsala. As a result of the published America Letters, a number of Swedish people—some with families–arrived to join the settlement in 1842 and 1843. The section “Descendants of New Upsala Colonists” will focus on the first settlers and their descendants.

The first story published is the story told by Cletus Hasslinger.

Cletus Hasslinger, a registered architect in Milwaukee grew up on a farm near Hartland not far from where the first Swedish pioneers settled east of Pine Lake. Cletus is a 5th generation descendant of early settlers George and Ebba Bergwall, or 6th generation of Ebba’s parents Bengt and Charlotta Peterson.

See the story in “Descendants of New Upsala Colonists” web page.

The 3rd Heritage Tour reminding us of the first Swedish and Scandinavian colonists in Wisconsin, the first Swedish Settlement, New Upsala, it’s founder Gustaf Unonius, and the Scandinavian Parish was held August 19, 2023. The first tour was held in 1991, when the monument of Gustaf Unonius was unveiled at Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary and the second tour was held in 2008. All three tours stopped at Nashotah House, the Holy Innocents Cemetery, at the site of New Upsala in Chenequa, and at St. Anskar’s Episcopal Church in Hartland.

The 2023 tour started with Reverend Jason Terhune discussing the history of the Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary and leading a walking tour, starting at Shelton Hall, the student common room, and continued to the Chapel of St Mary, the Virgin, past Michael, the Bell Tower, and then to the Blue House, where the first students lived and the Red Chapel.

The Blue House and the Red Chapel were the original facilities, and are today among the oldest standing buildings in Wisconsin. Marge Jothen remembers the days when she worked with the SAHSWI team to establish the monument that honors Gustaf Unonius as the first graduate of the Nashotah House. See more history from Nashotah House website.

The tour then continued to the Holy Innocents Cemetery where Paul Turek, Chairman of the Cemetery Committee, St. Anskar’s Episcopal Church presented the history of cemetery and the Scandinavian Parish. In January of 1844 Bishop Jack Kemper visited New Upsala and in March the same year the Holy Innocents cemetery was consecrated for the Scandinavian community, and the Pine Lake Scandinavian Parish was established. Gustaf Unonius was ordained as its first pastor in 1845. A few years later a small church was built on the cemetery grounds.

The next stop was Chenequa Village Hall, where Chenequa Village President Jo Ann Vilavicencio presented the history of Gustaf Unonius, who with wife and friends in 1841 traveled from Sweden to Wisconsin and their adventures establishing a living and the New Upsala settlement by Pine Lake. Jo Ann (Joni) told the story how the settlement during 1850’s faded and many of the Swedes and other Scandinavians moved on. In the late 19th century, the community began to be referred to as Chenequa, the Potawatomi Native American word for Pine and in1928 the Village of Chenequa was incorporated. Joni’s whole story will be published at a later date.

The final stop of the tour was at St. Anskar’s Episcopal Church in Hartland. Senior Warden Doug Haag, his wife and SAHSWI member Meg, JR Warden Sarah Hintz, and Fr Thomas Buchan welcomed participants. Historical documents were on display for visitors to see and church and society members were there to answer any questions. St. Anskar’s history goes back to the Scandinavian Parish and the Holy Innocents church, which merged with Grace Church and together forming a new church which today is known as St. Anskar’s Episcopal Church.

The 2023 Heritage Tour was arranged by the SAHSWI project team working to erect an official State of Wisconsin Historical Marker honoring Gustaf Unonius, New Upsala, and the Scandinavian Parish. The application for the marker has been approved by Wisconsin Historical Society and is now on order. The team is currently informing the public and seeking donations to cover the cost. So far $2,475 has been received, for more information go to Historical Marker Donation page.

Link to a short presentation of the project including all monuments visited at the tour and the text of the State Historical Marker that is to be erected at St. Anskar’s Episcopal church.

The Heritage Tour was very well received by the participants. A special thanks to the tour guides and presenters, Jason Terhune, Paul Turek, and Jo Ann Vilavicencio for making this a very interesting day. Thanks also to St. Anskar’s Church, Doug and Meg Haag, Sarah Hintz, and Thomas Buchan for hosting the “Fika” meeting, SAHSWI members Tracy Redman and Bev Wenzel for handling the Welcome table, and members of the SAHSWI hospitality team Janet Taylor, Karin Konrad, and Irene Roberts for arranging and serving the coffee and pastry, and thanks to all who brought the pastry. Thanks to everyone that participated and “Tusen Tack” for the donations received!

Come, celebrate the traditional Scandinavian Midsommar on Sunday, June 25, 2023 from 1 – 4 p.m. at Heidelberg Park by Bavarian Bierhaus, 700 West Lexington Blvd., Glendale, Wisconsin

To celebrate Midsommar in Wisconsin, is to celebrate the longest day of the year the Swedish way! This means decoration of the Majstång (Maypole) with greens and flowers, joining in the procession of raising the decorated pole led by Goda Vänner playing “I sommarens soliga dagar” (In the sunny days of summer) on violin. Then dancing around the majstång and singing the special Swedish songs like “små grodorna” (the little frogs) and “vi äro musikanter” (we are all musicians). The Midsommar celebration includes a lot more…

• Make your own flower crown to wear.
• Enjoy traditional Swedish folk songs.
• Learn and play the game of Kubb, known as “Viking chess.”
• Listen to Goda Vänner, Mary Stetson and Carol Gustafson, playing violin.
• Have your children participate in games and crafts.
• Learn about the first Swedish settlement in Wisconsin, New Upsala.
• Learn about Swedish Genealogy, maybe research your own ancestors
• Win a basket filled with delightful Swedish items!

Bring your own lawn chairs, and join us for a FREE afternoon of fun at our Scandinavian Midsommar Celebration. If possible, bring greenery and help decorate the Majstång. Bavarian Bierhaus staff will provide a variety of food for sale, including Swedish meatballs and other Swedish items. Note: No food may be brought into the Park.

Reminder of the Fika meeting at 1:30 PM Saturday May 13, 2023 at Martin Luther Lutheran Church, 9235 West Bluemound Road, Milwaukee located just east of Milwaukee Zoo. As posted earlier, we welcome John Norquist to discuss Swedish Architecture, and specifically about renowned Swedish Architect Kjell Forshed (see previous post)

30 years ago

30 years ago John was serving as the Mayor of Milwaukee, John’s father Pastor Ernest Norquist was serving as an officer of Swedish American Historical Society of Wisconsin (SAHSWI) and his sister Mary Norquist (now Stetson) was playing the violin at Society Midsommar celebration and other events. The Norquist family is of Swedish descent exemplifying the SAHSWI mission. (Ernest served SAHSWI as president 1983-87, officer until 1998, and Mary has played violin at SAHSWI events for over 30 years)

SAHSWI Mission, statement of purpose:Swedish American Historical Society of Wisconsin is dedicated to promote a greater knowledge and appreciation of the role played by persons of Swedish descent in the growth and development of the State of Wisconsin through the story of immigration, settlement and contributions Swedish Americans have made the American Experience as well as to maintain continuing appreciation of their Swedish traditions and culture.

Don’t miss the Fika meeting at 1:30 PM Saturday May 13, 2023 at Martin Luther Lutheran Church, 9235 West Bluemound Road, Milwaukee located just east of Milwaukee Zoo. The meeting is open to the public. Program…

Kjell Forshed, Swedish Architect & Consultant.

Former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist will present a program about Kjell Forshed, Swedish architect who is focused on urban development creating housing for common people, with the aspect of social interaction. John Norquist is now the John M DeGrove Fellow at Florida Atlantic University and Adjunct Professor at DePaul University Real Estate Program.

Then there is fika.

After the presentation join our traditional Fika where we together enjoy coffee and treats brought in by our members and other guests. Would you like to prepare some authentic Swedish dishes?  Check out the Food Heritage Main Food tab on our website, SAHSWI.org.  Several members have shared their favorite recipes as well as their memories of those dishes. You will find links to the dishes presented at last September’s program, “Exploring Our Swedish Food Heritage,” as well as favorites from recent Fika meetings, such as Risgrynsgröt (Rice Pudding), and Chokladboll (No Bake Chocolate Balls).  Do you have a favorite Swedish recipe that you like to share? The list will keep growing as we keep enjoying Fika together in the Swedish way!

Happy Easter in Swedish is Glad Påsk. Easter is a real family celebration in Sweden. They celebrate Easter somewhat differently than it is done in the US. They don’t have an Easter bunny but Easter witches, they play jokes with each other and they also get time off on Good Friday.

Holy Wednesday, or Dymmelonsdag is the Wednesday before Easter. The word doesn’t seem to translate literally but would be something like “joke Wednesday”. Similar to “April fools!”, The Swedes say: “April april din dumma sill, jag kan lura dig vart jag vill“. (April, April you dum herring, I can fool you in any way I want)

At Easter, Swedes decorate eggs and hang colored feathers on Easter branches in their homes. Children are given a colorful paper egg with candy inside.

Easter witches. On Holy Saturday (the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday) the children dress up as Easter witches and go from door to door. They sing songs and hand out drawings. In exchange, they are rewarded with sweets. So the current Swedish Easter Witch is a cute and friendly witch and not a scary witch as in the middle ages.

The Easter witch tradition is said to date back to the Middle Ages when hundreds of women were executed in Sweden for witchcraft. It was once believed that the witches flew on their brooms to Blåkulla Island on Maundy Thursday to meet with the devil. On Holy Saturday there are many Easter fires that, according to tradition, were supposed to keep the witches at bay.

Easter meal. Most of the Easter buffet are egg dishes. Furthermore, herring and salmon are served and sometimes Janssons frestelse, Jansson’s temptation..

In Sweden, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are official holidays.

Related Swedish vocabulary

• Happy Easter: Glad Påsk
• Maundy Thursday: Skärtorsdagen
• Good Friday: långfredagen
• Holy Saturday: påskafton
• Easter witches: påskkärringar
• Twigs with colored feathers/easter twigs: påskris

Happy Easter from Swedish American Historical Society of Wisconsin, Inc.

Scandinavian Design FIKA meeting

The program topic for the SAHSWI 2023 March FIKA meeting was Scandinavian Design and based on the exhibition Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890–1980 which is being held at Milwaukee Art Museum from March 24 to July 23, 2023. SAHSWI Vice President John Elliott introduced a discussion held via a podcast from the Swedish House in Washington DC where Monica Obniski, previous Demmer Curator of 20th and 21st Century Design at the Milwaukee Art Museum and Dag Blanck, Professor of North American Studies at Uppsala University in Sweden, presented and discussed Scandinavian influence of design in the 20th century. The podcast presented started at the 37th minute and ended at the 1hr 17th minute of the YouTube link below. (To hear Dag’s presentation of Swedish American Relations in the 20th Century use the same link starting at 22nd minute)

Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890-1980

Monica Obniski organized the exhibition together with her colleague Bobbye Tigerman of Los Angeles County Museum of Art and in collaboration with the Nationalmuseum in Sweden and the Nasjonalmuseet in Norway. Please find below Milwaukee Art Museum invitation to the exhibition and special program presentations.

State of Wisconsin Historical Marker fundraiser

The SAHSWI project to honor the history of Gustaf Unonius, New Upsala and the Scandinavian Parish with a State Historical Marker is now under final review by the Wisconsin Historical Society. In order to cover the cost of the marker a fundraising campaign has been launched. Gustaf Unonius was the leader who arrived at Pine Lake in 1841, together with other early settlers arriving the following year they established New Upsala, the first Swedish Settlement in Wisconsin, and together with other Scandinavian immigrants and Episcopal missionary the Scandinavian Parish was established. Today this history lives on in the St Anskar’s Episcopal church in Hartland, Wisconsin. Please find below a link to the project donation page:

Donate to historical marker

2022 is now history and we look forward to an exciting new year. We remember 2022 as being the year we came out of the pandemic, with great programming, well attended Fika meetings, Midsommar and Lucia celebrations, with Lucia a record attendance in our 48 years of operation. We thank all that engaged to make 2022 a successful year, all volunteers, board and committee members, all who attended the meetings, all who made donations. We are grateful for the re-start of the Swedish Genealogy Research Group meetings and for the progress the State Historical Marker Project team made. We thank Martin Luther Lutheran Church, St. Anskar’s Episcopal church and Whitnall Park Lutheran Church for the use of their facilities for our meetings.

2023 promises to be a great year too. The first Fika meeting is coming up. It’s been 3 years since we had a Fika meeting in January. The program topic is uniquely interesting, presented by SAHSWI members Del and Susan Worden. Do not miss this meeting.

Saturday, January 21, 1:30 PM Fika meeting.

Del and Susan Worden presenting at Martin Luther Lutheran Church, 9235 West Bluemound Road, Milwaukee located just east of Milwaukee Zoo. The meeting is open to the public.

Del and Susan will show their collection of unique Swedish beer cans and discuss the stories they tell. There are cans with stories from the time of the Vikings, others with historic Swedish art, and some with ancient symbols, etc. This is a must see presentation!

After the presentation it is Fika time, coffee and sweets will be shared by SAHSWI members and others attending the meeting.