The perilous 1825 voyage of the first boat-load of Norwegians to the United States will come alive on Monday, May 5th, at the Salem Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall in Lake Mills. Dale Goodman of the speakers’ bureau of the Vesterheim Museum will share the story of the wind-powered, single-masted sloop, which left Stavanger for the Port of New York on July 4, 1825.
This year is the 200th anniversary of the start of the mass migration of Norwegians to the America. This bi-centennial will be commemorated in hundreds of communities and especially in the Lefse Belt stretching from Lake Michigan to the Pacific Northwest.
The Lake Mills celebration is organized by the Nordic Lodge of the Sons of Norway. Each May, the lodge hosts a banquet honoring the history and culture of Norway. One hundred lodge members, family members and friends are expected for the 2025 gala. Serving for the catered Swedish meatball buffet will start at 6:00 p.m. Two tables of Scandinavian desserts will follow the meal.
For reservations, contact Kermit Singelstad, lodge president. Those attending are welcome to wear their folk costumes. Norwegian and Icelandic sweaters are also welcome.
