Suburban Norwegian-Americans celebrate 200th anniversary of immigration

Ancient Viking games came back to life Sunday. Suburban Norwegian-Americans tossed replica codfish, plastic axes, wooden sticks, yarn fjord horses' heads and plastic ninja throwing stars at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Montgomery.

After a luncheon and business meeting, the games on the church's south lawn concluded the Aug. 3 meeting of Sons of Norway Polar Star Lodge 5-472. Three five-member teams competed for small prizes.

Yorkville resident Barb Johnson, Polar Star cultural director, said the games celebrated the 200th anniversary of Norwegian immigration to the U.S.

Johnson explained, “Our Norwegian pioneer ancestors established farms and communities in the Illinois Fox River area in the 1830s. Picnics and church games were all part of Sunday fun on the prairie! All lodge programs this year lead up to our heritage weekend celebration Oct. 3-5 in Norway, Ill., near Sheridan.”

Montgomery and Ottawa Sons of Norway lodges will cosponsor “Crossings: Norway and North America, 1825-2025" at the Norsk Museum in Norway, Ill.

“Weekend events will honor the history and culture of Norwegian-American pioneers who established farms and communities on the prairie of LaSalle County in Illinois,” Johnson said.

Polar Star Lodge 5-472, meeting near Chicago at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Montgomery, is a member of Sons of Norway, a Minneapolis, Minn.-based nonprofit founded in 1895 to promote Norwegian culture and heritage and offer financial products and services to members. The organization offers activities including language classes, cooking classes and sports programs to celebrate members' Norwegian heritage.

The organization has over 330 locally-governed lodges in the United States, Canada and Norway. Members celebrate their Norwegian heritage at their local lodge and participate in district lodge activities and events.

For more information, call (630) 553-7389 or visit polarstarlodge.com/5.html.