3:00 PM  SMÖRGÅSBORD SETUP  Doors open and setup begins.  Some kind
wonderful volunteer will setup for the meeting and meal.  Sandy MacGregor
will set up the beverage table.

 4:00 PM   Den Lyckliga Timmen (the happy hour): Club provides the soft
drinks, beer & wine, but depends on the membership for the hors d'oeuvres
(cheese, crackers, nuts, etc).

4:40 PM    Sing-along with Ted Johnson in Swedish and English.

5:00 PM    Välkommen to members and guests by President Barbara Carlson
Storaasli, followed by Du Gamla Du Fria, My Country Tis of thee, and I Jesu
Namn Til Bords Vi Gå, after which, we can get in the buffet line.

DINING:  This basically is a potluck smörgåsbord so everyone should bring
food dishes consistent with that.

GUESTS:  a $5.00 contribution for each adult sixteen or older.  If bringing
guests, please include in your food contribution enough for yourselves and
your guests.

5:45 PM    The official schedule (see February newsletter) calls for 'Ole,
Lars and Lena: Scandinavian-American humor with ????'  Unfortunately, the
presenter of this material was left blank, and fortunately for your editor,
he will be out of town.  Hopefully, some volunteer will come forward.

6:35 PM   The raffle will be held.  The prizes are provided by the members.
Note, it's fun when the kids win, so we need more prizes for children.

6:45 PM   Meeting will be adjourned and the tables will be cleared and the
chairs will be stacked.

                        DIRECTIONS TO OUR MEETINGS
If coming from the peninsula, take I-64 across the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, follow I-64 to I-264 East.  Follow I-264 to the Witchduck Road exit; after exiting, turn left onto Witchduck Road.  About ¼ to ½ mile is  Ruritan Drive (fire station light is there).  Turn left on Ruritan, go to the end of the street, the building is on the left.
 

                             When Last We Met

           The Swedish American Society was to have met on September 21,
2003 at the Ruritan Club, Witchduck Road, Virginia Beach.  However,
Hurricane Isabel struck Hampton Roads the Thursday before, so many people
in the club were still without power.  For that reason, and the condition
of the Ruritan Club, especially the uncertainty as to whether it had power
or not, caused the September meeting to be cancelled.
 

                                    Respectfully submitted,
                                    Your editor, Glenn Gerdin
 

                             CLUB OFFICERS:
President  -  Barbara Carlson Storaasli (423-6711),
Vice-President  -  Andy Hilton, 
Treasurer -  Donald Lundquist, 
Secretary  -  Edward Unser, Asst.
Secretary  -  Merrie Jo Milner, 
Raffle Master  -  Diane Newlon, 
Web Master -  Larry Leonardson, 
Beverage Master  -  Sandy MacGregor, and 
Concert Master  -  Ted Johnson, 
Newsletter Editor - Glenn Gerdin.
 

Ole and Lena Department.  [This joke came from Scandinavian Yokes, Edited
by Paul F. Anderson, (Eggs Press, Minneapolis, MN, 1979) p. 20. [The book
was lent to your editor by Leland Peterson.]
 
 
 

Old Norse Mythology Department:
      This is the thirteenth  installment of this feature intended to
inform the membership about the mythological heritage of the Scandinavian
people.  The source  is :  Myths of the Norsemen, Roger Lancelyn Green,
Penguin Books, Baltimore, Maryland, 1960.

                   Loki saves Rogner from the Giant Skrymsli

      Odin, Honir (Odin's brother), and Loki were wandering through the
Faroe Islands disguised  and came upon a farmhouse. The farmer didn't
recognize them, but welcomed the travelers and made them a good supper, but
seemed troubled.  Odin noticed that the farmer turned aside and began to
weep.  They learned that the farmer's youngest son Rogner had been selected
by the Giant Skrymsli for his dinner the next day.
      Odin revealed his identity and said he would hide the boy so the
Giant could not find him.  Odin went outside and chanted and rolled his
Rune stones as his uncle Mimir, the wise Giant, showed him.  The corn in
the field suddenly grew up so that it was ripe for the harvest.  Odin took
Rogner and hid him in a single grain of corn in one ear on a straw in the
middle of the cornfield.  The next morning, Skrymsli came striding down the
mountain.  The Giant demanded the boy, but the farmer said he was hiding in
the cornfield.  The Giant vowed to find the boy before sunset and drew his
sword and began to cut down the corn.  He shook each sheaf as he gathered
it and flung it aside into a big heap at the end of the field.  At dusk
Skrymsli cut the stalk with the kernel containing Rogner.  The terrified
boy called to Odin for help, and one of Odin's ravens flew out to the field
and snatched the grain out of Skrymsli's hand and flew back to the
farmhouse, where the boy was transformed back to his normal size.
      The next morning, Skrymsli came back again and it was Honir's turn to
save the boy.  Honir transformed the boy into a tiny feather and blended it
in with those on the neck of one of two swans and hid the swans amongst the
animals in the forest.  Again Skrymsli demanded the boy and was told he was
hiding in the forest.  Again at dusk, Skrymsli found the swan that held the
feather of Rogner and bit the swan in the neck, but Honir sent a gust of
wind, that blew the feather from Skrymsli's lips and back to the farmhouse.
There the boy was transformed back to normal size and was safe for the
night.
      Now it was Loki's turn.  The next morning when the Giant returned,
Loki took the boy out the back door and down to the sea.  There he took a
boat out, cast out a line and caught three flounders.  He hid the boy
inside one of the tiniest eggs in the roe of one of the flounders and threw
them back.  The Giant again demanded the boy from the farmer and was told
that the boy had gone fishing.  The Giant took out a large boat, but Loki
crashed his boat into the Giant's, causing Loki's boat to sink.  Loki was
then brought on board the Giant's boat.  Loki begged the Giant to take him
back to land because he was so cold, but the Giant ignored him and went
further out to sea and began to fish.  In a short time, he caught the three
flounders and Loki recognized them.  Loki begged for the fish, because he
was hungry for being half-drowned, but the Giant said he would have to wait
until evening.  Skrymsli examined every egg in the roe of the fish until he
found the egg containing Royner.  Loki saw this and turned himself into a
falcon and snatched the egg from the Giant's hand and flew to shore.  There
he restored Royner to his natural shape and told him to wait until the
Giant set foot on the shore and then run as fast as he could along the very
white sand and plant an iron pole into the sand at the far end.  This the
boy did and he noticed that the sand seemed to move and whistle under his
feet as he ran.  After planting the pole, the boy turned to see the Giant
sinking in the sand, which was now quicksand.  The Giant bellowed and
struggled mightily but only sank deeper and then hit his head on the iron
pole causing him to loose consciousness.  His head sank below the sand
before he could recover and he was smothered.  Only the Giant's feet
remained above the sand, which Loki promptly cut off with his sword.
      This episode, made Odin and the Aesir gods look to Loki when dealing
with Giants, except for Thor, who would just draw his hammer and kill them
if he had a chance.