SUPPORTING | CONNECTING | AWARDING

INSIDE 2 A million stars of

Swedishness! 3 Uppsala students

at Gustavus 4 How to spend

a million dollars5 Unsung heroes 6 Making the council

in SCA8 Lighting the

Christmas star

SCA TODAYHOLIDAY 2017

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A Million Stars of Swedishness! Celebrating our heritage across the generations

Being so far north, Swedish days are short and grey during Yuletide and it can be dangerous for the traveler to get stranded in the dark and snow. This bright star is lit as a beacon of warmth and safety to those in need on a winter’s night, be they a motorist out of gas or a Galilean couple in search of shelter. Surely there are a million such stars of Swedishness shining in households all across the land this time of year.

This holiday season, Swedish Council of America is celebrating its own million stars of Swedishness. With the 20 SCA Grants awarded earlier this year, SCA crossed the one million dollar threshold in grants made in support of projects across Swedish America. We are as excited as small children on Christmas Eve about this achievement. Our foresighted founders, dedicated board members, enthusiastic staff associates and generous donors have worked hard for several decades to achieve this milestone and we think the result is stupendous.

This year alone, an SCA Grant helped fund field trips so inner-city school children could learn about immigration at the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia. Another is supporting the conservation of paintings by Swedish-American artists at the Birger Sandzén Gallery in Lindsborg, Kansas. SCA also funded the presentation of a culinary conference at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle and the production of a promotional film for younger Swedish speakers for SWEA International. These are just a few of the bright stars of Swedishness made possible, in part, by grants from SCA, your community foundation for Swedish America.

It is the mission of SCA to promote Swedish heritage and culture long into the future. With its leadership made up of presidents, curators, directors, consuls and academics from across North America and its membership consisting of 150+ affiliated Swedish organizations, SCA has the pulse of Swedish America. This is why the SCA Grants Committee is perhaps better attuned than any other body as to how and where to best advance Swedishness in America with financial support.

With generous donations and bequests from the Swedish-American community, SCA will continue to help open exhibits at Swedish museums, teach youth culture and language at Swedish camps, present Swedish music to whole communities and preserve Swedish heritage for generations to come. Just like the Yule stars in Swedish windows, SCA will keep a million stars of Swedishness shining!

God jul from Swedish Council of America!

A Million Stars of Swedishness

2 | SCA Today

One of the most endearing traditions of the Swedish Jul season is the illuminated star (julstjärna) in the window, often in the highest gable of the house.

Swedish Council of America is the community foundation for Swedish North America. Our mission is to promote knowledge and appreciation of Swedish heritage and culture in North American life, to foster cooperative relationships with like-minded groups and individuals, and to strengthen contemporary cultural and educational ties between North America and Sweden.

We achieve our mission by providing grants to projects, scholarships to youth and awards to leaders – all within the Swedish North America community. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, SCA promotes Swedishness across the generations. We hope you will be a part of making this happen!

SCA Today is published quarterly. The magazine’s goal is to inform our members, supporters and constituents about the projects we fund, the scholars we support, the leaders we recognize, the opportunities we present and the people involved in an informative and interesting manner.

Please contact us with your feedback, inquiries, comments, changes of address, requests for removal of duplicates or more at: swedcoun@swedishcouncil.org

EDITOR: Gregg White

ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Mary Seeger and Kerstin Trowbridge

SCA Today often includes reprints of Swedish Council of America articles as they have appeared in the [CONNECTS] section of Swedish Press. These articles are authored by SCA and are reprinted with permission.

Swedish Council of America 3030 West River Parkway Minneapolis, MN 55406-2361

651-245-2089

www.swedishcouncil.org

SCA Folk — Uppsala students at Gustavus

In this era of globalization, studying abroad is an almost essential part of a complete education. That is why Uppsala University students Erik Brolin, Adam Lindeberg, Linda Nillson, Amanda Ritzman, Anton Sandäng and Johan Öhrn spent their fall semester at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota.

As SCA Curtis L. Carlson Swedish-American Scholarship Fund Scholars, they had a significant portion of their tuition and living expenses covered by the college and SCA. In establishing this eponymous endowment fund at Swedish Council of America, Mr. Carlson’s specified that his intent was to support Swedish students at they studied at this highly academic college in central Minnesota. His vision was that bringing Swedish youth to study in America would help build stronger ties between our two countries and among younger generations.

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Uppsala students at Gustavus meet with SCA Board Chair, John Hasselberg Photo credit: Gustavus Adolphus College

Erik Brolin (Täby), Johan Öhrn (Stockholm), Amanda Ritman (Göteborg), Linda Nilsson (Göteborg), Adam Lindeberg (Lidingö), Anton Sandäng (Täby) show their Gustavus spirit.

Photo credit: Gustavus Adolphus College

What do the students think of this international experience? Here is what some said in their own words:

“I’m really interested in environmental issues and communication. I’m in my last semester of the Liberal Arts-pro-gramme at Uppsala University with Rhetoric as my major. I’ve loved coming here. Gustavus offers really fantastic classes; my favorite is Environmental Communications. The professors really love what they do and it shows.

In the future, I want to complete a Masters programme in Rhetoric, and after that I’d hope to work with non-profit organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund with social media and communication theory. I really think that Gustavus has brought me many new and amazing perspectives, and I’m very thankful for that. I just wish I’d brought more Lindvalls coffee.” – Amanda Ritzman, Göteborg

“Back at Uppsala University, I am majoring in economics with a focus in finance. I am currently studying my first semester in the USA but this will count as my fifth semester at Uppsala.

I love this school and all the people I have met – students and faculty alike. There is something for everyone here. If one is crazy about sports like me, it is easy to make friends with fellow students with the same interest. This holds true for other areas, too, like music, theater, etc.” – Erik Brolin, Täby

Swedish Press Connects [ ] Swedish Council of America

How to Spend a Million DollarsBy Gregg White

SCA is Swedish America’s community foundation. Our mission is to promote knowledge and appreciation of Swedish heritage and culture in North American life and to strengthen contemporary cultural and educational ties between North America and Sweden. We achieve this by providing grants to organizations, scholarships to youth, recognition to leaders and communications to the community – all focused on furthering our mission. www.swedishcouncil.org

Swedish Press | November 2017 22[ ]

Just imagine that you had $1,000,000 to give to worthy projects as they promote knowledge and appreciation of all things Swedish in North America. How would you make the greatest

impact? Would you focus on the big institutions, known for their professionalism and large audiences, or would you seek out smaller groups who might be slightly less polished but represent a perhaps overlooked grass-roots constituency?

Since it first started providing grants over 40 years ago, Swedish Council of America has grappled with this dichotomy. In 1975, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra was to perform in the United States in conjunction with a royal visit. This was a very expensive enterprise and SCA provided $5,000 in support. The next year, Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church in Philadelphia was hosting a concert by a traveling Swedish choir. SCA was pleased to provide $500 in support of that project. Both grants were proportionate to the projects in question, and both had significant impact on their respective audiences.

Some SCA grants have been offered to start-up groups, such as the $500 given in 2012 to the American Association of Runic Studies. Their president, Lorraine Jenson, loves to tell anyone and everyone that the organization wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for that initial indication of trust from SCA. Other larger regional institutions, such as the Ameri-can Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia and the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, have received a series of SCA grants in support of special exhibits, performances, residencies and more. In fact, both of these notable centers of Swedishness have each received over 20 SCA grants totaling around $60,000.

SCA grants have been the catalyst for some remarkable achievements far beyond any expectations based on the amount of funding received. For example, a $2,000 grant to the Joe Hill CD Project in 2015 led to “live performances at several locations in Chicago, including a concert attended by Swedish trade union officials visiting Chicago for the annual May Day celebration, and additional performances in, among others, Madison, Green Bay, Sheboygan, Kenosha, Oshkosh and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; St. Paul, Minnesota; Carterville, Chicago, and Chillicothe, Illinois; and Peterborough, Ontario. These concerts brought the songs and writings by Swedish labor songwriter and martyr Joe Hill (1879 – 1915) to audiences who knew little about Hill or his music, other than “I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill”, sung by Joan Baez at Woodstock. In total, nearly 40 artists have been part of the CD effort and several thousand people have heard Joe Hill’s music and learned about his life.” That’s a whole lot from a $2,000 grant!

Since 1975, SCA has made 388 grants to 184 organiza-tions and projects in 35 states or provinces. These grants have totaled $1,000,000 in promoting and strengthening Swedishness in North America. No matter where you are as you read this magazine, chances are there is a nearby group or project that has received financial support from SCA. Isn’t this what you would have done with your million dollars?

Gregg White, Executive Director

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Swedish Press Connects [ ] Swedish Council of America

Recognizing the Heroes of SwedishnessBy Gregg White

Like Vilhelm Moberg’s Karl-Oskar and Kristina, many were the Swedes who emigrated from the rock-strewn farms of Småland to Minnesota in search of a better life. Duluth high school music

teacher, Glenn Peterson, counts his forbears among them. That is why he became the driving force in creating Duluth’s Sister City relationship with Växjö, the county seat for that area of Sweden.

As head of the Växjö Committee for three decades, Glenn facilitated annual official exchanges, aided in the launch of a sculpture exchange, as well as an exchange between Växjö Konsthall and the University of Minnesota – Duluth’s Tweed Museum. With Glenn’s tireless leader-ship, Duluth Sister Cities International sponsored numerous music performances including the Royal Swedish Opera, the Royal Swedish Army Band, the Orphei Drängar, and a tour by Karl-Oskar Boys Choir (funded, in part, by an SCA Grant). And this does not even begin to mention the Duluth-Växjö Soccer Exchange through which American youth travel to Sweden and use athletics as a means of creating relationships that bridge language and cultural barriers, or the various educator exchanges between UMD and Linnaeus Universitet!

In its nomination of Glenn for an SCA Award of Merit, DSCI wrote, “Glenn Peterson is the embodiment of the Swedish Council of America’s mission statement, in every endeavor that he embarks on he works to bring Sweden and an understanding of its language and heritage into the picture, connecting people and places in the process and forever striving to help bring further awareness of Swedish culture.” The SCA Award of Merit was created expressly to give national recognition to stellar volunteers like Glenn.

Fortunately, while impressive, Glenn’s contributions to Swedishness in America are not unique. Another recent

SCA Award of Merit recipient is Dan Hanson, President of the Swedish Club of Detroit. SWEA Michigan nominated Dan because they have been impressed by his tireless dedication to promoting and maintaining the Swedish Club over the years. With steady enthusiasm, Dan works closely with other local Swedish and Scandinavian organizations to maintain positive links between them.

Another SWEA Michigan nominee who received the SCA Award of Merit is Christina Bakalis, a long-time member of their club. Christina has worked tirelessly as a member and leader of the local SWEA chapter. Christina is always willing and happy to assist making SWEA events successful and enjoyable for everyone. She even managesto add a personal touch to all her commitments, such as when she added a new sandwich to the Christmas Fair, which was a huge success. Christina also opened the Svenska Café in Birming-ham, now a popular place for Swedes to gather.

At its recent meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Swedish Council of America bestowed four additional SCA Awards of Merit at the Swedish American Heritage Society of West Michigan’s 20th Anniversary Celebration. The honorees – Ken Johnson, Jill Pearson Reider, Lisa Reierson and Janice Williams – were all nominated by SAHS/WM and all are current or past leaders of the organization and remain unflagging volunteers. These heroes know how to promote Swedishness in America!

Swedish Press | Dec 2017/Jan 2018 22[ ]

The SCA Award of Merit goes to individuals who have been nominated by one or more of their local Swedish-American organizations for national recognition for their outstanding contributions and hard work within their local community. You can learn more about SCA Awards for individuals and organizations on our website. www.swedishcouncil.org

Glenn and Erna Peterson flanked by their children, Neal and Naomi. Photo: Gregg White

Lisa Reierson, Jill Pearson Reider, Ken Johnson & Janice Williams. Photo: SAHS/WM

Gregg White, Executive Director

Visionary MemberDetroit Swedish Foundation, Bloomfield, MIIOS - Svithiod Lodge #1, Chicago, IL

Sustaining MemberAmerican Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia, PAAmerican Swedish Institute, Minneapolis, MNAmerican Union of Swedish Singers, Edina, MNAugustana College, Rock Island, ILBethel University, Saint Paul, MNGammelgården Museum, Scandia, MNGustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MNSWEA International, Fort Lauderdale, FLSwedish American Heritage Society of West Michigan, Grand Rapids, MISwedish American Historical Society, Chicago, ILSwedish American Museum, Chicago, ILSwedish Colonial Society, Philadelphia, PASwedish Excellence Endowment, Austin, TXSwedish Genealogical Society of Minnesota, Mendota Heights, MN

Supporting MemberAmerican Friends of Uppsala University, Uppsala, SEAmerican Scandinavian Heritage Foundation, Jamestown, NYAUSS Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hillsboro, ORBishop Hill Heritage Association, Bishop Hill, ILCity of Lindsborg, Lindsborg, KSDelaware Swedish Colonial Society, Middletown, DEDuluth Sister Cities International, Duluth, MNHouse of Sweden, Coronado, CAJamestown Community College, Jamestown, NYNew Sweden Cultural Heritage Society, Gresham, ORNordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, WANorsk Høstfest, Minot, NDRiksföreningen Sverigekontakt, Göteborg, SERoger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History, Jamestown, NYScan-Am Cultural & Historical Foundation, Thousand Oaks, CA

SWEDISH COUNCIL OF AMERICA (SCA) was founded in 1972 by a group of leading American-Swedish organizations. Since its inception, SCA Scholarships have been supporting American youth who want to broaden their educational experience in Sweden and Swedish students who are eager to study in the United States. SCA also provides grants to community organizations and awards to individuals as they promote knowledge and appreciation of Swedish heritage and culture in North American life and strengthen contemporary cultural and educational ties between North America and Sweden.

All across North America and even in Sweden, there are hundreds of local organizations dedicated to promoting knowledge and appreciation of Swedish heritage and culture in North American life and to strengthening contemporary cultural and educational ties between North America and Sweden.

The way these dedicated organizations come together is through their membership in Swedish Council of America. Because of their SCA Affiliate Membership, these groups are part of a much larger collective effort dedicated to promoting Swedishness across the generations.

Some, like the American Swedish Historical Society or North Park University (both of Chicago) are large institutions with national reach, while others, like the Dalesburg Scandinavian Association in Vermillion, South Dakota, or the Swedish Cultural Society of Cleveland, Ohio, are focused on their local community. But regardless of their size and focus, every SCA Affiliate Member is part of the “council” that makes Swedish Council the strongest voice of Swedishness in North America.

Being an SCA Affiliate Member has its benefits and privileges. Only they may nominate potential members to the SCA Board of Directors. Only they have access to SCA Grants. Only they may nominate remarkable local volunteers for SCA Awards of Merit. Only they may co-sponsor SCA Scholarships. And only they qualify for SCA Proclamations in honor of their significant events.

Swedish Council of America is grateful to its affiliated member organizations for being such a significant part of SCA. Together, we ensure Swedishness will be passed on to future generations.

SCA Affiliate Members – the lifeblood of Swedish America!

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Scandinavian Charitable Society, West Newton, MAScandinavian Club of Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NMSvenskasällskapet, Apple Valley, MNSwedish Club of Denver, Littleton, COSwedish Club of Houston, Katy, TXSwedish Club of Sarasota, Sarasota, FLSwedish Club of SE Michigan, Farmington Hills, MISwedish Council of Saint Louis, Moscow Mills, MOSwedish Cultural Association of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MBSwedish Cultural Heritage Society of the Red River Valley, Fargo, NDSwedish Cultural Society of Duluth, Duluth, MNSwedish Genealogical Society of Colorado, Arvada, COVOA - Birka Lodge #732, South Hamilton, MAVOA - Grand Lodge, Richmond, CAVOA - Nordic Lodge #708, Marietta, GAVOA - Strindberg Lodge #259, Winnipeg, MB

Associate MemberAgassiz Swedish Heritage Society, Warren, MNAll Together Nordic, Stanchfield, MNAmerican Scandinavian Asso at Augustana, Moline, ILAmerican Scandinavian Asso of the Great Plains, Lindsborg, KSArpi Swedish Male Chorus of Metro Detroit, Livonia, MIArts Midwest, Minneapolis, MNASI Cloudberries, Minneapolis, MNASI Male Chorus Auxiliary, Brooklyn Park, MNASI Spelmanslag, Minneapolis, MNAugustana Historical Society, Rock Island, ILAustin Scandinavian Club, Austin, TXBirger Sandzen Memorial Gallery, Lindsborg, KSCalifornia Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CACentral Iowa Associates of the American-Scan Fdn, West Des Moines, IAConcordia Language Villages, Moorhead, MNDala Heritage Society , Oglivie, MNDalesburg Scandinavian Association, Vermillion, SDFör Alltid Svensk, Clear Lake, WIGloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church, Philadelphia, PAIowa City Swedish Club, Iowa City, IAJenny Lind Chapel, Andover, ILJenny Lind Club of Michigan, Livonia, MILindsborg Swedish Folk Dancers, Lindsborg, KSMount Jewett Swedish Festival, Mount Jewett, PANew Sweden Centre, Wilmington, DENordic Heritage Club of Carver County, Chaska, MNNordiska Museet, Stockholm, SEOld Swedes Foundation, Wilmington, DEOzark Scan Society of Springfield, Springfield, MORaoul Wallenberg Committee of the US, New York, NYRhode Island Swedish Heritage Asso, Wakefield, RIScandianvian School of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Scandinavian Cultural Center of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CAScandinavian Society of Wichita, Wichita, KSScandinavians on the Road, Minneapolis, MNSeattle Lilla Spelmanslag, Seattle, WASmörgåsbandet, Shirley, NYStromsburg Midsommar Swedish Festival, Stromsburg, NESWEA - Michigan, Rochester, MISWEA - New Jersey, Madison, NJSWEA - Washington DC, Washington, DCSwedes of the Grand Valley, Grand Junction, COSwedish American Central Asso of Southern California, Glendora, CASwedish American Historical Society of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WISwedish American Society of Tidewater, Norfolk, VASwedish Center of San Diego, San Diego, CASwedish Club of San Francisco and Bay Area, Redwood City, CASwedish Cultural Society of Cleveland, Cleveland, OHSwedish Educational Asso of New Jersey, Inc., Wayne, NJSwedish Fdn of Iowa’s “Swede Bend” Settlement, Stratford, IASwedish Heritage Society of N Colorado, Eaton, COSwedish Heritage Society of North Dakota, Minot, NDSwedish Heritage Society of Swedesburg, Swedesburg, IASwedish Heritage Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, UTSwedish Roots in Oregon, Aloha, ORSwedish Society Linnea, Portland, ORSwedish Society of Calgary, Calgary, ABSwedish Society of San Francisco, San Francisco, CAThree Crowns Swedish-American Association, Bismarck, NDTimen Stiddem Society, Inc., San Marcos, CATwin City Dalaförening, Saint Paul, MNVasa National Archives, Bishop Hill, ILVästergötland Society, Golden Valley, MNViking Age Club, Minneapolis, MNVOA - District Lodge Arizona #21, Scottsdale, AZVOA - Framåt Lodge #405, Richmond, CAVOA - Jubileum Lodge #755, Madison, WIVOA - Nobel Lodge #184, Milwaukie, ORVOA - Nobel-Monitor Lodge #130, Strongsville, OHVOA - Nordic Lodge #611, Marlboro, MAVOA - Nordic Lodge #660, Downey, CAVOA - Norrskenet Lodge #331, Sioux City, IAVOA - North Star Lodge #145, Coeur d’Alene, IDVOA - Phoenix Lodge #677, Mesa, AZVOA - Satellite Lodge #661, Portage, MIVOA - Scandinavian Lodge #667, La Jolla, CAVOA - Three Crowns Lodge #704, Hackettstown, NJVocalEssence, Minneapolis, MN

Glimpsing the first julstjärna in our neighbor’s window, we instinctively see it as a guiding light, leading us on to Yule. Its soft, slightly yellow luminescence glowing through the first heavy snowfall of the season reminds us that there will be a warm cup of glögg ready for us when we arrive at our destination. There is something extra close and cozy in its aura and we follow it to the tradi-tions and tastes that are our cultural heritage as Swedes.

If we are heading to mormor’s house on the farm, we can nearly taste her special Swedish meatballs as she opens the door. Try as we might, no one else in the family can really duplicate her special recipe. If Aunt Ingrid’s suburban home is our destination, tradition dictates that she will treat us with a dinner of oven roasted whole salmon after we and our cousins have decorated the tree. And even if we end up at Brother Erik’s loft in the center of the city, there will be pickled herring and a course-ground sausage to snack on as a reminder of our Swedish heritage. These foods and the julstjärna, are all part of our family’s heritage.

When SCA chose to sponsor the tour of Joe Hill’s songs, we knew it would surely bring tears to the eyes of some retired union workers in the Midwest. We were excited to fund a third resident artist at Sjölunden, the Swedish Concordia Language Village for K-12 youth. Including weaving, dance and song in their Swedish language instruction is what will fix svenska in their memories for the rest of their lives. And it was our joy to present Glenn Peterson, “Mr. Sweden” himself in Duluth, with an SCA Award of Merit. That so many people turned out to honor him demonstrates the impact he has had on his community.

Promoting and preserving Swedishness across the generations – that’s what we do at SCA, it’s in our DNA. Please remember us in your year-end giving. You help keep the Swedish julstjärna lit with your support!

Gregg White, SCA Executive Director

Lighting the Christmas star

3030 West River Parkway Minneapolis, MN 55406-2361

www.swedishcouncil.org