SACHF News October 2017
60 W. Olsen Road,  Thousand Oaks, CA 91360        805-241-0391   
Leif Erikson
Leif Erikson Day Celebration

Sunday,  2:30 Oct. 8
Overton Hall, CLU
(the day before official National Leif Erikson Day Oct. 9) 

SACHF will honor:

Leif Erikson, as first European to discover America

John Ericsson & his MONITOR for saving America
John Ericsson
Schedule of event in the Overton Hall of California Lutheran University:
 
❶  Introduction of program by Richard Londgren of the Scandinavian Center
 
❷ Greetings from Anita Hillesland Londgren, President of SACHF
 
❸  Nordic Spirit Symposium report by Nancy Truex of Nordic Spirit committee
 
❹  Showing special video about the MONITOR, nullifying the Confederate ironclad
 
❺ Induction of John Ericsson into Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame
MONITOR
'I guess I'll go then' was the "dramatic" declaration by  Charles Lindbergh after he climbed in his "Spirit of St. Louis" to embark on his famous 1920 international flight to Paris. Folks at the Sept. 20 Brown-Bag Lunch at the ScanCenter watched (via video) as he waited for favorable weather, then the plane slogged through the mud to take off, and set off to a tumultuous welcome in Paris! On the way, he had to combat exhaustion from his loss of sleep and stay alert enough to reset his compass multiple times. Then he finally achieved his hope to be the first solo-aviator to fly non-stop across the Atlantic.

P.S. Note the room decorations about aviation: the model of the Spirit of St. Louis at back and Nils Holgersson above on his goose, flying over Sweden.
Aina Dackow , who immigrated to the United States from Sweden, checks the model of the MONITOR, the Civil War ironclad warship invented and manufactured by another Swedish immigrant, John Ericsson. The significance of his invention will be featured in the Leif Erikson-John Ericsson event at Overton Hall at 2:30 Sunday afternoon, Oct. 8. The model in the photo was made by another Swedish immigrant,  Torsten Olsson , the noted craftsman of the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation.
Photo by Fred (not Alfred) Tonsing
Alfred the Great of 9th Century England (Ang-land from Danish) got due attention during a recent Brown-Bag Lunch at the ScanCenter. His greatness arose from his handling of the invasion by his Viking cousins, for his learning and for his governance of the Danelaw. Language scholar Nancy Truex pointed out the contrasts between the Anglo-Saxon language and the Latin-based language brought to England in 1066 by William the Conqueror of France (Norse roots, too, of course). ScanCenter Co-Director
Dick Londgren emphasized the American connection to the Danelaw section of Great Britain...and the American journalistic intent to "prefer Anglo-Saxon" in writing.

Now, how about the Romans in Britain? Want to volunteer to share?
Anna Liljas (at right) seems to feel "WELCOME" as she joins the SACHF Board of Directors. She also serves as president of the Scandinavian Student Club at Cal Lutheran, replacing Katherine Reaves in that capacity. A junior from Washington State, Anna pursues a degree in music, and she also sings in the CLU choir. SACHF board members and membership-committee leaders Ingrid Isaksen (left) and Britta Grampp welcome Anna. Britta is also a member of the Scandinavian Student Club and assists SACHF in record-keeping and with support during the Scandinavian Festival. For information about SACHF membership and activities, visit our website at ScandinavianCenter.org.
Astrid Lindgren got "due diligence" from Karen Darnall (she's a lawyer) via the PowerPoint presentation about the life of the Swedish author during the Sept. 27 Brown-Bag Lunch at the ScanCenter. Lindgren created a myriad of stories for children in her writing career that began in grade school and continued till she died at age 94 in 2002.  Swedish-American Karen is a new member of SACHF and is honing her skills in Swedish language in preparation for a visit to the land of her grandparents.
From SACHF President
 
Anita  HILLESLAND  Londgren
 
Though my Norwegian roots came to me dimly via our church and family in San Francisco, I do appreciate the involvement of Norwegian-Americans in SACHF and our ScanCenter.
 
What a treat to watch the "Little Vikings" when they gather at the ScanCenter! And to note the significance of the Norwegian language class also at the ScanCenter.
 
The sight of Norwegian attire and the tempting appeal of the scent and taste of the "Viking Dogs" certainly adds to the ambiance of the Scandinavian Festival at Cal Lutheran in April for thousands of visitors.
 
To that specific ethnic impact in SACHF, we add the Swedish language class, the Nordic Spirit Symposium and the educational continuity of our weekly Brown-Bag Lunches.
 
As support for our spreading Scandinavian presence, we also offer an array of art and artifacts in our ScanCenter museum as well as  hundreds of books in our library.
 
This combination contributes to our mission to "preserve and promote Scandinavian Heritage and Culture in the Southwestern United States for the education and enjoyment of present and future generations."
 
P.S.: Thanks for the E-News support from the SACHF Communications Team--Board members Richard Londgren and Eric Renn.
Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation