Mora, MN — Announcements about recent Swedish visitors, the serving of pea soup and pancakes, a Swedish slide show program, the sale of nuts, membership renewals, some stories and a time to reconnect were all on the agenda when the Dala Heritage Society of Mora offered up its pea soup and pancake lunch in mid-January.

The group meets reguarlary for a variety of purposes: to have a social time together, to host incoming Swedish performers at Midsummer, to select the next Lucia and to take care of business as a non-profit cultural organization.

January's announcements included news about two television entities, which recently spent time with group members in order to create documentary programs to be aired in Sweden in 2015 and 2016. The focus in both cases was the early life of Swedish immigrants in America. The interviewers wanted to know what it had been like, what kind of work the families did, and what sort of occupations the children of immigrants found for themselves when they were of an age to be wage-earners.

Dala Heritage Society president Gordon Hallstrom was one of those interviewed about these questions. He explained: “You know, when I look back on it, it was kind of hard at times,” talking of money limitations and the physical work required for a Minnesota Swedish immigrant farm family. “But we didn’t know any different, and my dad was good at figuring out how to fix things. So even if we didn’t have money, we could still manage.”

Another member, Carl Boberg of Nisswa, MN, was invited to share news and notes of his recent trip to Sweden, where he travels regularly to visit his son. He talked about the weather, helping to build his son’s garage, about the local dialect of the area where his son lives in southern Sweden, and about recent issues involving immigration into Sweden.

The group also got to hear about the upcoming Vaka festival and conference in Akureyri, Iceland, on June 11-14, 2015, which focuses on traditional Nordic folk music and dance. Hallstrom said the word “vaka” means to be awake in Swedish, while it also means a gathering of fiddlers, musicians and revelers in Icelandic.

For more information about the Dala Heritage Society and its activities contact its president at 320-869-6577.

By Valorie Arrowsmith

Make your own Swedish pancakes: With a recipe from 'The official cookbook of Sweden'

Skinny pancakes means you can eat several, right? The Dala Heritage Society pancake flippers produced stacks ready to serve with blueberries, strawberries, and whipping cream at the annual lunch.


Joanne Olen always serves real whipped cream with Swedish pancakes when the Dala Heritage Society of Mora offers this delicacy to its members and the general public every January. Cool whip is available, but not encouraged.


Gordon Hallstrom, leader of the Dala Heritage Society of Mora, told a story that engaged the audience at the annual pea soup and pancake lunch. Besides the meal, participants enjoyed a slide presentation about a year in the Swedish countryside, and had a chance to connect with friends and neighbors over coffee.