DID YOU HEAR about Ole and Lena’s recent home improvement project?
“We carpeted the bathroom,” says Lena. “We loved it so much we ran it (the carpet) all the way to the house.”
Now, I can appreciate a joke like that. I grew up in a farmhouse without a bathroom, meaning my family used an outhouse.
But when it comes to lutefisk, I’m not quite as informed, being 100 percent German and all.
However, Tina, a full-blooded Norwegian, certainly knows her traditional Norwegian foods. “Lutefisk,” she claims, “is the piece of cod that passes all understanding.”
I’ve eaten lutefisk (cod soaked in lye) once and, excuse me all you Norwegian readers, but I agree with Tina’s assessment.
Lutefisk, lefse, hotdish and more were the subjects of jokes and songs shared Sunday afternoon by the comedic duo of Tina & Lena during a Syttende Mai Celebration at the Historic Trondhjem Church. As Tina & Lena sang in their version of “This Land Is Your Land,” Trondhjem land would be “east of Lonsdale, southwest of Webster, west of 35.”
And I would add that the 1899 historic wood frame Trondhjem church is anchored atop a windy, very windy, hill just off Minnesota State Highway 19 and along a gravel road that dips and rises like the rolling waves of a stormy sea. I expect the immigrants who arrived here from Trondhjem, Norway, in the 1860s and 1870s experienced stormy seas before settling among the rolling hills and woods so much like the Motherland.
That Norwegian heritage and the history of this place, this Trondhjem in Minnesota, brought about 120 people together on Norwegian Constitution Day for the annual meeting of The Trondhjem Preservation Society and that entertainment by Tina & Lena, who have been on the road for 28 years, performing in 20 states.
Their motto seems to be this: “It is bad to suppress laughter because otherwise it goes down and spreads to your hips.”
There was no chance in, well, you know where that Tina & Lena could suppress the laughter of the Trondhjem audience. The long-time friends rocked the church with laughter and song and dance, personalizing their performance to the location. They engaged the audience—singling out individuals for attention, pulling two men into the church aisle to dance and even calling upon Preservation Society members to sing in “The Hotdish Hallelujah Chorus.”
Tina & Lena, who in real life are Sue Edwards of Alexandria and Annette Hustad of Glenwood, sang in the church choir while growing up in Canby in southwestern Minnesota. Just knowing they are from my native prairie endears them to me.
But it is their ability to slip into the roles of Norwegian women—lilting accents and all—and tell good, clean jokes appropriate for all and spin stories and sing and dance and interact with others that endears them to so many. These women, with energy and enthusiasm, exude absolute passion for making people laugh.
And what Minnesotan wouldn’t laugh at this Tina & Lena joke: “Oh, we love hotdish. Hotdish is a wonderful Minnesota food that melts into your Jell-O and runs into your buns.” (For you non-Minnesotans out there, “hotdish” is the same as “casserole.”)
No hotdish, Jell-O or buns were served during the fellowship hour following the performance and annual meeting. But scrumptious Norwegian treats—none of which I can identify by name (except lefse) because, remember, I am German—were laid out on tables in the social hall.
Let me tell you, these descendants of Norwegian immigrants have not forgotten the baking traditions of the homeland.
Trondhjem pastor, the Rev. Howard White, had it right when he earlier prayerfully thanked God for the gifts of memory, laughter, tradition, heritage and new beginnings.
Amen and amen.
For more info about Tina & Lena, click here.
© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Sorry I missed this! I’m half Norwegian, and just reading about it makes me smile.
If you ever have the opportunity to see Tina & Lena, do, especially if you’re Norwegian and even if you’re not. They’ll be performing at the Minnesota State Fair.
That church is amazing. Looks like a good time. The food looked wonderful too!
You’re right. The church is absolutely beautiful and the food was absolutely delicious.
Fantastic! I love events like that, even though I’m not Scandinavian at all. It’s one of the bits I love about Minnesota. I have also tasted Lutefisk – I felt it was my duty. I will taste anything once. And, with Lutefisk, once was enough.
I love that pew picture!
More than 30 years ago, while at my first job as a reporter and photographer at The Gaylord Hub, a weekly newspaper in southern Minnesota, I covered a lutefisk dinner at a local church. Of course, I had to eat at the dinner. I didn’t like the lutefisk, which I thought similar to warm Jell-O. But I didn’t let that affect my objective reporting.
As for that pew pic, yes, I would say it’s a favorite of mine, too. I tried something new with that angle. I simply set my camera on the floor and shot. Or I may have angled it slightly up. I can’t recall as I took about a half dozen frames. I was pleased with the results and I expect to use this method again.
I don’t think I’ve ever had Norwegian cuisine. I love the look of the church and the pews are beautiful. I was married in a church with beautiful pews and I heard recently they ripped them out to replace them with modern moveable chairs – what a crime and how to ruin a beautiful part of our history. That sounds like it was a great night with lots of laughs and good times xx
Minnesota is home to many Scandinavians. That means lutefisk dinners are popular, especially around Christmas time. And many families prepare lefse.
I agree that removing old pews to replace them with chairs is horrible. I appreciate the beauty and history of old, handcrafted pews.
Looks like a fun little event, I think my full blooded dad would have loved this. I have to admit I never came close to even tasting the lutefisk grandma made for Christmas dinner…Us half-breeds ate the meatballs 🙂
Norwegian or not, anyone would have enjoyed the Tina & Lena show and the Norwegian treats. I can’t believe you’ve never tried lutefisk. You must, at least once.
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