More from the First Nordic Fest Board President

Harry Olson, president of the first Nordic Fest Board, pictured in the yellow vest

during the first parade in 1967

As mentioned in last week's post, local Decorah businessman Harry Olson served as the first Nordic Fest board president. He started a long line of particularly dedicated and passionate people to take on a huge volunteer role over five decades. 

During a 1997 interview, he shared particular recollections about those first Fest experiences in 1967, which are excerpted here, and likely are parallel to the thoughts and experiences of many of his board president colleagues:

A note about how communication has changed over five decades:
"We drove everywhere to manage communication among board members. One year, we drove 350 miles within the city limits in the three days of Nordic Fest. We usually started at 5 a.m. and went until 1 a.m. We made it work because it was only three days. We had a walkie talkie from the information tent to the car board members used." 

"The most personal satisfaction I had came at Opening Ceremonies the first year - until I found out I had to get up and welcome everybody. That didn't make me happy. I got up to the Courthouse Square and had tears in my eyes to see all the people who showed up because they thought the Nordic Fest was something worthwhile to be a part of."  

"I don't recall any stress. In Jaycees, there was no expectation of failure. We just gave things a shot. We did not have the word can't in our vocabulary." 

"If I had a chance to do it all over again, I would join the Nordic Fest team. It's nice to feel wanted and feel a part of something. I would still serve as president because it was easy to organize the work."

Have you served on the Nordic Fest board? If so, how can you relate to Harry's experiences?