At Nordic Fest: A Proposal Story, guest post by Janette Rodecap

Editor's note: With the recent holidays bringing the news of many engagements, what follows is a special Nordic Fest engagement story. Thanks to Janette Rodecap for today's guest post.

I have always loved my hometown and Nordic Fest, but the 40^th Annual Nordic Fest in 2006 changed my life.  It was at that Nordic Fest that I became engaged to my husband, Jeremy Wieck, and it was one of the happiest days of my life.

Jeremy and I had been dating off and on for about 7 years, but we had recently reunited after a breakup.  Jeremy had been to Decorah and to Nordic Fest before, but in July of 2006, he was having a busy time at work and told me that he wanted to stay behind in Kansas City.  

I drove up alone, and was having a wonderful time catching up with my parents, brother, and friends.  I called Jeremy on Saturday after dinner at the Decorah Lutheran Smorgasbord to see what he had planned for that night, and he told me he was going to a barbecue with friends.  Little did I know that he was actually speeding toward Decorah, nervously repeating his proposal speech over and over again the whole way.

Jeremy knew that I never missed the Nordic Dancer reunion on Saturday night.  I was a Nordic Dancer from 1984 to 1993, and I loved the music, dancing, and seeing my old friends down on the street.  Jeremy had talked to my mom about his plans in advance, and she gave him the phone number for Ruth Proctor, who was then the director of the Nordic Dancers. 

Mrs. Proctor loved the idea of a proposal, and she suggested doing it during the Halling dance.  During that dance, the young men show off by trying to kick a hat off the end of a broom held up in the air by a young lady, and Mrs. Proctor told Jeremy that she would make sure I was that young lady.  After the last of the dancers had their turn, Jeremy would come out of the crowd to propose. Jeremy agreed that it sounded like a good plan.  

A couple of days later, a reporter from the Decorah paper called Jeremy for an interview about his plan to propose.  The already nervous Jeremy was really feeling the pressure after that!

As I took my seat on the grass in front of the Courthouse, I had no idea what was about to happen.  Jeremy had already called my mom, dad, and brother, Brian, to make sure they would all be there for the proposal.  The press was there, too.  My brother had been going up and down Water Street telling everyone we knew about the proposal, so they would all be there to see it.  I don’t know how everyone kept the secret from me, but a proposal was the furthest thing from my mind.  

Jeremy had stopped in Waterloo to buy a “disguise” – sunglasses and a fisherman’s hat – and he arrived at Courthouse Square just as the first dance was starting.  He was worried that I might see him, so he hid behind one of the statues on the lawn.  But he wanted to make sure Mrs. Proctor knew he was there, so he kept signaling to her by waving from behind the statue.  He was also nervous about the proposal, so he paced around so much back there that he just about wore a path in the grass.  He was sure everyone around him thought he was nuts. 

As the performance went on, Mrs. Proctor called for the alumni to come down and do some of our favorite dances with the current group, like Sexsmansril and the Old Reinlander.  After the alumni dance, we usually stand behind the orchestra and catch up a little bit while the current group finishes the performance.  

This time, Mrs. Proctor asked me to stay out on the street and hold the broom for the Halling Dance.  That seemed unusual, but not enough to make me suspicious.  I was focused on the dancers and holding the broom steady, so I never noticed Jeremy coming down from his hiding place and waiting near the edge of the street behind me.  As the last dancer took his turn, Mrs. Proctor announced that there was one more suitor who was waiting to kick the hat.  

At his cue, Jeremy walked up to me, and I was shocked to see him there.  At first, I could not understand what was happening, but my heart stopped when Jeremy started to talk.  He explained how we met and how long we had been together, and that he knew how much Decorah and Nordic Fest meant to me.  

Finally, in front of all of my family and friends, and what felt like the whole town, Jeremy got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  I joyfully agreed!  

At the end of the Halling dance, the winner carries the girl off the stage, so I jumped on Jeremy’s back for a piggy-back ride off the street, and that was the photo on the front page of the Decorah Journal the next day.  We still have a framed copy of that photo hanging in our living room as a memento of a Nordic Fest I will never forget.

You may contact today's guest post author at j_rodecap at yahoo dot com.