The following copyright article appeared in a July 1994 issue of Decorah Newspapers.
Used with permission.
Nordic Fest food booths take 'major blow' in storm
With the 28th annual Nordic Fest less than two weeks away, July 29-31, the Fest suffered a major blow in the July 19 wind storm in Decorah.
The 14 Fest booths received an estimated $10,000 in damages. The booths are used by nonprofit organizations throughout the three-day Fest to serve food and raise funds. Many Norwegian and Scandinavian specialties are featured. Several booths were totally demolished.
Community helps
The Decorah community immediately began helping in the building and repair of the booths. Chuck Lore, who is in charge of physical management for the Fest, said around 40 individuals and business people have helped build four new booths and repair and repaint the rest.
The community also helped with monetary donations. The Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce, serving as a central location for donations and offers of help, reported that four major donations of $500 each were given by the Decorah Rotary Club, Bruening Rock Products, Wapsie Produce and Helen Basler. Numerous other donations also were received.
Donations are still welcome at the Chamber office on Winnebago Street, or by writing P.O. Box 364, Decorah, Iowa 52101.
A woodcarving, called the "Storm Troll" will also be raffled to help raise funds.
Every year since 1978, Nordic Fest has hosted a river run and walk that has been routed throughout various parts of scenic Decorah. It can be nice to think about a warm July morning this winter!
This popular Saturday morning event was described as follows in the 2014 Nordic Fest program: Elveløpet — The River Run, 5K walk/run, 15K run. Early registration accepted at Main Visitor Center until noon on Friday— early registration entry fee is $30. Late registration accepted Friday 6:00-9:00 p.m., City Hall and Saturday 6:30-7:00 a.m. Canopy 5 —late entry fee is $35. Elveløpet starts at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. In 1978, the highlights of the first Nordic Fest Elveløpet included:
107 runners: 34 women and 73 men
In the 15K men's race, Dani Fjelstad of Albert Lea, Minnesota and Paul Mullen of Rochester, Minnesota tied for first place with a time of 50 minutes, 37 seconds. Both were distance runners at Luther College at the time.
Kaia Lybbert of Cresco won the women's 15K with a time of 67 minutes, 35 seconds
Randy Fitzgerald of Decorah won the men's 5K with a time of 21:37
Mary Macal of Decorah won the women's 5K with a time of 28:16
What are your favorite Nordic Fest Elveløpet memories?
The example above from 1985 Nordic Fest promotional materials is a reminder of many years of beautiful culture added to Nordic Fest by the Luther College based Dorian Opera Theater.
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 40th 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.
