Dead Skier

This news isn't exactly new news, in fact it is one week old. On the 29th of September Karlyn Frantsen and I made our annual journey to the Norway Lutheran Church to see if in fact Sondre Norheim is still dead. Well we know he is but it makes for a good story. In reality, we make this trip each year to partake in the laying of the wreath at the grave of Sondre Norheim, the father of modern skiing.

My sister in law Lila spearheads all the work, along with her husband Kim. My other sister in law, Sandy, is a big help to her as well but she was unable to make it this year. Karlyn and I are the journeymen coffee servers and dishwashers for the coffee and lunch served. We dress in our Norwegian garb (this year I didn't as I had not yet hauled out my Norwegian sweaters. I also noticed my scarf doesn't match my jacket - what a misfit I was this year!) and drive the twenty-five miles to the oldest Lutheran Church in the Mouse River Loop.



This little soiree has been going on since 1982 when Elvind Stronde (norsk spelling is a guess) the curator of the Sondre Norheim Museum in Telemark Norway, came to see the grave sight. In 1984 Princess Astrid (now that was big doings!!) came to lay a wreath on his grave. Every year since... well you know the rest. My mother in law, Lilian, was the kingpin (queeenpin??) for many years making it all come together. When she was no longer able to, Lila took over.



Each year the format is relatively the same, but the Norwegian guests are different. The visitors are always impressed with our simple country church that over looks the Mouse River valley.

In Norway Sondre is heralded as quite a hero, much like our Babe Ruth. In the early 1880's he left the mountainous regions of Norway to seek his fame and fortune in America. Things didn't pan out as he anticipated and he died a pauper in 1897, never again to see the snowcovered mountaintops he so loved. He and his family lived just a few miles from the Norway Church. Many many years later, in 1966, his unmarked grave was found and later decorated with the stone, flag poles and such.

So each year as the Hostfest (Minot, ND) throws open its massive doors, this little out of the way ceremony is the unofficial kick off to the biggest Norwegian gathering in the entire USA, gosh maybe the world!







R.I.P. Sondre.