Neighbors once carried a story about the annual supper served by the Hannaford, N.D., Lutheran Church Ladies’ Aid , which always included lutefisk. The particular supper recalled was served in 1941.
That brought an email from Terry Olson, West Fargo, who wrote that this brought back memories from years ago.
“One instance,” Terry wrote, “was at a Lutheran church supper in Lisbon, N.D.
“ Elden ‘Dutch’ Martin and I were both lutefisk addicts.
“The church served it ‘homestyle,’ bringing bowls and plates of food to the table. Dutch and I ate like we hadn’t had food for a month.
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“Then we started noticing that they weren’t putting anyone else, or any more more food, at our table.
“We beckoned one of the ‘workers’ over and asked why, and were told that if we wanted more food, we had to each buy another ticket.
“We did just that, and the food and the visiting carried on!”
Terry adds that “Dutch made excellent lutefisk himself, as did Myron Simonson of Enderlin, N.D. Myron had kind of a secret method of preparing and cooking it.
“Those were the good old days!”
Terry lived in Enderlin back then, while Dutch lived in Lisbon. Both worked for the construction division of the North Dakota Highway Department
Terry ends his email with, “I STILL LOVE LUTEFISK!”
Archive: Read more of Bob Lind's Neighbors columns
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Riding the Goose
The column about the 1941 Hannaford church supper mentioned above also brought an email from Char (Olgard) Wixo, Fargo. Hannaford was her hometown.
Char wrote that she knew many of the people mentioned in that column, including, of course, Mrs. Otto (Clara) Olson, who cut pies at that ’41 supper. She was Char’s mother.
Char also mentioned other Neighbors columns about the old branch line trains, each of which was nicknamed the Galloping Goose.
“My friend and I would ride the Goose from Hannaford to Cooperstown, N.D., for our piano lessons,” she wrote. “This worked perfectly when my mother couldn’t take us. A lot of the time, we were the only ones on the small train — along with the conductor!”
If you have an item of interest for this column, mail it to Neighbors, The Forum, Box 2020, Fargo, ND 58107, fax it to 701-241-5487 or email blind@forumcomm.com.
