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SVEA LODGE #296

VASA ORDER OF AMERICA

A Swedish-American Fraternal Organization

Instituted May 20, 1914

Erie, Pennsylvania

Photo: Midsommar   PBellingham


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FROM THE CHAIR

Hälsningar!  

Svea Lodge #296 WELCOMES YOU to our website.  It is a work in progress.  There is so much information shared on our website, we know you'll need to visit it several times.   

LUCIA Festival of Light will be here soon - December 8th as a matter of fact!  Lena Donnelly will be organizing the pageant along with help from Emma Chaffee.  Lena has been part of Lucia for many years participating, as well as, assisting her mother, Lynnette Gustafson.   New this year will be an extra practice so that children will be well prepared, Svea members will serve a light lunch to the children participating on practice days, and the pageant will be changed to 3PM instead of 4PM.  Practices will be held right after services at Luther Memorial on November 10, 17, 24 and December 1.  

One work in progress is the Cultural Resources menu under the Members tab.  We have begun a repository of recipes, media/videos, Scandinavian crafts, a listing of books by Scandinavian authors that have been read by members of the two book clubs.  We hope it is a useful way of sharing our traditions and heritage.  It is for Members Only and you must have a user name and password to log in.  If you need help getting that done, let our Membership Committee know - Pat Bellingham, Lisa Davis, or Kathy Williams.  

Our TShirts are here!  If you didn't order one ahead of time - we've got you covered, there are extra!

AS PROMISED, our website now has the capability to accept on-line payments for dues, events, and donations!  If you are interested in joining Svea, go to the Membership Tab, click on the dropdown menu Membership Application for instructions on getting the application and the link to use the Affinipay payment feature.  If you are Renewing, go to the Membership Tab and click on the dropdown menu Renew.   You'll be directed to the payment feature information connected to current members.  If you prefer to use cash or checks, we continue to honor that as well!  Please notice that the dues for membership have gone up to $45/year/person.

If there is something that you would like featured in our News or a program you would like to see, please let us know through Contact Us or better yet - join in at an event!   We would love to see you. 

Sköt om dig!   

Pat

Chair, Svea Lodge #296

Erie, PA





Our 60th Biannual Convention for Pennsylvania District #9 was held September 27-29, 2024




Left photo is the newly elected District Officers for 2024-2026.  Five of those officers are from Svea - Pat Bellingham, Vice District Master, Kathy Williams, Auditor, Brian Davis, Assistant Master of Ceremonies, Lorraine Johnson, Chaplain, and Lisa Davis, Trustee.  Of note: the District Secretary position is still vacant.  

On the right are the new delegates getting installed with the District Degree.  Our delegates were:  Kirk Johnson, Brian and Lisa Davis.  

Some highlights of the Convention:

  • Svea was once again awarded the Candelabra for having the most growth in membership!   We increased our numbers by 4%
  • The budget was passed with an increase of District dues of $10.  Presently, the District gets $5 per person from the $35 dues we pay each year. They will now get $15/person.  As a result, local lodge dues will increase by $10, making them $45.  The District will partially fund the Lodge websites but only at $500.  We will need to make up  the rest, approximately $700.
  • A presentation on the ReEnergize and ReBuild initiative was given by Arne Dunhem.  Participants were encouraged to share suggestions on activities for Lodges, Families and the District to help attract and keep members.
  • Presentations were given by Rolf Bergman and Karin Weeden, recipients of the Adult Scholarships.  Because of the increased costs for the Youth Scholarship program, that may need to be revisited.  Presently, the youth scholarship is given every year.  It may need to be reduced to every other year, as is the adult scholarship.
  • Updated By Laws were presented and passed.  
  • On Sunday, Lorraine Johnson and Twyla Sales organized a beautiful Memorial Service, honoring the 17 members from Nobel-Monitor, Drott, and Svea who passed away since our last convention.  The three Svea members were Sandy Miller, Lucia Doyle, and Dorothy Overberg.

Thinking ahead - the 2026 District Convention will be held in Erie.  We're starting to think about venues and activities to showcase our Lodge and Erie, PA.  If you'd like to be on the Convention Committee, let the officers know.   It's not too early.

More photos will be put up when more are sent in.






Vasa Breakfast





Breakfast will resume on the first Monday of every month.

November 4, 2024

9:30 AM

at Butch's Restaurant

3330 West 26th St

Erie, PA







 



Upcoming events

For a full description - click Events tab or the headers below



Join us now to become a member.  Members must be 14 years of age but younger children are always welcome to participate!  

You can attend all of our activities.   You will receive our Newsletter so you can stay informed about what is happening within the Svea Lodge.  Check out Our Story - Member Benefits to see what's in it for you!

Join us now!

OTHER INTERESTING EVENTS TO DO WITH SVEA FRIENDS IN NWPA OHIO & NY


Scandinavian Culture Days in Jamestown will resume the first Saturday of the month beginning in October and lasting through May 2025.  The classes and programs meet at Jamestown Community College.



Phrase of the Month:  

Hur mår du?    How are you?

  • ·        Mycket bra – very well
  • ·        Bra tack – well thanks
  • ·        Jätte (yeta) bra – giant good



Hesssel Valley Lutheran Church in Chandler’s Valley, (formerly Swedesburg) was the site of their 170th anniversary, celebrated with the theme Join In the Dancing – a Swedish Folk Dance Mass.  Trad in I Dansen by Per Harling, is a beautiful and unusual setting of Holy Communion that includes folk dance rhythms including the traditional Swedish schottische, hambo, polka and waltz.   Besides singers and instrumentalists, Join in the Dancing calls for folk dancers to take part in the worship.  The musicians and folk dancers came from Thule Lodge in Jamestown.

Sarah and I enjoyed wonderful hospitality, a lovely service, and a delicious lunch on a beautiful fall day!  We also got to sit in the King's Chair, made especially for Sweden's King Carl's visit to Hessel Valley several years ago!


WELCOME TO THE  SVEA LODGE WEBSITE!

Svea Lodge is dramatically  improving its public face with our  Wild Apricot website.  We are so happy to have you here.

We are very excited about this development. Our website describes who the Svea Lodge is, our history, and our ongoing activities. You can also find a description of Vasa Order Of America of which we are the local lodge in Erie, PA.

Keep checking this website for frequent updates and news about the Svea Lodge and our activities.


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A Trip of a Lifetime!

From Svea Member, Tom Hetrick:

My week in Sweden was really fantastic. I’m so thankful to Lars (Svea's Swedish connection) and all the people I met through him. He drove us to one of the villages where my ancestors lived and with some help of new friends, we even found their old houses!

Pictures top-bottom, left-right:

A visit to the Göteborg archipelago with Bøsse and Eva. Bøsse has done a lot of ancestry research and in particular, he pieced together the life story of my last ancestor to stay in Sweden. Over several days we followed his life path from a farm south of Göteborg, to the nearby town, to his factory work in the city, and eventually to another village where he married, had children, watched them leave for America, and lived well into his 90s (in the red house below). 

The church where my grandmother’s grandparents were married, just before they came to Pennsylvania.

Fika with the group who helped me find my ancestor’s homes. (Funny story for later, had it not been for the dog, we would have never met these folks!)

The house where my ancestors lived (moved from its original location down the road)

This was my favorite meal. Bøsse took me to the “feskekörka” — fish church or fish market — in Göteborg and we picked these up for dinner! 

The Volvo Museum.  Lars took me to the World of Volvo that had a collection of cars from over the years and also a number of immersive experiences and fun simulators, like one where you put on a virtual reality headset to steer a yacht into the harbor and park it.  

Göteborg is located on the Göte älv but also has a number of canals, built by the Dutch and modeled after Amsterdam.

Here is a view overlooking Göteborg. The karlatornet is the tallest building both in Göteborg and in all of Scandinavia.

Old ships in the Göteborg harbor.

This one is very special to me because my grandma used to make “Swedish bread” with cardamom. It had such a unique taste…one that I hadn’t tasted in years until I ordered my first (of many) kardemummbulle.

The trip to Sweden was truly the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m so thankful to you, the Lodge and Lars for helping to make it all happen!




Skulestad, Norway

Photos courtesy of P Bellingham

Join Us For Fun-filled Events Together With Our Sister Lodges In Our Vasa District, PA #9

Why not visit our two sister Lodges within Pennsylvania District #9? The two other lodges are Nobel-Monitor #130 in Cleveland, OH and Drott-Lodge #168 in Washington, D.C. Check out their websites to find out what they are doing.

We plan to have some joint activities together with members of the other two lodges to include some fun events in their areas and we will travel there to spend a day or weekend with them.  We can, to the extent possible, arrange car pooling.

Here are the websites for our two sister Local Lodges and our District Lodge PA #9:

Nobel-Monitor:     www.nobelmonitorlodge.wildapricot.org

Drott Lodge:  www.drott-lodge.org  

District Lodge PA #9: www.vasa-districtno9.org


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Contact:

Pat Bellingham, Chair

C/O Luther Memorial Church Office: 814.454.0106



Address:

225 West 10th Street

Erie, PA 16501





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