Kringen Lodge historian Karen Newman Midgarden displays one of the men’s bunads in its collection. (Photos/Nancy Hanson.)

Sons of Norway Lodge celebrates 50 years as a downtown landmark 

Nancy Edmonds Hanson 

It’s a stellar year for folks of Norwegian descent. While shirttail relations from coast to coast are celebrating the 200th anniversary of Norse immigration to the USA, the Fargo-Moorhead crew has been celebrating the birthday of a true downtown Fargo landmark – the Fargo Sons of Norway’s Kringen Klub, a center of cultural appreciation since 1975 … and, for 50 years, a spot for good food, friendship and good fun.

Today, descendants of the Norse immigrants who began arriving along the Red River in the 1870s make up most – but not all – of the 1,250 members of the local lodge. One of 330 SoN lodges across the U.S., as well as Canada and Norway itself, the Fargo group stands out as one of the three largest, as well as one of the few to own its own facility.

Guided by the late Carrol Juven, the local lodge purchased the former home of Russ Buick, then remodeled it and decorated it with wallpaper, carpeting and décor imported from the Old Country. Carved dragons and trolls encircle doorways and abound in the Troll Lounge. Wallpaper and paintings sport lavish helpings of rosemaling, the traditional folk art that blossomed between the frigid fjords and the shores of the North Sea.

Naturally, the menu in the popular Kringen Kafé has an ethnic flavor. Along with the typical menu of burgers, sandwiches and desserts, it boasts the Lefse Crunch Burger, an original concoction featuring a beef patty between two cracker-like pieces of baked lefse, garnished with lingonberry barbecue sauce, bacon and that Norwegian invention, Jarlsberg cheese – so tasty that it won Fargo’s first-ever Burger Royale contest in 2024. Other favorites show up, too, like crispy fried potato klubb, Scandinavian soups with plenty of cabbage, and smørbrød (open-faced sandwiches).

It can be hard to find a parking space in the club’s lot on Pie Day. The Kringen Kafé is famous for its spread of pies starting at 11 a.m. on Thursdays. One recent week featured rhubarb, apple gjetost, gømmegrøt, blueberry, lingonberry rømmegrøt, raspberry rommegrot, chocolate, butterscotch and fresh strawberry. Regulars advise to get there early.

And then there’s lutefisk. Dinners featuring the notorious preserved cod are scheduled several times each year. More mundane fare – turkey, ribs, salisbury steak – is scheduled on Tuesday evenings.

“Our mission is to promote and preserve the heritage and culture of Norway,” says lodge president John Andreasen.

The organization’s lifeblood, though, stems from insurance. “Immigrants who struggled to make lives here needed security for their families. If you had ten children and your husband died, where could you turn?” he explains. “Eighteen men in Minneapolis established an insurance company to offer life insurance at a very affordable price. It was, and is, a fraternal benefit company, a nonprofit, so a part of every policy renewal goes back into the social and cultural components, supporting local lodges.”

The Kringen Klub’s cultural offerings go far beyond lefse and lutefisk. Members can master their ancestors’ native tongue in Norwegian language classes taught by Trygve Olson. Alan Pearson leads a weekly studio where crafts enthusiasts employ paints and brushes to decorate woodenware with rosemaling designs unique to every region of the homeland. The Hook and Needle Stitch Group works on Hardanger embroidery. Those who are musically inclined can participate in the lodge’s ukelele group, its accordion band and the Kringen Choir. A book club digests and discusses Norwegian-themed literature.

True historic treasures and modern interpretations are curated by historian Karen Newman Midgarden. Long stored away in every corner of the Klub, she and other volunteers like Karen Jensen have unearthed and, often, repaired them for display. Bunads – the folk costumes favored by women and men – are pressed, repaired and preserved for eventual display in the Juven Ballroom.

Volunteers also oversee an extensive library. Some of its resources are valuable for researching family links to their forebears. Others, like the books in the extensive Norwegian collection, contain history and contemporary accounts of life in Norway. Still more – available for borrowing – include popular English-language nonfiction and novels that refer to the Land of the Midnight Sun.

“Carrol Juven was the motivator behind the club,” Andreasen emphasizes. “He believed that to maintain a cultural presence in the community, it needed more than a lodge that met once a month.” That lodge, established in 1905, met in rented space upstairs at 305-309 Broadway for 70 years before the Kringen Klub opened its doors. “That was the inspiration behind our club.”

Juven died in March at the age of 88 three days after being honored at a ceremony on the occasion of the Kringen Klub’s 50th anniversary. Known as “Mr. Norway,” he traveled to that nation 181 times, often leading tours. His dedication to Norway was so profound that its king awarded him the St. Olav Medal in recognition of his efforts to preserve and celebrate Norwegian heritage.

Operating funds have been a challenge from time to time. In addition to lunches served Tuesday through Friday and the Troll Lounge, open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Kringen Klub hosts the League of Women Voters and the Fargo Lions Club.

In his passionate speech to members at the celebration March 28, Juven challenged members: “The Kringen Klub doesn’t run just by itself. It is run by dedicated members who support it, who enjoy it, and who love it like I do. It’s not what you say, but what you do that counts.” That kicked off a campaign to raise funds to perpetuate the club, with funds earmarked for updates and repairs. According to Andreasen, an anonymous donor has offered a $500,000 matching challenge in Juven’s honor.

The Kringen Klub, say the campaign’s sponsors, is “more than a building – it’s the beating heart of our Norwegian-American community in the Red River Valley.”

For more information on events, classes, membership and other matters, to to www.sofnfgo.org or visit the Sons of Norway Kringen Lodge Facebook page.