Vijay Gaba and his wife Anu (at left) have been fans of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County since the physician couple joined MeritCare (now Sanford Health) in 2004. Now president of its board of directors, he emphasizes that its scope reaches far beyond the area’s Norwegian and German roots exemplified by the Hjemkomst ship and stav church. Photo/Nancy Hanson

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

When physicians Vijay and Anu Gaba were getting to know their new community, they could hardly miss the roof line of the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead. When they came to visit on a break from their assignments at (then) MeritCare Hospital, they made an assumption common to visitors: From the replica Viking ship in its lobby to the Norwegian-style stav church on the lawn, it seemed to them a tribute to the Northern European settlers who put down roots in the region.

“I was thinking this was for the Scandinavian people who moved here 100 years before,” Vijay recalls. “But then we came to Pangea, and it seemed like the whole world was taking part.”

From the start, the Gabas were drawn both to the annual multicultural festival and to the museum itself. While Anu has performed the classical Indian dances that are her passion almost every year, Vijay started volunteering. “I sold tickets. I helped direct people where to go. I did whatever needed to be done,” he recalls. “One day Maureen (Kelly Jonason, HCSCC executive director) came up to me and said, ‘We see you around here all the time. Would you like to be part of the board?’

“My wife told me, ‘If they find something valuable in you, you should accept,’” he reports. As for their two daughters – “they said, ‘You are going there so much anyway. You might as well say yes.’”

That was in 2013. Today the doctor – one of the lead anesthesiologists at Sanford Health in Fargo – not only recognizes the breadth and depth of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County’s mission: He chairs its board of directors. During a year of challenges thrown up by the global coronavirus pandemic, he remains one of the society’s most enthusiastic evangelists and advocates for a bright future.

He may be the first to admit it Is a moment of historical challenges. The center, supported in large part by admission fees, was shut down for several months early in the pandemic, along with its popular gift shop. Staff members worked from home. Then it reopened for two months in late summer amidst high preventive measures, admitting a limited stream of visitors to its eerily apt exhibit on World War I and the Spanish flu epidemic, “War, Flu and Fear,” among others. Then, on Nov. 14, it closed again amidst heightened statewide precautions to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Not only were daily admissions down – cultural events like Pangea, the global festival that introduced the Gabas to the center, were canceled or forced to go digital. Now in its 26th year, Pangea (normally held the second weekend of November) was moved online to https://www.hcscconline.org/pangea2020.html, where several dozen “regulars” demonstrate cooking and craft techniques and recorded their performances. The board president can be found there instructing on the art of making spicy Masala Chai from his native India.

With its income dramatically reduced, Vijay says one of the biggest challenges facing HCSCC is the city’s impending plan to increase its rent in the city-owned Hjemkomst Center. “We are a nonprofit, and we do not have the resources,” he says. Along with admissions, the budget depends on fund-raising and membership fees, both also down in this difficult year. He expresses his thanks for the organization’s “very, very strong staff and our volunteers,” including his fellow board members. “Through everything that has happened, they have been the strong pillars that keep us going.”

He would rather talk about his hopes for the group he now leads. “Our main issue, in my thinking, is that the center mainly hosts temporary and traveling exhibits. I believe we should also have a permanent exhibition to educate visitors about our local history,” he asserts. A corollary to that vision is to encourage more young people to visit and learn about Clay County and its place in the world.

Vijay was instrumental in putting together one of those periodic exhibitions in 2018. “Beyond Bollywood” explored the impact of newcomers who favor curry over lefse – the hundreds of Indian-Americans drawn to Fargo-Moorhead who serve in the fields of medicine, engineering, education, technology and manufacturing. It was sponsored in large part by the Indo-American Association of the Great Plains, a group of some 150 professionals in which both Gabas have served as vice president that focuses on cultural traditions and fund-raising for global issues. It, too, has gone largely virtual, with Vijay presenting periodic streaming video sessions on yoga.

Both he and Anu – who is chair of oncology at the Roger Maris Cancer Center – received their initial medical training before emigrating to the U.S. The move was spurred by Anu’s desire for advanced medical training and opportunities for research in New York City. Vijay joined her, along with the elder of their two daughters, and followed the same course. When they completed the training they’d come for, they looked together for hospital appointments where both could be on staff. That place was MeritCare in Fargo, where they’ve been ever since.

“I liked my working situation, and Anu was also very satisfied,” Vijay says of their decision. :The advancement of medicine here was amazing to us.” They consider themselves permanent transplants to the area. Both became American citizens in 2015. Their daughters have grown up here; Harshita, 24, is in medical school at the University of Rochester in New York; Nishita, 19, is an undergraduate at Tufts University in Boston.

“People have told us that those from tropical countries come here, then experience their first winter and quickly go back,” he says. “We have never had a problem with snow. Sometimes I wait for snow days. I am like a child having fun outside.” Besides cross-country skiing in winter, he and Anu are dedicated members of Faster Stronger Runners training for marathons.

They take advantage of the Red River, too – canoeing and paddling its waters whenever they can. That love has linked them to another local organization, River Keepers: “They are doing so much for the area, like their educational contribution for children.” Vijay has pitched in to plant trees along the river’s banks – 23 last year, which he still visits and photographs. He also participates in Adopt a River as a volunteer striving to clean several miles of the garbage that mars it. In 2017, River Keepers presented him with its top “Friend of the River” award.

Volunteerism is a key part of the Gabas’ approach to life. “My feeling is that we all should be doing community services. No matter how busy, we can spend a little bit of time doing good for our community, our country and the world,” he emphasizes. “I learned volunteering here at the Hjemkomst Center. There is so much research to be done, and that requires funding. The board’s goal is raising those funds. But if you cannot, you can come here and do some kind of work.

“Wherever you are, it is your duty to serve. You feel proud of it when it comes from your mind and from your heart. No one is so busy they truly cannot afford the time. Then enjoy it!”

He adds, “We are grateful to our Fargo-Moorhead community for giving us so much respect, kindness and opportunity. We have heard from some who have come from foreign countries that they faced discrimination. We have never felt that. If you work hard, people will recognize your achievement.”