I impressed the blue-haired ladies in the "Community Room" with my bus adventures. No one around the table had ever taken the bus before, so they thought I was "very brave." Instead of venturing downtown, they thought I should go see the Hjemkomst (too few vowels, but pronounced "yem-komst") Museum that houses the Viking ship "Hjemkomst" (built by local junior high school counselor, Robert Asp) and the Hopperstad Stave Church.

Bob had a day off and Garmin knew the way, so off we went. Nothing in Fargo is very far and after a few flood detours, we were there. The parking lot was empty, there were no lines or distractions and we had the full attention of Jon, Elsbeth, Heidi, and Norquist. Jon cheerfully toured us around, speaking fondly of Mr. Asp and his children.

Mr. Asp's obsession (or dream, depending on your point of view) to build a replica of the "Gokstad" ship, excavated from a burial mound in Oslo, Norway, became a reality in July, 1980. The ship was loaded onto a transport rig, driven to Duluth, and launched for a series of trial runs. After a complete sail and hull redesign, the boat began its' journey to Oslo across Lake Superior, through the Erie Canal, past Manhattan, and into the Atlantic. Mr. Asp lived to see the Hjemkomst launched in Duluth, but died of leukemia that December, two years before the ship's arrival in Norway's Bergen Harbor.

I was looking forward to seeing the BIG Art Show on the ground floor of the museum so we passed on a guided tour of the Hoppersted Stave Church and picked out our favorite Fargo-Moorhead Visual Artists.

Just for the sheer fun of it, let's make Norwegian meatballs, courtesy of the Sons of Norway.

Norwegian Meatballs

5 pounds ground meat ( beef, veal, pork; ground three times)
2 medium onions, finely ground (save juice)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 T. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup half & half
1/2 cup cracker meal or matzo meal
4-5 beef bouillon cubes or 4-5 tsp. instant beef bouillon
2 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet Flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all meatball ingredients, knead by hand 5 minutes or more to blend spices into meat. Lightly grease or coat shallow baking pans with no-stick cooking spray. Form small round meat balls; dipping hands into cold water to shape smooth. Bake 10 to 15 minutes. Place meatballs in large kettle; add bouillon cubes, meat drippings from baking pan and water to cover. Stir in Kitchen Bouquet. heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Remove meatballs. Thicken gravy with flour to desired consistency.

"They are tasty as an appetizer as well as a main dish with carrots, mashed potatoes, and lefse."

Me, Jon, and Bob



Hopperstead Stave Church




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