Chief's Corner

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February News

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:58:00 +0000

Hei, hei, fellow Vikings!

Let the snow fall, it's late February now. Temperatures are creeping above freezing and we have our Kane County Cougar tickets for July!

Our February meeting was, shall we say, under appreciated. we failed to make a quorum although we had a fine fish fry and plenty of cold Old Style. Brother Williams had a comprehensive Financial Report for the Lodge and the Vice Chief and I were able to finalize our Committee assignments. The March meeting looms as a possible "Smelt (pronounced schmeltts) Fry" for our Lenten observance so keep your eyes here for developments as they happen! It is, after all, a quiet time at our Lodge, and the Viking Brothers will all be rested and refreshed when the time for serious plundering is upon us.

Our far flung influence extends east to Philadelphia, where our benefactor, Brian Blair, watches diligently to the east for any threat to our Lodge. Like Muggin and Gubbin, Brian scans the horizon with news from far off worlds. Is there a chance for an in person report at the March meeting? Brian might be traveling west next month. Stay tuned!

Brewing activities have remained active at the Lodge. Both myself and Brother Rodenbostel just brewed yesterday. Brother Scott continues to brew regularly in his unique "Bubba Pubba" despite the winter weather. Brother Reed is planning his second brew now that young Eli has re-prioritized the home routines of his parents. Brewing beer requires traits not always attributed to your "normal" Viking such as cleanliness, timeliness and patience yet we are producing beers that taste fresh and flavorful. We are planning a spring meeting that will feature three different brews. That will be fifteen gallons of fresh Viking beer, made the Mimer #33 way. (whatever THAT means!) Stay tuned!

And, finally, Mrs Chief, who has been a bit "moody" lately, was pleased with my recent gift to her. That's right, I gave her a beautiful mood ring. It's great. Whenever she's in a good mood it glows green and all's well. It seems, however, that whenever she's in a bad mood it leaves a BIG RED MARK on my forehead! Maybe I ought to replace it with a diamond?

Be kind to each other.

Chief

February Promises

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:39:00 +0000

Hei, Hei, Vikings!

The Super Bowl is over and we Mimer #33 guys are already looking
towards the first games of September. That's because of the annual
conflict with Vasa Park's big festival, at which we fry hundreds of
pounds of herring, and the Chicago Bears' opening game. Four of us
dance between our fraternal duties and our Soldier Field seats. We
have been fortunate recently, with the Bears opening on the road and
rumors are rushing through the Lodge that the Bears will open the new
football stadium in New York this autumn. That is early good news for
us and our Vasa Park efforts.

As mentioned earlier, the 2010 Officers were elected last month and
our upcoming meeting this Friday will reveal the Committee
memberships. Together we hope to address specific areas of the Lodge
for growth and for "ownership/responsibility" for various activities.
Our new Grounds Committee, chaired by Brother Dan Kohorst, will be
repsonsible for maintaining the brand new gazebo erected near City
Hall by the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition. This is a high profile
site, at Illinois Highways 31 and 38, where the Lincoln Highway
resumes it westbound track after following the west bank of the Fox
River from down south. Additionally, we will help the American Legion
maintain their grounds, conveniently, two blocks away. Our intentions
are to have a weekly crew meet each Saturday morning to keep the areas
clean and trimmed. We are thrilled to partner with the Coalition, the
City of Geneva and the American Legion in this volunteer action. There
ought to be a spike in the Little Owl's Saturday Old Style beer sales!

Our Vasa Park herring shack has its own committee now, headed by
Brother Cary Zaras. We hope to take advantage of Vasa Park's offer for
materials with us furnishing "sweat equity" to improve the venerable
herring shack. Brother Cary and Brothers Charlie Geske and Bud Meisner
bring remarkable technical skills to this effort. We hope to spend the
spring and summer making the shack more secure and functional. We will
keep a photo collection of this year long project so come back often
and watch our progress.

Other committees include our now annual Kane County Cougars outing,
chaired by Brother Carl Tornberg and set for this July. Our new Media
Committee includes Brother Justin Rodenbostel and new Recording
Secretary Matt Reed. They will not only maintain our handsome website
but also reach out to other Lodges and local civic entities, enhancing
our position here in the community. Financial Secretary Scott Williams
will head up our new Membership Committee and he will have the
youthful enthusiasm and energy of our two oldest Junior Members, the
Erik Hansens, to direct towards Lodge growth. Our new Christmas '10
Committee, myself and Brother Reed, have already pinned our Christmas
party to Friday, 10 December at our favorite Christmas venue, Old Town
Pub. Finally, a possible Brewing Committee will be discussed at the
February meeting, as we try to position the Lodge 's appeal on a
broader (and popular) footing. As always, more exciting Committee news
will fill this space all year long!

I had the pleasure of hearing from our great Pennsylvania Benefactor,
Brian Blair. Brian awaits a statement from Scott Williams so he might
continue his wonderful support of the Lodge and our activities. We are
so fortunate to have such a prescient and giving gentleman from the
east. We might have him to our March meeting as a special guest of
honor. As Johnny Carson used to say, "More to come"

Look for us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. But most of all, come
join us for a meeting and dinner. There WILL BE beer!

We missed Winterfest in Muskegon again this year. The economy, the
cost of travel and the dearth of time seems to have a negative impact
on our participation with Linne Lodge. That's our loss and I hope to
fix it by next winter!

And finally, Old Ole is a farmer in here in Geneva. He is in need of
a new milk cow and hears about a nice one for sale over in
Nordakota.... that would be North Dakota for you non-Scandahoovians
out there.

So, he drives to Nordakota, finds the farm and looks at the cow. He
reached under to see if the cow gave milk... He grabs a teat and pulls
and the cow farts!

Surprised, Ole looks at the farmer selling the cow and pulls another
teat... Once again, the cow farts. However, the cow gave milk and the
price was reasonable.... so Ole, he buys the cow.

When he gets back to Geneva, he calls his neighbor, Sven, and says,
'Hey, Sven, come and look at dis ere new cow I yust bought. Just pull
her teat, and see vat happens.' Sven reaches under, pulls the
teat... and the cow farts.

Sven looks at Ole and says, You bought dis here cow over in
Nordakota, didn't yah?'

Ole is very surprised since he hadn't told Sven about his trip.

Ole replies, 'Yah, dats right.... but how did yah know?'

Sven says, 'My vife is from Nordakota....'

Be kind to each other.

Chief Hansen

January, Elections and Hope

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:51:00 +0000

Hei Hei!

Here we are with the Holidays in the rear view mirror and fading fast.
Just the other day Vice Chief Rock called me with the date for
Madison's Rhythm And Boom this summer. Of course, we couldn't help but
talk a bit about herring season and bringing the trailer out of the
barn. And so, now, in the very depths of January, we know warmer days
are ahead of us.

At our January meeting Lodge membership honored me further with
another year as Chief of the Lodge. Thank you, Brothers. I am both
honored and privileged. 2010 will be exciting and I am stoked! This
will be the Year of the Committee!

Additionally, we did each one of ourselves a HUGE favor keeping Roger
Rock as our hard working Vice Chief. Our Lodge could not function as
we do without Roger's attention and effort. I thank Thor every day for
our Vice Chief.

Brother Scott Williams continues as our Financial Secretary. He
promises to cook the books good and have a real report for us at the
February meeting. Brother Tornberg the Younger has retired as our
Recording Secretary and replaced, by acclamation, with Brother Matt
Reed. Secretary Reed will maintain contact within the Lodge and with
our neighboring Lodges and with the Grand Lodge.

This year is crucial, yet again, to the survival of the I.O.V. and new
membership is the key component. We want to grow our Lodge too. Look
for news of our year long search for the Next New Viking here
throughout the year. We have contests and appealing meeting activities
planned. Poker night, cribbage night and a dart tournament are
possibilities.

Winterfest happens in a few weeks. Muskegon is jolly fun this time of
year. Outdoor bowling on Muskegon Lake, golf and softball are just
part of the outdoor fun. We hope to see many Vikings there.

Mimer #33 Home Brew News: Brother Williams is still serving a tasty
Winter Ale and is planning his spring beers now. Brother Rodenbostel
has a "roggenbier" (brewed with rye) that tastes very fresh and spicy.
I am still lagering my Pilsners and the first one will be ready in a
couple more weeks. It is fun to see the way this brewing has me
looking at a calendar, planning brew sessions and long lagering
schedules. If my Pils can taste as good as Scott's and Justin's ales
then it is well worth the patience. If you'd like a glass of home
brew, drop us a line!

Our next meeting is Friday, 12 February at the American Legion hall.
The Legion will have a fish fry and we will have a quick Lodge meeting
after eating and before we play cards. Plan on spending the evening
with us, as our guest! Just click that "Contact" button on our Home
page and let us know you're interested! Remember, you have to be
adventurous to be a Viking. We work hard and play hard and we like to
eat and drink. We take care of each other. You might like to join us.
If you like herring as I like herring then maybe you better join our
Lodge! That's right; take a liking to a Viking!
The Swedish Stud, Bob, liked to frequent the Fox River beaches, but
was never able to attract the girls. He decided to ask his friend,
George, the Norwegian lifeguard, for advice.

"It's dem big baggy swimming trunks, my son. Dey're years outta style.
Yer best bet is to grab yerself a pair of Speedos - about two sizes
too small,and drop a fist-sized potato down inside 'em. By gully, I'm
telling ye, man...ye'll have all da babes ye wants!'

The following weekend, Bob hits the beach with his spanking new
tight blue Speedos, and his fist-sized potato. Everybody on the beach
was disgusted as he walked by, covering their faces, turning away,
laughing, looking sick!

Bob went back to George the lifeguard and asked him, 'What's wrong
now? ''Lard-Tunderin' Jeezus b'y!' said George, 'da potato goes in the
front!!'

Be kind to each other,

Chief

Merry Christmas To All!

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:35:00 +0000

Gud Jul!

Winter Solstice as I write this, wishing all who read it a Very Merry
Christmas and the BEST in 2010.

There is much to be thankful for and room for so much improvement. How
can that be? Certainly, our little Lodge passed an historic milestone
this year; it's a rare organization that exists for 100 years. We are
older than so many influential aspects of our daily lives. Older than
television, older than football older than automobiles as we know
them. We have outlived great companies and so very many small ones.

Yet we hold on to our Charter precariously. We need new members more
desperately than television needs new viewers or GM needs new car
owners. Another hundred years? Let's worry about 2010 first! Let's see
if our little Lodge, Mimer #33, can't use this new year to bring new
members into the Lodge. Let's get more workers for the herring fries.
Let's add a date to our calendar in 2010. Perhaps partner with the
Geneva Fire Department and the Illinois Burn Camp. Perhaps we will
parlay our Chamber of Commerce membership into something that raises
our membership roles and our visibility in the community. Perhaps we
will tend the gardens at City Hall and make Saturday mornings special
downtown.

Bring a friend to our meetings. We'll rock their world as only a
Viking can. Those of you out in the ether, in the inter-web, come to
Geneva! Come and join us for herring and fellowship. You've seen our
pictures and the jolly fun we share. Come, join us.

I am excited about 2010. We have a core of extremely talented and
generous Vikings. We have a nascent Brewing Club within the Lodge. Our
Junior Vikings are approaching that age of maturity that we all
exhibit so clearly. Our future is bright and we want you to share that
with us.

Have a Tom & Jerry, a little glögg and a nice, cold Old Style until we
can share some together.

Be kind to each other,
Chief Hansen

Bro. Cary Zaras Regains Glögg Crown

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:29:00 +0000

Hei, hei, Viking friends!

December is here and that means glögg. And Tom and Jerries!

Last Saturday, Brother Williams, our Financial Secretary, again hosted our Glögg Fest, the 6th Annual and Brother Cary Zaras returned to dominance, winning his fourth crown in five years. Cary believes glögg should be, shall we say, "fortified" and his was all of that. Look for the pictures in our photo section. Thanks, Brother Scott, for another fine time in the inimitable Bubba Pubba

We are less than two weeks from our Christmas party at Old Towne Pub in downtown Geneva. I'm spreading the rumor that the Mighty Lump, the Maniac of Meat, might make the trek from River Forest. That would be a Christmas surprise! Our patron and benefactor, Brian Blair, would, no doubt, keep up with the Lumkes, if we could only get a commitment from that Dutchman.

Snow is falling, winter is here. Geneva's Christmas Walk last week signals Christmas Season and St. Lucia and Mimer #33's Annual Christmas Party. See you at Old Towne on the 19th. Need directions? Leave us a message and we'll guide you there.

Our new Brew Lodge is in the planning stages. Stay tuned as the home brewers in Mimer #33 formalize their committee. Brother Scott served three tasty home brews at the Glögg Fest, a pumpkin ale, a hefewiezen and a very tasty coffee stout. Meanwhile, Brother Rodenbostel's Tap Room has two ales available, both very refreshing. There's a Continental Pilsner lagering over here in the Chief's Corner and it ought to be ready for the (Bears free) Super Bowl. Brother Reed will be brewing soon, having settled Young Eli into their home routines. Stayed tuned.

Finally, there were these two mighty Swede hunters...

Having shot a moose two Swedes began dragging it by the tail to their pick-up.

On the way they were stopped by a game warden. "Let me see your hunting licenses boys," he said. When he saw that everything was in order he asked if he could give them some advice.

"Sure!" the hunters agreed.

"Well boys, I think that you would find it a lot easier to drag that moose by the horns and not the tail."

"Ya sure, O.K. and thanks," said the lads.

After about five minutes one said to the other, "Boy, dragging by the horns is sure a lot easier, eh?"

"Aye, you're right," said his friend, "but have you noticed that we are getting further away from the truck?"

Be kind to each other.

Chief

Hundraarsjubileum

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:10:00 +0000

Hei Hei, Viking Friends, Foes and Regular Joes,

My that was a busy year, wasn't it? Weren't we just brewing on a blustery winter Saturday?

Yeah, something came up and all of a sudden spring, summer and fall came and went. And everything that we do in those times, every attendant activity, greeting, parting, happened. So has Thanksgiving.

And our little Lodge, Mimer #33, very low on the horizon, became a one hundred year old organization. on Thanksgiving day. Few entities mark 100 years and it is exciting and somber to be a part of such a thing. Preparing for the other day dominated our activities all year long, Vice Chief Rock, in particular (and, as usual) planned and created and kept his eye on details every month of our Centennial year. And, as we have become accustomed, each one of us pitched in and worked for the good of the Lodge.

Our summer herring breakfasts were successful, blessed with sunshine and happy people meeting early and eating hearty. We all enjoyed summer as Vikings do, including a great night out at a Cougars baseball game. Vasa Park was successful again. In fact we fried over 300 pounds of "sil" this summer, our largest "Herring Season" in many years.

In an I.O.V. first, Mimer #33 hosted an Executive Council meeting in October. Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns was gracious enough to offer City Council Chambers for our meeting and spoke to the Council members. It was a great day, followed by a unique Centennial meal at the American Legion.

Take a look through our recent pictures. You'll see me celebrating with many of the Brothers our "Hundraarsjubileum" on Thanksgiving morning, 100 years to the day that we received our Charter from the I.O.V. Vice Chief Rock drove throughout Kane and DeKalb Counties to toast 100 years with some very tasty glögg.

Let's get ready for St. Lucia and Christmastime. I promise to keep this Corner more current.

Finally, here's an interesting story from the Police Blotter:

Ole, was in a car accident.
In court, the trucking company's lawyer was questioning Ole.
"Didn't you say, sir, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?" asked the lawyer.
Ole responded, "Vell, I'll tell you vat happened.  I had yust loaded my favorite mule, Ingrid, into the..."
"I didn't ask for any details," the lawyer interrupted..
"Just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?"
Ole said, "Vell, I had yust got Ingrid into the trailer and I vas driving down the road..."
The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Geneva Policeman
on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer
the question."  The lawyer insisted.
By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Ole's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule, Ingrid."
Ole thanked the Judge and proceeded. "Vell as I vas saying, I had yust loaded Ingrid, my favorite mule, into da trailer and vas driving her down da highvay
ven dis huge semi-truck and trailer ran da stop sign and smacked my truck right in da side. I vas trown into one ditch and Ingrid vas trown into da other.
I vas hurting real bad and didn't vant to move."
"However, I could hear Ingrid moaning and groaning.   I knew she was in terrible shape yust by her groans.
Shortly after da accident da Geneva Policeman came to da scene. He could hear Ingrid moaning and groaning so he vent over to her.
After he looked at her, and saw her fatal condition, he took out his gun and shot her right 'tween da eyes. "
"Then the Policeman came across da road, gun still in hand, looked at me and said, How are you feeling?'"
"Now vat the hell vould YOU say?"

Har har!!
Be kind to each other,
Chief Hansen

Centennial Mead Making

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:08:00 +0000

Hei Hei, Viking Friends!

Well our mead making has begun! And it has begun very well!

The four brewers in our Lodge met on the last day of February with a host of other Vikings to begin our first mead. It was a very cold beginning although the two propane burners quikly brought the garage temperature to something we could handle. Past grand Chief Gordon Lindgren stopped by while we were brewing

The honey made for a fragrant boil. We filled two primary fermenters with over ten gallons of an elixir in the making. I am happy to report that the mead has clarified nicely with a small sediment at the bottom of each fermenter. There are bubbles in the air lock. Everything appears as it should this sunny first day of March. We'll discuss when to transfer to the secondary fermenters at our March meeting in two weeks. Stay tuned for mead updates from now until autumn.

Call For Entries!

Our centennial mead will be bottled for the celebration in October. We are asking for suggestions for our bottle labels, Use your imagination! I suggest Norse mythology as a great starting point. Google "Mimer" or "Mimir" and have fun! We can accept everything from digital files to hand drawn illustrations. Good luck! We will select our label (or labels!) at our September meeting.

Check out our Pictures page for photos from yesterday's mead fest. There's nothing quite like a bunch of vikings cooking honey in the morning with a home made beer (thank you Justin!) in hand.

Mark your calendars and keep 11 July open. We'll all be going as a Lodge to the Cougars game at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva. More details to follow.

We're working on the Calendar here on our website. We'll try to have all dates between today and the Christmas party posted.

Olaf and Sven were fishing one day when Sven pulled out a cigar. Finding he
had no matches, he asked Olaf for a light.

"Ya, shure, I tink I haff a lighter," he replied. Then reaching into his
tackle box, he pulled out a Bic lighter 10 inches long.

"Yiminy Cricket!" exclaimed Sven, taking the huge Bic lighter in his hands.
"Vere dit yew git dat monster??"

"Vell," replied Olaf, "I got it from my Genie."

"You haff a Genie?," Sven asked.

"Ya, shure. It's right here in my tackle pox," says Olaf.

"Could I see him?"

Olaf opens his tackle box and sure enough, out pops the Genie.

Addressing the genie, Sven says, "Hey dere! I'm a good friend of your
master. Vill you grant me vun vish?"

"Yes, I will," says the Genie.

So Sven asks the Genie for a million bucks.

The Genie disappears back into the tackle box leaving Sven sitting there,
waiting for his million bucks.

Shortly, the sky darkens and is filled with the sound of a million ducks
flying overhead.

Over the roar of the million ducks Sven yells at Olaf. "Yumpin' Yimminy! I
asked for a million bucks, not a million ducks!"

Olaf answers, "Ya, I forgot to tell yew dat da Genie is hart of hearing.
Do yew really tink I asked for a 10-inch Bic?"

Be kind to each other!

Chief Hansen

Centennial Year Ramps Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:17:00 +0000

Hei Vikings and Visitors,

The sunshine is warmer! January is over, Glögg season and football
are over. It is time to plan on outdoor spring activities.

This is the year our Lodge turns 100 and we have begun preparing for
the celebration. We will try to confirm dates and activities as they
are determined. Grand Vice Chief Dewey Bringedahl has given us
permission to choose the date for his first Executive Council meeting.
We intend to invite our elected leaders to Geneva for the second
weekend in October, the 9th and 10th.

We have voted to meet again this month to report back with answers
from various assignments. Thus, sunrise on the last day of the month
finds us gathering around the fires of Lower Wacker. Come, join us!

Brother Williams and Brother Rodenbostel will be brewing our
anniversary mead next week. We novice viking brewers will be in
attendance, learning from our Masters. The mead will ferment for over
six months and we trust it will be ready when we celebrate our
Centennial in the fall.

Will the smelts run well this year? Only time will tell. We hope the
silver fish return in bountiful numbers as we plan to have TWO "Smelt
Night" dinners this spring.

Let's discuss Mimer. I have told many that Mimer is, from ancient
times, the mystical roots/snakes of Yggdrassil, the world tree of
knowledge. I have studied and have learned, now, of Mimir, the
decapitated head, who speaks to Odin, who saved it when the Vanir
hacked it off. Mimer has Odin's missing eye hidden safely. He shares
all knowledge with Odin, as they bargained, speaking clearly of all
things past and future. This is very interesting and I will research
it further and report back to your here!

Enjoy these days, Vikings!

Chief Hansen

2008 In Retrospect

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:38:00 +0000

Greetings Fellow Vikings!

Often, while we are viking about, it is difficult to get pen to paper,
paper to internet and internet to our website. Thus, it's been months
since I sat here and discussed the great frying of herring that took
place in September.

Since that time we have seen Christmas come and go and with it the
glögg season, the Tom & Jerry season and the football season.

Let me tell you, as 2008 Glögg Off Champion, that it was an exquisite
vintage! Despite Brother Zaras's post election grousing, three
wonderful interpretations of secret recipes were presented to the
judges and I am very pleased to announce that my glögg won overall
honors.

Tom & Jerry Season began with great promise and a new mix master.
Demand outstripped supply, however, and some of us were reduced to two
fisted beer bottle drinking; the sign of a true Viking! Sadly, Tom &
Jerry Season ended abruptly when Mrs. Chief found too much egg batter
in too many crevices of her kitchen.

And football, woeful football. Both the Bears and the Packers fell
upon hard times. However, Brother Williams was kind enough to include
me in his trip to Lambeau for the Bears game this season and what a
trip it was. From slumming in a Milwaukee barrio, to hobnobbing at a
fancy casino to the more normal visits to Wolski's Bar and Lakefront
Brewery, the trip north was jam packed with fun. A few weeks later,
Charlie Geske had Ken Williams as his guest to the Packer game at
Soldier Field. We had a great time in the cold.

While our pro teams were less than stellar we have two wonderful high
school football stories from the past season. Our two Junior Vikings,
Erik Hansen and Erik Hansen were both members of Illinois State
Football Championship games. Brother Erik Gordon Hansen, a senior at
Immaculate Conception High School, scored a touchdown with an
interception in his team's 2-A Championship victory. Brother Erik
Thomas Hansen, a junior at Geneva High School, participated on a team
that lost one game all season, the Championship game against East St.
Louis, the only team to beat the Vikings in two straight seasons.
Congrats to both of these student athletes without whom we could not
produce our award winning fried herring.

Welcome back to Brother Dan Kohorst who has returned to the Lodge.

Big news for us for 2009 is the upcoming Centennial Celebration this
October. We are brewing mead for this special event. Much more to
follow here at our website.

Remember, be kind to each other!

Fraternally,
Chief Hansen

Tom Hansen
thansen143@mac.com

Splendid Day At Vasa Park

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:31:00 +0000

Greetings, Friends!

We all enjoyed a splendid Sunday along the Fox River. With a few
thousand visitors mingling and wonderful live music from national
anthems to folk songs to old standards wafting amongst the trees and
tents it was a visual and aural delight. Throw in our signature
herring, onions and grilled Swedish sausage and you have the sights
and sounds and smells to make any Viking a smiling Viking.

And that's what filled Vasa Park Sunday, happy Vikings, old and young,
in colorful soccer and rugby jerseys, native dresses and authentic
costumes.

We have pictures available in our Photos Section. Click up there and
have a look around.

As Chief of Mimer #33 Lodge, I am so proud to thank the guys who did
such a wonderful job preparing and serving well over 300 happy herring
enthusiasts. Our Viking Brothers worked together seamlessly and the
line moved smoothly. Scott Williams figured out a system that really
worked well.

Scott greeted our customers and took their order. Charlie Geske
started the platter with fresh boiled red potatoes and handed off to
Rick Tornberg for chives and sour cream and beet salad. Carl Tornberg
added the Limpa Rye and sharp Cheddar Cheese. Erik Hansen added the
grilled Swedish sausage before handing off to Justin Rodenbostel who
completed the full platter with utensils and, of course, the hot,
fresh off the grill, herring.

Behind the grills stood Matt Reed, Bud Meisner and Cary Zaras, While
Matt kept the onions fresh and the sausage crisped, Bud and Cary kept
the herring just right. Dan Kohorst floated in and out, helping with
flouring the herring and keeping his eye on the red potatoes. Vice
Chief Roger Rock was everywhere, keeping supplies flowing and short
stopping emergencies.

The guys did a masterful job. I am so proud of how well everything
worked Sunday and how effortlessly our Vikings went to their tasks.
Mimer #33 is good because our members are good.

Some of our special visitors included Sten Hult from Harald #13 Lodge,
I.O.V., Ralph Beck from Ring #30, I.O.V., Barb and Neal Olsen, Mary
and Butch Bundgard and Butch's parents and Bertil Hellberg. Everyone
seemed to enjoy the full platter of Viking fare. We are so pleased to
present an authentic value.

Bertil Hellberg even visited out website and is making plans to join
our annual Glogg Fest in December!

We'll meet this Friday to button up the herring trailer and prepare
for autumn brewing activities. There's talk of frying herring one more
time at the American Legion in Geneva. Stay tuned for the latest
developments right here.

Be kind to each other.

Chief Hansen

Scandinavian Days At Vasa Park!

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 02:17:00 +0000

Welcome, everyone, to a wonderful fall festival along the banks of the
Fox River!

The Viking brothers of Mimer #33 Lodge of the Independent Order of
Vikings will be serving fried herring, Swedish sausage, boiled
potatoes, fried onions, Limpa rye bread and cheddar cheese to
thousands of happy Scandinavian Americans.

Look back here for pictures from the festival.

It's been a wonderful summer and our herring fries in June very
successful. But it's time for football and autumn now and our
signature herring is perfect on this Sunday afternoon. We'll have the
games on television at the Herring Shack and the full NFL schedule on
a satellite radio.

It's not too late to drive out to South Elgin and find the festival.
South of the railroad museum and north of the quarry on Route 31,
along the Fox River. See you there!!

Chief Hansen

Herring Season! It's Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:50:00 +0000

Hei Hei!

Welcome to my little corner of the world.

Everything is rushing forward towards the big herring weekend of 21 and 22 June. We'll be frying a couple hundred pounds of good Newfoundland herring salt fillets.

Here are the details:

Saturday, 21 June '08 at Vasa Park, along the Fox River in South Elgin. There's a link to the Vasa website on our home page. We'll be serving from 2 until 5 in the afternoon, fried herring, fried onions, Limpa rye, boiled potatoes and cheddar cheese. The Vasa Park crowd will have authentic Mid-Sommar activities including a huge bonfire once the sun finally goes down. It will be a great time and I hope you'll stop by and say hi.

Sunday, 22 June '08 at the American Legion Post #75 beer tent on James Street at Second in downtown Geneva. We're serving a great breakfast from 7 until 11 in the morning. Besides our signature fresh fried herring, we'll be serving the fried onions, Limpa rye, boiled potatoes. But we'll also have our good Black Label thick sliced bacon, egss cooked to order and, for the first time, Swedish pancakes with lignonberries! This will be a feast! Brother Scott Williams has been perfecting his pancakes and we're all excited to add them to our offering.

The Swedish Days Parade steps off a few hours after our breakfast so this is great chance for you to get a good downtown parking space for the parade and have an authentic slice of Geneva cuisine as you start your day. We'll be on that parade so stick around and say hello as we parade through town.

Can anyone identify the intrepid Viking seen here searching for Leif Ericson's American landfall? He's a true Viking, always searching for truth and always ready to savor every facet of life. He's a benefactor of Mimer #33 and our eastern most Lodge Brother. There's a special award for anyone who can figure this guy out!

And, finally, until we have herring pictures and stories, here's something to ponder:

A Norwegian, a Swede and a Dane made a bet about who could stay the longest in a stinky pig barn.

They all went in at the same time.

After only two minutes the Dane came running out.

Five minutes later the Swede stumbled out the door.

After ten minutes, all the pigs ran out.

Fraternally,

Chief Hansen

chief@mimer33vikings.org

Late April

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:34:00 +0000

Hie Hie!

Valkommen. It's late April now and, while we've had some warm and sunny days, there is cold gray days about, some rainy, some just raw. We Vikings think the weather is fine and, after all, it's a great time to plant hops rhizomes, which a few of us have done. Come autumn a few of us will brew our own Harvest Ales.

We met the fine folks from the Geneva Chamber of Commerce last week as they introduced us to their membership. It's quite an honor for our little club to be a part of the movers and shakers of our community. People were gracious and a few expressed amazement that we are 98 years old! We're going to work on having a countdown clock to our Centennial thirty months from now. I do know we want everyone to participate and enjoy our milestone.

Our Junior Members have a new Viking to do their bidding. J. Gordon Rodenbostel joined the Lodge earlier this month. I'm certain he'll be running beers for us for many years! All of us Vikings are very pleased to have a new generation of Vikings in the Lodge.

Football is a big part of our Lodge and the Bears fans and Packer fans amongst us have new arguments to make about the recent NFL draft. I like the Bears' new lineman but I think the Pack has the better group of rookies. Time will tell.

Look for a new newsletter soon. Our May meeting is right around the corner and, following quickly, the onset of "Herring Season"! Vice Chief Rock will be hauling the trailer back into town and the summer will truly begin.

As Ole was leaving for work, Lena said, "Ole, I sure vish you would fix da vashing machine."

Answered Ole, "Do I look like da Maytag repairman?'' He then left for work.

The next day Lena made another request. "Ole, I would like you to fix my car".

Replied Ole, "Do I look like Mr. Goodwrench?'' and then left for work.

That evening, when Ole got home, Lena said, "Ole, I got good news,dat good looking young man who yust moved in next door fixed dem both."

"Oh? Vhat did he charge?," asked Ole.

"Vell," said Lena. "He said he'd either take lovemaking, or have me bake him a cake."

"Vell," said Ole."Vat kind of cake did you bake him?"

Answered Lena, "Do I look like BETTY CROCKER?

Fraternally,

Chief Hansen

chief@mimer33vikings.org

April Fool

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:45:00 +0000

Hie Hie!

Uff Da! Suddenly it's April and here we are.

Recent Lodge meetings have determined the summer menu. Plans are afoot
for a Day At The Races this summer at Arlington Park. Details to follow!

Brother Justin has improved our website, meeting standards that make
our website world wide compliant. Now if we can only get the Chief to
furnish fresh content!

So Lena was competing in the Sons of Norway Swim Meet and she came in
last place in the hundred-yard breast stroke and she said to the
judges, "Oh say, I don't vant to complain, but I tink those other two
girls were using der arms"!

We debut next week at the Geneva Chamber of Commerce's New member
Reception. Are they ready for us?

Get out doors and enjoy our longer, warmer days.

Fraternally,

Chief Hansen
chief@mimer33vikings.org

Hei! 12 March 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:22:00 +0000

Greetings,

The first order of business today is to extend the very best birthday
wishes to our Vice Chief, Roger Rock!

As we all know, Roger crosses all the T's and dots all the I's in our
organization. He manages the herring trailer and our inventory. He
makes the Swedish Days parade happen. The Lodge couldn't run as well
as it does without his steady efforts. So, find a bottle of Avery
Brewery beer and hoist it high for Brother Vice Chief Rock! Thanks for
everything you do, Roger!

Our meeting last Friday was very successful. Our Chaplain, Bud
Meisner, both opened an closed the meeting with prayer. The shrimp
dinner was tasty and we were able to support the Geneva High School
football Vikings. Roger and Mrs. Chief got the meals delivered to the
meeting hot and timely with the inside help from Junior Viking Erik
Hansen, who helped us leapfrog dozens of other cars in a queue. We
were able to discuss at length our new affiliation with the Geneva
Chamber of Commerce and also the June herring dates. We anticipate
greater attendance and hope the Chamber leads new members to us.
Brother Scott Williams brought us up to date on the Swedish pancakes
project and he intends to serve us pancakes at a meeting this spring.
We also discussed the Centennial Brew and considered brewing mead for
the big event. The four brewers amongst us will get together again and
discuss, over cold home brew, our next steps. It was a very good
meeting, attended by Brothers Hansen, Rock, Williams, Meisner,
Tornberg, Reed, Zaras, Rodenbostel and Junior Member Hansen. There was
discussion to return the Closing Ode to the meeting's order.

Our new website continues to log visits from far and wide. Our winning
quiz answer came all the way from Salem, Oregon! HDaniel was correct
on the pronunciation but missed the first question. Mimer (mee-mir)
is the root of the Tree of Knowledge, who's name is Yggdrasil.

Enjoy the extra day light and prepare for milder weather. And remember
to be kind to each other.

Fraternally,

Chief Hansen
chief@mimer33vikings.org

Valkommen! - 2 March 08

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 03:25:00 +0000

Greetings, Vikings!

It has been a very busy February here at our virtual Lodge and March has certainly come in like a lion. So, here's the latest from Mimer #33 Lodge of the Independent Order of Vikings.

This website is the most obvious change of 2008 but other exciting news about Mimer #33 abounds. We have been accepted as members of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and have begun participating with all those wonderful people involved in our community. After twelve annual Swedish Days Parades, we are now an official Chamber member and we hope this will result in greater attendance at our Swedish Days herring breakfast at the American Legion beer tent on Sunday 22 June. Get that date on your calendar and we'll see you there!

This Friday we'll be enjoying the annual Shrimp Dinner from the Geneva High School football team. Coach Wicinski's team has this fund raiser and we're going to dine like Vikings! There will be some home brew beer on tap too! Junior Member Erik Hansen is our football team connection and we expect our "Flour Boy" to take good care of us.

Did I say home brew? Four of us met Saturday at Brother Scott Willams' "Bubba Pubba" for an all grain brew session. Scott started early and walked Brother Justin Rodenbostel and I through the intricacies of an all grain brew. He knows his stuff and taught us enough to determine that we'll be moving up from extract brewing soon. Brother Cary Zaras arrived late in the brew session but early enough to teach us the right way to throw darts, closing out two games of Cricket dramatically. He's a ringer!

If you have any questions about our Lodge or would like to join us at a meeting please use the contact page on our site. We'll get right back to you and we can, if you like, add you to our mailing list. We' like very much to learn who might be visiting our website.

So, what is "Mimer"?

1) An oarsman on a Viking ship

2) A long hammer

3) A tree root

And, how do you pronounce Mimer?

1) meye-mir

2) mee-mir

3) mim-er

We'll have some answers next time. Until then, savor every day!

Fraternally,

Chief Hansen

chief@mimer33vikings.org

Valkommen! - 2 March 08

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 23:16:00 +0000

Greetings, Vikings!

It has been a very busy February here at our virtual Lodge and March has certainly come in like a lion. So, here's the latest from Mimer #33 Lodge of the Independent Order of Vikings.

Did I say home brew? Four of us met Saturday at Brother Scott Willams' "Bubba Pubba" for an all grain brew session. Scott started early and walked Brother Justin Rodenbostel and I through the intricacies of an all grain brew. He knows his stuff and taught us enough to determine that we'll be moving up from extract brewing soon. Brother Cary Zaras arrived late inthe brews session but early enough to teach us the right way to throw darts, closing out two games of Cricket dramatically. He's a ringer!

So, what is "Mimer"?

1) An oarsman on a Viking ship

2) A long hammer

3) A tree root

And, how do you pronounce Mimer?

1) meye-mir

2) mee-mir

3) mim-er

We'll have some answers next time. Until then, savor every day!

Fraternally,

Chief Hansen

chief@mimer33vikings.org

Valkommen!

noreply@blogger.com (Chief) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:45:00 +0000

Welcome to our brand new website and blog!

Brother Rodenbostel's savvy efforts has created this site for all the world to visit and we welcome each visitor with our typical hearty good cheer.

We anticipate using this site for local Lodge news, to keep in touch with our Brother Vikings in Wisconsin, Texas and Florida and to interact with Vikings across the country and the world. Wow! That sounds ambitious!

Any ideas and suggestions are invited. We want YOU to enjoy visiting our website. We hope this might encourage you to visit our Lodge or attend one of our herring breakfasts.

So, please, bookmark this site and check back often. I'll try to have current news, a history of our Lodge (98 years old!), a history of the Independent Order of Vikings, information about our charity, Illinois Burn Camps and news from the Grand Lodge. Look for some tasty recipes from time to time, from herring to pancakes to beer! After all, we do like to eat and drink!

Enjoy your visit!

Forska som om du skulle leva evigt!

(Search as if you would live forever!)

Lev som om du skulle dö i morgon!

(Live as if you would die tomorrow!)

Fraternally,

Chief Hansen