Scandinavian Lodge was instituted on December 8, 1962,  Helge Erickson, Past District Master, called for Scandinavians in the La Mesa area to come together and when he had gathered together enough people who had an interest in keeping their native culture alive, he and District Master, Amy Alread, planned the Institution Ceremony and party which took place at the La Mesa Women’s Club.  We are lucky enough to still have some of our charter members with us who continue to take an active part in the lodge.  

In 1973, we were lucky enough to be included in the San Diego Folk Faire which was held in the fall,  in full folk dress, and included a cultural booth, selling booth of Scandinavian articles, and a food booth from which we sold Swedish meat balls with limpa bread, and a multitude of home baked Scandinavian cookies.  We also were asked to have entertainment of Scandinavian origin which we offered in the form of songs from Sweden, for the most part, sung by the Lingonen Koral which was formed in 1971 by Florie and Lita Lyon.  Besides singing at the Folk Faire, the Lingonen Koral sang for many non-Scandinavian groups in the San Diego area as well as for Vasa groups and our District Conventions.  The Folk Faire was, for over 10 years, a source of earning  money  for projects such as the Bill Spruner Scholarship and a way of teaching peoples of many ethnic groups about the Scandinavian Culture.  We were saddened when interest in this inter-cultural event was ended because of the difficulty the Folk Faire Board had in finding another permanent home for the Faire.  We have taken an interest in another inter-cultural Fair which takes place in El Cajon called the Friendship Festival.  It is held in September each year and finds many people in attendance.  This affords us a chance to, again, let people see and taste Swedish Culture.  We have been active in the Festival since it’s inception in 1991.

We have many different activities during the year.  Some are cultural and some are just social activities that we enjoy.  In the spring, usually in March, we have a fantastic Pea Soup Dinner.  Our chief chef is Douglas Swanson who makes a delicious pea soup.  At the end of April and sometimes early May we celebrate Valborgsmassoafton around a rousing fire in order to scare the witches away.  It works for San Diego seems to have been free of witches for many years now.  In June we celebrate Midsommer in Balboa Park with the House of Sweden to which many of us belong.  We also are usually allowed to use the House for our June Pot Luck which has become an annual  event we look forward to each year as it is beautiful in Balboa Park in the early evening.  We have our meeting there also then clean up before going our separate ways.  Since 1976, July is the month we have held our Ice Cream Social in the gardens of one of our members.  We have had many an amusing afternoon what with home grown entertainment or professional entertainers.  It’s always fun and the camaraderie is wonderful.  Many friends and Vasa friends join us in the cool treat and good fun.  In the heat of August, we meet at Crown Point for a day at the beach and a barbecue or picnicking among good friends.  In September we usually  have a Dinner or a Pot Luck before our meeting as many people are just coming back from vacations and  have missed meeting good friends during the summer months. We also have the Friendship Festival, in El Cajon, which sometimes compromises our meeting.  November sees the election of  officers and getting ready for our annual Christmas and Anniversary Party which is another fun evening with the special Holiday “Lucia Fest”, feasting after glogg, and dancing.  A good time to wish our friends, both Vasa and others, a Happy Holiday and Prosperous New Year.

                                                    Florence Kellogg Lyon-Historian-Scandinavian Lodge #667