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Scandinavian Lodge No. 667, San Diego, CA - Vasa Order of America - a Swedish American Fraternal organization |
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A CHILD S VIEW OF VASA by Harold Berg, Scandinavian Lodge 667 When I was a child, my folks were members of the Vasa Klippan Lodge in north Chicago. Those memorable years were from approximately 1917 onward. Winter or summer, transportation for most folk in Chicago was the trolley or shanks mare. Whatever the mode of transportation, the Klippan Lodge meetings -were well attended because the neighborhood centered at Clark Street and Foster Avenue was familiarly called "Little Sweden." In that area, Klippan Lodge made much use of a local hall that, if memory serves right, doubled as a gymnasium and dance hall. There, in a back-room corner, was a tremendous pile of not-too-clean wrestling mats and extra furniture that provided us kids a natural area in which to play "king-of-the-hill" or "hide-and-seek." And don t you know it, of course we were frequently admonished to be quiet. In those days, because the Scandinavian immigration was in full flow, our speech was Swedish/American with a smattering of Stockholm språk, but it was understood by all. Some years later I learned that because of the heavy membership there was healthy competition for lodge office, and inevitably, criticism of those conducting the meetings. No matter the politics, for us youngsters the best part of the meeting was a treat from the "kaffe ö doppa" spread to be enjoyed while Mr. Nelson warmed up his accordion. Notwithstanding a crippled hand, he was proficient at playing polka, schottis, or waltz, the dance music preferred by the Vasa members of those days. In retrospect, those were strong Vasa days for a number of reasons, the strongest being the kindred language and of course the common interest of adapting to existence in a new land. And we children of those Vasa members were made stronger as we lived an old-world culture meshing with our newer world.
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