The Friendly Fifth

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Trygvasson 220

Osseo, Wisconsin
Feb, May, Aug., Oct. time TBD
South Beef River Lutheran Church
County Road B
Osseo, WI 54758
Trygvasson 220 History
Contact:
President Gaylord E Olson II
715-984-2364

The History of Trygvasson 220

Although no local records are available, the Home Office has the organization date for Trygvasson as January 4, 1922.  During the Depression there was a decline in membership, so on November 9, 1936 a reorganizational meeting was held, with E.B. Ager of Løven #29 of Eau Claire assisting.  At that time Sim E. Lee was elected President of Trygvasson.

Meetings were then held in the Sumner Town Hall in Osseo, Wisconsin on a fairly regular basis.  Later attendance at the meetings warranted gathering only in the homes of members.  Activities of the Lodge almost came to a standstill in the sixties, but interest in the seventies saw the Lodge again resume an active role in the community.

Through the years the lodge has made special efforts to observe Norway's Constitution Day on May 17th by presenting programs at three local nursing homes.  We have had a Kor, singing many of the old favorite Norwegian songs.  We have hosted the Stoughton Dancers, with the performance open to the public.  As a lodge we have participated in community holiday parades, and joined with Fagernes of Blair for an annual Fyrbal to mark midsummer.

The Lodge has sponsored trips to the Norwegian Museum in Decorah, IA, the national woodcarving convention in Rochester, MN, and to theaters in Lanesboro, MN and Minneapolis.  

Through the 90s and into the 2000s, we have had annual picnics with the neighboring lodges in Eau Claire and Blair.  At our August picnics we have had various talent performing or presenting programs, such as the Blair Singers, musician Lyle Heck, and historian Glenn Borreson, to name just a few.  We have been invited to participate in the International Festival in Eau Claire and for many years hosted a lutefisk dinner open to the public.  For several years now we have hosted a Waffle Breakfast in April with rosemaling, Hardanger, woodcarving, and knitting displays.  We have also hosted lefse making classes for the community.  Much of the money we raise goes to the four scholarships we present each year in the four high schools of the communities we belong to.  Trygvasson has also given scholarships to young people to attend Skogfjorden, the Norwegian Language Camp in Minnesota, as well as to Masse Moro, held right here near Fall Creek.  
The Trygvasson Lodge membership has decreased in recent years, but we continue to enjoy providing information and history of Norway to its members, guests, friends and neighbors throughout the year.