History of Lodges

Eleven years before the Fifth District was organized, Nørrona Lodge was chartered in Superior, WI on November 15, 1903. Four years later the Daughters of Norway in Superior came into being, with the two lodges meeting separately until the 1940s, when they merged as a Sons of Norway lodge.

During the 1920s and '30s they served dinners featuring Norwegian foods, inviting neighboring lodges from Duluth, Cloquet, and Two Harbors in the First District. They sponsored a drill team who performed at installations and parades, and put on skits for their own enjoyment and for others.

One of their members, Marie Oliphant, was secretary for the Daughters of Norway and then for Sons of Norway for a total of 65 years. The lodge hosted two Fifth District conventions, one in 1950 and the second in 1972. They have donated and dedicated a flag pole in a park in the heart ofthe city, and have accepted the responsibility of keeping a flag flying there.

In keeping with the Sons of Norway tradition of helping others, they present gifts of money to help needy people in lieu of having gifts and parties at Christmas. The members have knitted caps and mittens for families of seamen coming to their harbor late in the shipping season, and entertained the young seamen from the Christian Radich, Norway's training ship, when it was anchored in the Superior harbor. Through the years they have had a bowling team, and presented an award to the oldest skier in a local ski tournament.

Nørrona continues to be an active lodge, having taken in 12 new members in 1988. Two meetings are held each month, one strictly business, and the other social. Money is raised by holding bazaars, baked goods, and raffies. The first woman to become president of the lodge was Helen Ellison who served from 1980 to 1984, in 1987, and again in 1989.