History of Lodges

Scandiana Lodge 600 began in September 1984 when a group of Norwegians from northern Indiana gathered for a cup of coffee and began to explore the possibility of establishing the first Indiana Sons of Norway lodge. At a pre-organizational meeting in December, Jim Holms, a director of the Fifth District from Lansing, MI and Joe Thompson, field rep from Black River Falls, WI explained the purposes and goals of Sons of Norway. The core of about 70 people attending that meeting voted to establish a new lodge with yearly dues set at $15. They also decided to hold one social meeting a month, and began a survey of members to see who to nominate for officers, and to see what interest groups should be started first.

The Institution dinner was set for May 25, 1985 at the Red Lantern Inn in Beverly Shores, IN. Fifth District President Clifford Feggestad was in charge of the ceremony, assisted by the Chicago Sons of Norway Drill Team and other officers from the District and International lodges.

The task of naming our lodge was now of primary importance. Beginning with three appropriate names, an elimination process was begun, with the name Scandiana unanimously chosen. Our name represents the combination of Scandia (our roots) and Indiana (our home). The next task was to find a centrally located site for the monthly meetings. The Chesterton, IN public library was chosen because of its availability on the chosen meeting night and its accessibility to all members.

The membership chose Nancy Tuznik as their first president, a logical choice as she had put in hundreds of hours helping the lodge get started. Then on November 9, 1985 the lodge was chartered by District President Clifford Feggestad with over 100 charter members. Nancy was elected as a District Director in 1988.

Although a new lodge, its members have taken part in officer seminars, volunteered at Ski for Light events, and attended District conventions. Scandiana is sponsoring a folk dancing group from Norway, and has a group of its own that meets regularly. Rosemaling classes have been held, and holidays observed in various ways. A huge banner has identified the marchers from Scandiana in Arlington Heights' Syttende Mai parade. There have been ski days, and Saint Hans Dag observed with a bonfire on the beach. Scandiana chose to have two Sister lodges, Trollhaugen 417 and Vennskap 516, with whom they share activities.