Yearly  "Honorees"

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1942

Col. Hans Lagerloef

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In the 1953 journal, "Gerry" was referred to as the best known Swede in New York. President of The United Swedish Societies of Greater New York, editor of the Swedish American newspaper Nordstjernan, lecturer, book writer, founder of the United Swedish Bowling League and the Swedish Tennis Club of New York. He was an honorary member of a dozen clubs in NYC, was recognized with numerous medals for his valuable service to organizations, and sat on the Boards of such organizations as the Swedish Seaman's Center in Brooklyn, the American Swedish Historical Foundation in Philadelphia and the Swedish Home for Aged, Inc. on Staten Island for which he affectionately dubbed the name "Solhem," meaning "Sunshine Home."

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In 1938, he was awarded the Order of Vasa.

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 William and Anita Olson

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and  Mrs. Arne Thorén

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Mrs. Gunilla von Arbin

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To all the men and women lost in this tragic moment, the Sweden Day committee says, "Sov i Ro."

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Norrman

Folkdancers

of New York

1905

2006

Photo courtesy Onsite Photography

The year 2006 marks the 100^th anniversary of The Swedish Folkdancers of New York. In commemoration of this event, the Folkdancers are performing at many exciting venues throughout the year with a planned trip to Sweden in July to visit with other folk dance groups and to participate in the tri-annual Nordlek Folk Festival to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden on July 24^th through July 29^th. The Swedish Folkdancers hold the honor of being the oldest ethnic Folkdance Group in continuous activity in the United States. Their history is an interesting compilation of events and successes. In 1905, a musician from America, Måns Olson visited the famous open-air museum Skansen in Stockholm, Sweden, to listen to traditional Swedish folk music and to watch some traditional folk dancing. His enthusiasm for what he saw led him to believe that others in the USA would also enjoy the sights and sounds of this Swedish heritage.                                                                               Måns became friends with some of the dancers and talked to them about the possibility of traveling to the USA to perform. Thinking back on those times, it is hard to imagine that a group of dancers and musicians would even consider such a trip since to travel to the US would require a two week boat trip, plus raising their own travel expenses. A 1950 article in the Swedish publication “Hembygden” describes Swedish-Americans of the early 1900’s as being overly optimistic of life in the States and presenting the appearance of America as having “streets paved with gold.”                                       Måns was quite successful in his approach to this Swedish group and with very little preparation they embarked in early 1906 for America. 6 couples and 2 violinists arrived in New York City on February 6, 1906 with little money in their pockets and no performances lined up. Charles K. Johanson, owner of the Swedish-American newspaper Nordstjernan, discovering the group having such difficulty, secured lodging for them at the Swedish Emigrant Home and attempted to arrange some performances for them. New York City, unfortunately, proved to be a dismal opportunity, and the group was sent to Chicago, Illinois, home to a large Swedish-American population. Chicago turned out to be wonderful.   On February 10^th, just 4 days after arriving in New York, the group performed to a sell-out crowd of 8,000 persons, in a large auditorium in Chicago. They were welcomed with “thunderous applause.”  With a few dollars in their pockets they now successfully worked their way back to New York City performing on 27 occasions, with their New York debut occurring at Tammany Hall in lower Manhattan.                                                                                                                                        The group finally returned to Sweden after bringing an important part of Swedish heritage to the US. 2 members of the original group remained in New York – Kerstin Andersson and Anders Lustig. Later in 1906 C. G. Bjerstedt met with Anders Lustig and members of the Swedish Gymnastic Society at a Crayfish party to discuss the possibility of organizing a Swedish folk dance group here in New York. On November 14, 1906, C. G.  Bjerstedt and Gustav Arbil founded the Swedish Folkdance Society and became the groups first dance leaders. The mission of the Society was to preserve and develop the Swedish folk dance traditions from all parts of Sweden in the US, especially to the younger generation. This mission is still carried out today.                                                                            In the 1930’s the Society split into 2 distinct groups . . .  the “Swedish Folkdance Society” and the “Swedish Folkdance Ringen.” Both groups continued the Swedish folk dance traditions until in 1967 they again merged into one group called the “Swedish Folkdancers of New York.”                             For both groups, performances abounded . . . Lucia Pageants, performances at Colleges and Universities, at the Worlds Fair, in Europe, at numerous Swedish and Scandinavian events throughout the tri-state area, at museums, Concert Halls, for the King and Queen of Sweden, Arts centers, Lincoln Center, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Battery Park, at the Høstfest in Minot, North Dakota, at restaurants, department stores and specialty locations such as IKEA and on and on. The history of activity of this organization is varied and prolific. To this day they are a group of fun, friendship and ethnic importance as they seek to preserve the culture of bygone years.

McGrath

Elaine began her involvement in the NY Swedish American community in 1961 by joining Barnklubben Elsa Rix #1. As a member of the oldest children's club in the Vasa Order of America, she would perform in folk dances and Lucia Pageants year round. Sometimes she had as many as 18 Lucias in the month of December alone. At the age of 11, Elaine was selected to be one of the participants in the Eastern Vasa Youth Tour to Sweden. The group danced and sang all over Sweden. Elaine's talents included being an award winning concert accordionist and she lugged her instrument with to entertain audiences throughout Sweden. In later years she traveled again to entertain the Swedes together with the Vasa Folk Dancers of NY. This time, without the accordion.

It was through Barnklubben Elsa Rix that Elaine became familiar with and eventually joined many of the Swedish American organizations . . . Vasa Folkdancers of NY, Lodge Gösta Saga #78, VOA, Lodge Olympic #235, VOA, where she is Chairperson, and the Sweden Day Committee, where she is President. Besides this remarkable schedule, and running her household, Elaine is the current District 4, VOA, Supervisor of Children's Clubs and is currently writing a folk dance instruction booklet to accompany the double cd Lucia and Folkdance project that she produced for release in 2005. Whew! Can you keep up with all of that?

Elaine and her family are just as comfortable at the local Irish festivals and parades wher Kevin plays the drums for the Sword of Light Bagpipe Band, Pipes and Drums of Local Union #3 IBEW. Elaine likes to remind her "Sword of Light" friends how the Vikings invaded Ireland to impart some of their beauty and musical talent to the locals.

Elaine is one of the founders of Little Saints Preschool of St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in West Hempstead, NY, where she is Director. She also teaches the three year old classes at the school. She is an active member of St. Andrew's and has served as a Sunday School teacher and a Vacation Bible School teacher. She volunteers, along with her family, at plant sales, cookie sales, bazaars and maintenance work around the church. She has also chaperoned many church group outings including the ELCA Youth Gatherings in Atlanta, Georgia and San Antonio, Texas.

After Sweden Day, you can find Elaine and her family at Silver Point Beach Club in Atlantic Beach where they relax for 2 months to build themselves up for the next hectic year to come.

Last Updated  January 09, 2008

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