Yellow pea soup and Swedish pancake dinner

The American Scandinavian Association presents a yellow pea soup (Ärtsoppa) and Swedish pancake supper.

The menu includes yellow pea soup (including a vegetarian version), Swedish mustard, apple red cabbage salad, limpa, cheese, cookies, Swedish pancakes with lingonberries, and decaf coffee.

After dinner, attendees will enjoy a presentation from Dr. Norm Moline, Professor Emeritus, Augustana College, on Vaasa, Finland.

Dinner reservations are due Jan. 17. To reserve your spot, contact Loryann Eis by mail (2037 15th St, Moline, Ill. 61265), email (loryanneis@att.net) or phone (309-762-8303).

About the presentation

Vaasa on the west coast of central Finland across from Umeå, Sweden, has had links with Sweden going back to the 14th Century. In 1606 the city with its good harbor was chartered as Vasa by King Charles IX of Sweden and named after the Royal House of Vasa. Sweden lost control of that part of its realm in 1809. Yet, the Swedish presence in the population and imprint on the landscape has lasted. Also, that region was the source for immigrants to the U.S. who called themselves Swede-Finns.

The city’s name was changed from Vasa to Vaasa in the early 1930s because Finns had become the majority group. The region, called Ostrobothnia (the east side of the narrowest section of the Gulf of Bothnia), is the cultural center of Swede-Finns. It is officially bilingual – Finnish is the main language (65% of the population), but Swedish remains (23%).

Norm and Janet Moline visited this region last summer. They will briefly review the history of the Swedish presence and show some of its cultural landscape.