Telelaget Stevne

April 1-3, 2022

Spring Grove, Minnesota

Although COVID was still too unpredictale to allow planning for an in person 7+ Lag Stevne, each of the 8 lags held their own stevne in 2022. 

The Stevne was held in beautiful Spring Grove.

A Revy, (pronounced Rev'ee), opened the stevne on Friday afternoon beginning at 4:00.

The line-up for this variety show included vocal and instrumental music, a Luren Singer small group, Norwegian dancing, a dramatic reading, and a sing-a-long.

Selected Stevne Area Museums and History Centers

Red River Girl Exhibit at Houston County Historical Society

In 1859, Norwegian couple Olav Gunnarson and Tone Leivsdotter Songedal purchased a farm in West Telemark called Thortvedt (Tortveit). Two summers later they joined almost 100 fellow Norwegians emigrating to the United States from Fyresdal. After nine years in Houston County, Minnesota, the family moved again to the Buffalo River in Clay County. They named their new farm Thortvedt, the Buffalo River Settlement sprang up around them, and the family established themselves as some of the earliest settlers in Clay County. Olav and Tone's son Levi and Levi's daughter Orabel also established themselves as two of the county's earliest historians. The two recorded and saved a substantial amount of early Clay County history in the form of their own drawings, paintings, photographs, letters, and journals. In Red River Girl: From Telemark to the Buffalo, Orabel's art illustrates this history, providing a unique firsthand narrative.

This Norwegian-American collaboration between the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County and the West-Telemark Museum explores the tremendous stories of the Thortvedt family, from Fyresdal to Glyndon and the many miles between. In focusing on one family's experiences, Red River Girl contributes to a richer understanding of America's immigrant history, particularly our understanding of Norwegian immigration to the Red River Valley.

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