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Current Monthly Newsletter and Past Meetings of the Chicago Torske Klub

The letters that are sent to the members have served to document the past meetings as well as the known meetings to come. The letters sent to the members in the last couple years are available in electronic format. Enjoy the past. (212 letters across 25 seasons.)

2026-2027 Season
2025-2026 Season
2024-2025 Season
2023-2024 Season
2022-2023 Season
2021-2022 Season
2020-2021 Season
2019-2020 Season
2018-2019 Season
2017-2018 Season
2016-2017 Season
2015-2016 Season
2014-2015 Season
2013-2014 Season
2012-2013 Season
2011-2012 Season
2010-2011 Season
2009-2010 Season
2008-2009 Season
2007-2008 Season
2006-2007 Season
2005-2006 Season
2004-2005 Season
2003-2004 Season
2002-2003 Season

Instructions to read the letters:
These documents are available in Adobe PDF format represented by . A free reader is available from Adobe which should work for most computers. The downloads may be large and take a long time for those with slow connections.

Microsoft Word is also available where indicated for those that have such software.

Find a letter:

2026-2027 Season

Sep. 2026 - Artificial Intelligence

2025-2026 Season

Apr. 2026 - Alex Gruener on 24-by-7 stock and commodity trading
Mar. 2026 - Normennenes Singing Society
Feb. 2026 - Judy Malcolm on the Jamaican Museum and reggae music of Bob Marley
Jan. 2026 - Fred Glure on the Rio Grande Zephyr train — Sweater Day
Dec. 2025 - Christmas Celebration, led by Tom and Lynn Maxson
Nov. 2025 - Andrew Schneider on the new Emil Bjorn Park in Logan Square
Oct. 2025 - Ken Larson on the 200th anniversary of Norwegian immigration
Sep. 2025 - The Moorings of Arlington Heights

2024-2025 Season

May 2025 - Charles Peterson on the Sami people and rare-earth mining
Apr. 2025 - Andrew Schneider on Logan Square developments
Mar. 2025 - Normennenes Singing Society — Father/Son/Daughter Day
Feb. 2025 - Christian Overland, director and CEO of the Wisconsin Historical Society
Jan. 2025 - Minnekirken's Pastor Johnson
Dec. 2024 - December luncheon — Christmas Celebration
Nov. 2024 - November luncheon — Tom Asp on the Hjemkomst
Oct. 2024 - October luncheon — Bruce Carlson on Røros, Norway
Sep. 2024 - September luncheon

2023-2024 Season

May 2024 - Comfort dogs, with Ray and Jan Permoller
Apr. 2024 - Author Eric Dregni on “In Cod We Trust”
Mar. 2024 - Tom Maxson on Frank Lloyd Wright — Father/Son/Daughter Day
Feb. 2024 - Garry Grube's beekeeper update — Ladies Day & Sweater Day
Dec. 2023 - Christmas Celebration
Nov. 2023 - Egil Juliussen on Norwegian green tech
Oct. 2023 - Carl Vogel on the Cook County Forest Preserves
Sep. 2023 - Matt Nygard, President of the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce

2022-2023 Season

May 2023 - Anniversary month, honoring Boss Lowell Olberg
Apr. 2023 - Steve Larson on the Civilian Conservation Corps
Mar. 2023 - Brad Seaton, NFL offensive tackle
Feb. 2023 - Women on the Prairie, with Connie Wiemer and Dana Kelly
Jan. 2023 - Gary Skoien on Antarctica — Sweater Day
Dec. 2022 - Christmas Celebration
Nov. 2022 - World War I, by Gary Midkiff
Oct. 2022 - Leif Erikson review, by Dr. Charles Peterson
Sep. 2022 - New season kickoff for the Chicago Torske Klub

2021-2022 Season

May 2022 - Dr. Ray Newgard on 62 years of the Chicago Torske Klub
Apr. 2022 - Friends of the Viking Ship
Mar. 2022 - Boston Red Sox scout Terry Sullivan — Father/Son/Daughter Day
Feb. 2022 - Hon. Norwegian Consul Susan Meyer — Ladies Day
Jan. 2022 - Logan Square Preservation — Sweater Day
Dec. 2021 - Christmas Celebration
Nov. 2021 - Bruce Carlson on Vasa Park
Oct. 2021 - Ken Larson on cryptocurrency
Sep. 2021 - Restart luncheon

2020-2021 Season

Jan.–May 2021 - January through May luncheons canceled
Dec. 2020 - December luncheon canceled
Nov. 2020 - November luncheon canceled
Oct. 2020 - October luncheon canceled
Sep. 2020 - September luncheon canceled

2019-2020 Season

May 2020 - 60th-anniversary month, canceled — lying low for the coronavirus
Apr. 2020 - Canceled — lying low for the coronavirus
Mar. 2020 - Father/Son/Daughter Day — veteran soccer executive Peter Wilt
Feb. 2020 - Ladies Day — author Greg Borzo on Chicago restaurants
Jan. 2020 - Jim Ascot on Lane Tech
Dec. 2019 - David Langseth leads the Christmas program
Nov. 2019 - Jerry Gryttenholt from the Livsreise Heritage Center in Stoughton, WI (Livsreise Heritage Center)
Oct. 2019 - Magic, by William Pack — plus a Northwest Quarterly Magazine feature on Kaare Nevdal's 99th birthday (“Witness to War” article)
Sep. 2019 - Paul Anderson, retiring Honorary Norwegian Consul General

2018-2019 Season

May 2019 - Chicago Spelmanslag (Chicago Spelmanslag on Facebook)
Apr. 2019 - Norway House, with Jon Pederson
Mar. 2019 - Father/Son/Daughter Day — Kathy Glasder on Olympic ski jumper Mike Glasder
Feb. 2019 - Ladies Day — Nancy McNully on Illinois historical sites
Jan. 2019 - Gary Midkiff on ten major Illinois events
Dec. 2018 - Christmas program by David Langseth
Nov. 2018 - Carrie Rodamaker on Taliesin preservation — Frank Lloyd Wright
Oct. 2018 - Jim Weren on Gutzon Borglum and Mount Rushmore
Sep. 2018 - NovaCare Rehabilitation (NovaCare)

2017-2018 Season

May 2018 - Author Eric Dregni
Apr. 2018 - Charles Peterson on why Nordic people are measured as the happiest in the world
Mar. 2018 - Father/Son/Daughter Day — Richard Ferrer and Greg Olsen on the Viking sword
Feb. 2018 - Ladies Day — Beth Sair, “If Statues Could Talk, What Would They Say?”
Jan. 2018 - Vernon Squires on the Edmund Fitzgerald
Dec. 2017 - David Langseth leads the Christmas celebration
Nov. 2017 - David Furholmen on the Carpetbaggers of WWII
Oct. 2017 - Prof. Ken Sawyer on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation (Prof. Ken Sawyer)
Sep. 2017 - Ron Solberg, author of “Oohs and Ahs: Those Magnificent Traveling Salesmen (and Saleswomen) of Illinois” (the book)

2016-2017 Season

May 2017 - Hagen's Fish Market (Hagen's Fish Market)
Apr. 2017 - Brian Ibsen — Friends of the Viking Ship
Mar. 2017 - Author Rory Spears, sports journalist and golf expert for ESPN (Rory Spears)
Feb. 2017 - Author Kathleen Ernst — Normennenes Singing Society, Ladies Day (Kathleen Ernst)
Jan. 2017 - Gary Johnson of the Chicago History Museum on Norwegian immigration to Chicago (Chicago History Museum)
Dec. 2016 - Pastor David Langseth and Ken Spengler lead the Christmas Celebration
Nov. 2016 - Julie Nordan on diabetes
Oct. 2016 - Kaare Nevdal, witness to war in the Royal Norwegian Air Force
Sep. 2016 - Bruce Bohrer, “Best Seat in the House! Diary of a Wrigley Field Usher” (the book)

2015-2016 Season

May 2016 - Dave Johnson on the Norske Museum
Apr. 2016 - Phil Judson on the 1952 Hebron basketball championship
Mar. 2016 - Baard Titlestad on cultural heritage
Feb. 2016 - Kimberly Kenny on Ibsen and marriage
Jan. 2016 - Nick Selig, author of “Lost Airports of Chicago”
Dec. 2015 - Pastor David Langseth and Ken Spengler lead the Christmas Celebration
Nov. 2015 - Dr. Charles Peterson on the Norway Constitution
Oct. 2015 - The Eastland disaster
Sep. 2015 - Wesley Hougsted on the Norwegian sloopers

2014-2015 Season

May 2015 - Bob Levi on Victor Borge
Apr. 2015 - Jon Satrum on “The Shetland Bus”
Mar. 2015 - Self-driving cars, with Egil Juliussen, Ph.D. — Father/Son/Daughter Day
Feb. 2015 - Presidential sites with John Radzinski, Normennenes Singing Society — Ladies Day
Jan. 2015 - Akvavit Theatre, with Bergen Anderson
Dec. 2014 - Christmas celebration with Rev. David Langseth and Ken Spengler
Nov. 2014 - Lodve Solholm, Fylkesmann (Governor) of Møre og Romsdal County, Norway
Oct. 2014 - Garry Grube on beekeeping in Chicago
Sep. 2014 - Mike McCarron of Minneapolis, founder of Gamle Ode (Gamle Ode)

2013-2014 Season

May 2014 - The JFK assassination
Apr. 2014 - Olympic speed skater and coach Nancy Swider-Peltz, Sr. (Nancy Swider-Peltz, Sr.)
Mar. 2014 - Father/Son/Daughter Day — cyclist Bob Hoel
Feb. 2014 - Polar explorer John Huston
Jan. 2014 - Prof. Reinhold Munch on Edvard Munch
Dec. 2013 - Rev. David Langseth and Ken Spengler host the Christmas Celebration
Nov. 2013 - Ken Larson tours Norwegian stave churches
Oct. 2013 - Solveig Schavland Quinney, translator of “And Then Came the Liberators”
Sep. 2013 - Judge Perry Gulbrandsen, “Humor in the Courtroom”

2012-2013 Season

Dec. 2013 - Prof. Reinhold Heller discusses Munch
May 2013 - Michael Toohey, CEO of Norwood Life Society
Apr. 2013 - Jon Satrum on Roald Amundsen
Mar. 2013 - Running back Garrett Wolfe — Father/Son/Daughter Day
Feb. 2013 - Arctic explorer John Huston — Ladies Day (also noting David Jones of Class Afloat)
Jan. 2013 - Remembering Per Bye Øhrstrom and Liv Øhrstrom, led by Don Hoganson
Dec. 2012 - Christmas Celebration with Pastor David Langseth and Ken Spengler
Nov. 2012 - Ambassador J.D. Bindenagel, a witness to the fall of the Berlin Wall
Oct. 2012 - Chuck “Coach” Enge on education challenges
Sep. 2012 - Larry Ekstrom on the economy

2011-2012 Season

May 2012 - Norwegians in Hawaii in 1881
Apr. 2012 - Fred Glure on trains (Lomen Stavkyrkje article)
Mar. 2012 - Bob Levi on pop culture
Feb. 2012 - Eric Dregni, author of “Vikings in the Attic” and “In Cod We Trust”
Jan. 2012 - Dave Nordin on the Chicago landmark Viking ship (the Viking ship)
Dec. 2011 - Pastor David Langseth, Julian Ronning, and Ken Spengler lead the Christmas Celebration
Nov. 2011 - Steve Gorham of the Climate Science Coalition of America
Oct. 2011 - Pastor Sigurd Grindheim of Minnekirken on missionary work in Ethiopia
Sep. 2011 - First luncheon of the year — Sara Drower presents Scandinavia

2010-2011 Season

May 2011 - Anniversary Day and Nordic travel
Apr. 2011 - Fr. Michael Zaniolo, chaplain for Midway and O'Hare airports
Mar. 2011 - Father/Son/Daughter Day — Melissa Hulting of the EPA on climate
Feb. 2011 - Ladies Day — noted theologian Dr. Martin Marty
Jan. 2011 - Norwegian Sweater Day — investment speaker Benjamin Klein of the Okman/Klein/Bjornstrup group at Merrill Lynch
Dec. 2010 - Christmas Celebration with Pastor David Langseth, pianist Ken Spengler, and Julian Ronning
Nov. 2010 - Marc Pommerance, forensics expert — plus the story and photos from the October 50th-anniversary dinner
Oct. 2010 - No luncheon this month — 50th-anniversary formal dinner, with keynote speaker Svein Ludvigsen, Fylkesmann of Troms County, Norway, and MC Dick Johnson of NBC Chicago (Vinland Seminar)
Sep. 11, 2010 - Sara Dower, “The History of Salt” (50th-anniversary dinner invitation)

2009-2010 Season

May 8, 2010 - 50th-anniversary celebration — reflections by selected members (Ray Newgard remembers 50 years)
Apr. 10, 2010 - Shon Morris, Director of Athletic Activity at Northwestern University
Mar. 13, 2010 - Father/Son/Daughter Day — Douglas Meyer of the Alliance Defense Fund (Alliance Defense Fund)
Feb. 13, 2010 - Ladies Day — the joint chorus of Bjornsen and Normennenes
Jan. 9, 2010 - Norwegian Sweater Day — Rudy Valbunker of Manor Health Services
Dec. 12, 2009 - Christmas program with David Langseth, Julian and Kristian Ronning
Nov. 14, 2009 - Beekeeper Harry Patterson
Oct. 10, 2009 - World traveler Bill Helmuth presents Russia and Moscow (Bill Helmuth)
Sep. 12, 2009 - Greg Borzo on the Chicago “L” system (the book)

2008-2009 Season

May 9, 2009 - Jostein Bakken, board director of Sons of Norway International
Apr. 11, 2009 - The Marshall Plan for Norway
Mar. 14, 2009 - Bud Herseth, principal trumpet for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1948–2004 — Father/Son/Daughter Day
Feb. 14, 2009 - Tina Winther entertains — Ladies Day
Jan. 13, 2009 - Gary Skoien on Chicago and Cook County
Dec. 10, 2008 - Bjornson Male Chorus entertains for Christmas
Nov. 8, 2008 - Actor R.J. Lindsey brings Franklin Delano Roosevelt to life (R.J. Lindsey; article on Finn Braathen)
Oct. 11, 2008 - Attorney Steven Levin on nursing-home abuse
Sep. 13, 2008 - Special Investigator Brian Etchell on the FBI

2007-2008 Season

May 10, 2008 - Dr. Christopher Brand of the Federal Wildlife Service on wildlife and human disease
Apr. 12, 2008 - Steve Larson on GPS satellites (“Witness to War” article)
Mar. 8, 2008 - Father/Son/Daughter Day — a documentary about Crown Princess Märtha (Crown Princess Märtha)
Feb. 9, 2008 - Ladies Day with the Normennenes Singing Society (Normennenes Singing Society)
Jan. 12, 2008 - Sweater Day with world traveler Bill Helmuth (Bill Helmuth)
Dec. 8, 2007 - Christmas celebration with Pastor David Langseth
Nov. 10, 2007 - Ron Moore from Fermilab on the particle accelerator (Fermilab)
Oct. 13, 2007 - Edward J. O'Donnell, Commander of the Bomb and Arson Section, Chicago Police Department
Sep. 8, 2007 - Tina Winther sings — first dinner of a new season

2006-2007 Season

May 12, 2007 - 47th anniversary and Ladies Day, with TV reporter Mary Ann Childers
Apr. 14, 2007 - Judge James Wascher on the jury system
Mar. 10, 2007 - Dr. Lisbet Ronning compares Scandinavian and U.S. healthcare
Feb. 10, 2007 - Robert Iverson, Veterans Administration regional manager
Jan. 13, 2007 - Lt. Col. David James, representing the Red Tail Project, America's tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen (Red Tail Project)
Dec. 9, 2006 - Sweet Adelines and the Christmas party (Sweet Adelines)
Nov. 11, 2006 - Larry Monroe, VP of Player Operations for the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox (Larry Monroe)
Oct. 13, 2006 - Rev. Henry Soles, chaplain for the Chicago Bulls, Bears, and White Sox
Sep. 16, 2006 - Linda Kimball from OASIS (OASIS)

2005-2006 Season

May 13, 2006 - Sven and Ole entertain for the 46th anniversary and Ladies Day
Apr. 8, 2006 - Barry Cooper of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Mar. 11, 2006 - Sinclair and the Rovers — Irish music from Norway — Father/Son/Daughter Day (article about the day)
Feb. 11, 2006 - Bobby Douglass, Chicago Bears quarterback 1969–1975 — Norwegian Sweater Day and Bears Sweatshirt Day
Jan. 14, 2006 - Prof. Haakon Andreasen presents “What Is the United States of America?”
Dec. 10, 2005 - Toufic El Rassi, history professor at Oakton Community College, on U.S.–Iraq relations
Nov. 12, 2005 - Womazette Jones of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services on the child-abuse hotline
Oct. 8, 2005 - Oktoberfest! Wolfgang Gruener on the history of Munich's Oktoberfest
Sep. 10, 2005 - Norwegian genealogy, with speaker Ken Larson

2004-2005 Season

May 14, 2005 - 45th-anniversary dinner and Ladies Day, with guest speaker Gøt Valle, President of the Norwegian Odelsting and Storting member for Hordaland County
Apr. 9, 2005 - Rev. Robert Furrboe on his trip to Peru, Machu Picchu, and the Galápagos Islands
Mar. 12, 2005 - Normennenes Singing Society and the Swedish Glee Club of Waukegan — Father/Son/Daughter Day
Feb. 12, 2005 - David Wright of the Vesterheim Museum — Norwegian Sweater Day (Vesterheim Museum)
Jan. 8, 2005 - Chuck Sedivick of the Norge Ski Club, on its 100th ski-jump event (Norge Ski Club)
Dec. 11, 2004 - Pastor David Langseth leads Christmas carols and celebration (Christmas carols recording)
Nov. 13, 2004 - Steve Baskerville, CBS Channel 2 (WBBM-TV) weatherman and broadcaster (CBS 2 Chicago)
Oct. 9, 2004 - Paul Anderson, Honorary Royal Norwegian Consul General, on Leif Erikson Day (Paul Anderson)
Sep. 11, 2004 - Robert Lahey, Executive Director of the Northern Illinois Public Service Training Academy (NIPSTA) (NIPSTA)

2003-2004 Season

May 2004 - 44th Klub anniversary and Ladies Day, with entertainment by the Normennenes Singing Society and the Swedish Glee Club of Waukegan
Apr. 2004 - The Chicago Fire soccer club, with Director of Community Relations Don Ortalle and Executive Paul “Caddy” Cadwell — Father/Son/Daughter Day (Chicago Fire Soccer Club; Word version of the letter)
Mar. 2004 - Ken Nordan on knowledge management and Norwegian heritage (Word version of the letter)
Feb. 2004 - James Peiper of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve System)
Jan. 2004 - Anders Malm, General Manager for Central USA, SAS (SAS booking)
Dec. 2003 - Christmas carols (Word version of the letter; Christmas carols recording)
Nov. 2003 - Rob Alsaker on the Auditorium Theater — letter includes a photo collage from the Madison trip (Auditorium Theater; Madison-trip photos)
Oct. 2003 - Ken Larson on his work at the Library of Congress (Library of Congress)
Sep. 2003 - Dr. Ray Newgard on chiropractic medicine and Norwegian heritage

2002-2003 Season

May 2003 - Ladies Day and Klub anniversary — Ray Nilsen on accordion
Apr. 2003 - Normennenes Singing Society and the Swedish Glee Club
Mar. 2003 - Dick Fjeldheim, Norwood Park Home chairman (extra photos from February)
Feb. 2003 - Svein Ludvigsen, Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Governor of Troms, and Halvard Johansen, Norwegian Fisheries Minister in Washington, D.C. (Norwegian government link)
Jan. 2003 - David Hardy, legal counsel for the Lutheran Church
Dec. 2002 - Christmas carols led by Pastor David Langseth (Christmas carols recording)
Nov. 2002 - Jerry Rosholt on “Ole Goes to War” — Norwegians in the Civil War (the book)
Oct. 2002 - Marv Meyer, military and airline pilot
Sep. 2002 - No letter on file for this month

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contact the Editor.
�2026 Chicago Torske Klub