History
The idea of a recreational retreat for Third District members originally surfaced in the early 1970s. The 1972 Third District Convention directed the District Board to study the feasibility of the District acquiring property for the recreational and educational use of the members. Financial reasons postponed any action until the Third District Convention in 1978, when President Bjarne Eikevik appointed a long range planning committee, consisting of John Kaare Hagen, former Supreme President as Chairman, together with Supreme Directors Jan henriksen and Edmond Trabulsy. The Board approved three basic concepts: 1) The District Board agreed to purchase the property; 2) the location of the property was to be within approximately 200 miles of New York City; and 3) the cost of the property should be in the range of $100,000. Popularly known as the "Wilderness Project", this became the vision for the future: a Third District Cultural and Recreational Center.
In July of 1978, the District received word that Big Valley Ranch in Sherman, PA, one of the more than forty sites evaluated earlier, was available, but at a price considered too high. On August 9, 1978, Third District President Egil Olsen, John Kaare Hagen, and Charles Gardner met with the owners of Big Valley Ranch and negotiated for its purchase at a price of $120,000 with 25% down, and a 20-year mortgage at 8-1/2% interest. These three then put down $1,000 each to secure a 60-day option.
The site, which had been operated as a dude ranch, consisted of 151 acres of open- and woodland, with a trout pond, a stocked trout stream running through the property, and was bordered on three sides by Pennsylvania State-owned game land. Included in the purchase was a main lodge with sleeping accommodations for fifty people, large kitchen and dining area, tennis court, two remodeled homes, a sturdy large barn, plus a separate office building, and an in-ground swimming pool. The furniture and other equipment needed to operate the facility were included in the purchase price.
The place was quickly renamed "Land of the Vikings" (LOV), and an intensive fund drive, spearheaded by Third District Counselor Sandy Ginsberg, was begun. In true fraternal spirit, loans and outright donations brought in $40,000 for the down payment, $10,000 over the minimum required. On November 16, 1978, the title was transferred to Sons of Norway, 3/D Ltd., a newly formed corporation (the "owners" of the property) with the Third District Executive Committee as its officers. The Operation Committee that had been formed, Sons of Norway , Land of the Vikings, Ltd., with John Kaare Hagen, Frank Tepper, Charles Gardner, and Kip Denega as its officers, began running LOV on November 16, 1978, and signed a lease on that day with the owner, Sons of Norway, 3/D Ltd.
Over the years, the management of the Land of the Vikings has been entrusted to the LOV Operating Group (representing LOV, Ltd.), with a series of resident full-time managers.
Land of the Vikings Board Presidents
First Operating Group (1978 - 1982)
John Kaare Hagen (chair)
Frank C. Tepper, Jr.
Charles N. Gardner
Kip Denega
Operating Board Chairpersons
Kjell Hansen (1982 - 1984)
Sandy Ginsberg (1984 - 1989)
David Morris (1990 - 1991)
Frank C. Tepper, Jr. (1991 - 1994)
William Cook (1994 - 1996)
Jens Kristiansen (1996 - 1998)
Paul Kornbrekke (1998 - 2000)
Joe Zarnitz (2000 - 2004)
George Beck (2004 - 2008)
Kenneth Fagerheim (2008 - 2009)
Land of the Vikings Managers
Full-time Resident Managers
Nils and Lauren Floden (1979 – 1983)
Stanley and Marta Bergesen (1984 – 1985)
Johnny and Kitty Delin (1985 - 1988)
Charlie and Wenche Velikis (1988 - 1990)
Bjarne and Louise Rasmussen (1990 - 1998)
Jens and Elsie Kristiansen(1998 - 2000)
Elsie Kristiansen (2000 - 2003)
Carlton and Catherine Kwan (2003 - 2004)
Beverly and Rick Budrick (2004 - present)
Interim Managers
Clara Johnsen (1/1/79 – 3/1/79)
Richard and Judith Meadow (3/5/79 – 5/30/79)
Bjørn and Lillian Bolstad (6/1/79 – 11/1/79)
Walter and Claire Eriksen (7/1/85 – 10/30/85)
When the property was acquired, the buildings and grounds were in much need of repair, and, over the years, Third District members have donated hundreds of hours of skill, energy, and time to improve and upgrade LOV. Each room was upgraded and given a private bath, roofs have been repaired, windows replaced, and new heating and septic systems installed. Rosemaling has been added to window cornices and furniture and, in 1986, Bjarne Livolden, crafted a beautiful viking ship bar, a replica of the Oseberg ship in the Viking Ship Museum outside Oslo. The old and impractical kitchen was replaced in 1997, when an addition containing a large kitchen, library, and offices was completed. In 2005, the dining room floor was redone, and a room restoration project was begun.
Over the years, LOV has hosted Third District lodge groups, rosemaling and wood-carving classes, annual youth camps, family reunions, weddings, Sports for Health, Ski for Light, snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, hunting and fishing parties, and local community groups.
|
