Prized heirlooms were the center of attention at a Wednesday show-and-tell honoring Norsk Hostfest's 35th anniversary.
Handcrafted picture frames, hardanger and jewelry were among items preserved over multiple generations, sometimes more than 100 years.
Kari Mahle of Minot, formerly of Norway, showed a scarf box that she said was at least 200 years old. The rose design on the box preceded the rosemaling tradition. Inside was a black, silk scarf that her grandmother had worn for her confirmation.
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Jill Schramm/MDN • Kari Mahle shows her 200-year-old scarf box with her grandmother’s black confirmation scarf at Wednesday’s antique show-and-tell at Norsk Høstfest.
"That's really when they got their first scarf when they were confirmed," Mahle said. "I have worn it with my bunad."
Jan Hegstad of Powers Lake visited her husband's family in Trondheim, Norway, in 1998, bringing back a hardanger wall hanging made many years earlier by her father-in-law's cousin, then deceased.
"We had little gifts for them and they had this big, beautiful, precious gift for me," she said. Hegstad added that she studied hardanger to learn that in Norway, the needlework always was done white on white or ecru on ecru. However, there must have been exceptions because her piece is gray and white on pink.
From Finland, there was bottle whimsy (folk art in a bottle). From Denmark, there were blue plates with artwork based on a 365-year-old story of an oak tree. From Sweden, there was a copper teapot from the 1800s. But the majority of the items were from Norway.
Tova Henderson of Rolla, formerly of Norway, showed a pair of dark leather boots that she wore as a toddler. Her father, a shoemaker, was in a prison camp in Norway, making shoes for the Germans. Ordering leather for the Germans' shoes, he slipped in a little extra to the order so he could make the shoes for his daughter.
Ardella Holte of Minot and McGregor, wore an apron that her great-grandmother in Norway made. She also showed a wooden, chip-carved photo frame that her great-grandfather made.
Tessa Nesheim of Minot displayed a small tine box, commonly used in Norway to store valuables or foods such as grains. They were made in a variety of sizes. Tine boxes have been unearthed in the remains of Viking ships as far back as 840 A.D.
Other items included a cow horn spoon dating to the mid-1800s. Spoons were made by boiling the cow horn until it became soft, then placing it in a mold.
More than a dozen exhibitors participated in the first-ever event. Organizers hope to continue to grow the event in future years.