NORWEGIAN CLUBS IN CHICAGO

Abstract

NORWEGIAN CLUBS IN CHICAGO1 BY BIRGER OSLAND I had been in Chicago only a few years when I joined my first Norwegian club. This was known as the Venners (Friends') Debating Club, a truly Norwegian- American name for an association of clean-cut workingmen of limited education . The language used in the debates at our meetings was often entertainingly Norwegian- American. Nevertheless , the Venners Debating Club served its purpose. Many of the members learned something, and they made friends and connections that were pleasant and sometimes valuable. I did not feel at home for long in this club and I attended only a few meetings. In 1891 I helped organize the Norrena Literary Society, composed of a dozen young men who were more nearly my equals in education and previous training in Norway - more congenial spirits, as it were. The rules of the Norrena imposed on each member in succession the duty of lecturing on a chosen subject, after which it was debated by the members at the Saturday night meetings. We met in a hall on the fourth and top floor of a brick building at the corner of Union Street and Milwaukee Avenue which was owned by a well-known saloonkeeper, Gilbert Olson. When on the street, Olson always appeared in a tall silk hat, frock coat, and double-breasted fancy vest, with a cane in hand. In one of my lectures before Norr0na I dealt with " Capital and Labor," after making extensive preparatory studies at the public library. I feel certain that I condemned capital vigorously. One of the members, the late Christian Ruus, spoke on " Suicide." I am sure that he did not advocate such destructive action. Christian was a fine fellow. Later he suffered from a disappointment in love and 1 This is a section of the author's unpublished reminiscences. Ed. 10 5 106 STUDIES AND RECORDS returned to Norway. After each meeting, Olson, our genial host, was called on to fetch cigars and hot whisky toddies, and then we spent an hour or two chatting and reminiscing. The Norr0na society had flourished only about a year when someone discovered a much breezier and more modern flock of young intellectuals and suggested that they join our club. Most of them were a bit older than the members of Norr0na and had experienced more of the gay side of university life than we had. They insisted on radical changes in our constitution, such as abolishing the compulsory lectures, which they pronounced " schoolboyish." There were two notable leaders in this new crowd. One was Haakon Nyhuus , who was employed in the Chicago Public Library. He was an able and energetic man, pleasant of manner and very advanced in his ideas. The second leader of the group was an Icelander, Steingrimur Stefansson, who had studied in the University of Copenhagen and was connected with the John Crerar Library of Chicago. Stefansson was a veritable walking encyclopedia on the literature of all lands. He enjoyed sociable friends, but was a contentious and sarcastic debater, more sought after for his wit and knowledge than for his amiability. The only one whose word he never disputed was Nyhuus. After some discussion and hesitation, the Norr0na society decided to accept the proposals of the new group. The name of the organization was changed to Arne Garborg Klubben, and it was known familiarly as the A. G. Club, " a less ponderous and more up-to-date name," as Nyhuus put it. I was elected president, and as such it became my task to write to the famous Norwegian author, Arne Garborg, and ask that he permit us to use his name for our club, a privilege which he graciously granted with many good wishes. Our next steps were to rent the first story of a private house on North Carpenter Street, near Erie Street, as a home for our club, and to invite ladies to become members. NORWEGIAN CLUBS IN CHICAGO 107 Henceforth we had weekly meetings, with frequent addresses by lecturers from our midst or from the outside. Occasionally our own members performed on the stage and arranged vocal or instrumental concerts. Frequently the evenings wound up with dancing. The club...