Past Meetings 2009

Friday, December 11, 2009

Annual Christmas Gala and Ladies Night

Friday November 13, 2009

Special Program on Knut Hamsun

October 9, 2009
Program: Bergen DVD

September 11, 2009
Speakers: Members of the Club
Subject: Summer Travels 

May 8,2009
Cocktail Hour 6 Pm - 7 Pm
Dinner is at 7 Pm
Speaker:  Jon Holmerud
Subject:  Thorstein Veblen

April 10, 2009
Speaker: Bjorn Endresen
Subject:  Norway's Oil Trust Fund

March 13, 2009
The marshall Plan and Norway

February 13, 2009
Speaker: Tom Olsen
Subject: This time Tom Olson shows us his quest for Viking ruins in the Orkney islands and Shetlands this past summer. He'll explain how early-day Vikings came to settle in the islands off the north coast of Britain.

January 9, 2009
Speaker: Carl Larsen
Subject: "The Shetland Bus"

The Shetland Bus was the nickname of a clandestine special operations group that made a permanent link between Shetland, Scotland, and German-occupied Norway from 1941 until the German occupation ended on 8 May 1945. From mid-1942 the official name of the group was "Norwegian Naval Independent Unit" (NNIU). In October 1943 it became an official part of the Royal Norwegian Navy, and was renamed the "Royal Norwegian Naval Special Unit" (RNNSU).

The unit was operated initially by a large number of small fishing boats, and later augmented by three fast and well-armed submarine chasers – Vigra, Hessa and Hitra.

Crossings were mostly made during the winter under the cover of darkness. This meant that the crews and passengers had to endure very heavy North Sea conditions, with no lights, and constant risk of discovery by German aircraft or patrol boats. There was also the possibility of being captured whilst carrying out the mission on the Norwegian coast. However, early on it was decided that camouflage was the best defense and the boats were disguised as working fishing boats, with the crew as fishermen. The fishing boats were armed with light machine guns concealed inside oil drums placed on deck. The operation was under constant threat from German forces, and several missions went awry. Several fishing boats were lost during the initial operations, but after receiving the three submarine chasers there were no more losses.

Leif Andreas Larsen (popularly known as Shetland Larsen) was perhaps the most famous of the Shetland Bus men. In all he made 52 trips to Norway, and became the most highly-decorated Allied naval officer of the Second World War.

Menu: New England-style Clam Chowder
Cucumber Salad
Parmesan-mashed Red Skin Potatoes
Chef's Seasonal Vegetable Medley
Scottish Salmon, Oven-poached with a Dijon, Tarragon & Mushroom Sauce
Chocolate Bundt Cake with Choc Sauce and Whipped Cream & Heath Bar Sprinkles