Grafton, ND Native Creates Lefse Hall of Fame - by Rona Johnson
February 22,2003 - Grand Forks (ND) Herald Newspaper
Grafton, N.D, native creates Lefse Hall of Fame; coming soon, the Lutefisk Hall of Fame
Here's something that's going to make all you Norwegians scratch your head and wonder "Why didn't I think of that?"
Scott Hove, who grew up in Grafton, N.D., now is the founder and president of the Lefse Hall of Fame. Hove is a Lutheran pastor in Las Vegas, Nev., and, as you might have guessed, he's having a lot of fun with it.
Lefse is a flat and round dish that resembles a tortilla, except it's made from potatoes. Some people think lefse tastes like paper, but that's probably because they forgot to put butter and sugar on it. Hove started the Hall of Fame as a labor of love and to honor his mother Gladys, one of the best lefse makers in the world.
"Mom died a year ago in April, so this was the first year I didn't have Mom's lefse," Hove said. "One day I was in the shower, and I thought, you know I could have the Lefse Hall of Fame, the Internet makes it possible." So, Gladys Hove became the first inductee into the Lefse Hall of Fame.
But you don't have to be a lefse maker to be in the hall; you can be a lefse eater. So, Hove's father Millard, who lives in Grafton, was the first lefse eater inducted into the hall.
Join the fun
For an initiation fee of $19.95, you, too, can be an inductee in the Lefse Hall of Fame and get your official membership certificate. "You put it in a nice frame and hang it up on the wall, and somebody might think you're important, or just goofy," Hove said.
Believe it or not, Hove has a lot of members from the Las Vegas area. Seems there are some Norwegians who prefer to live where you can comfortably go outside year round. Hove said he met a woman at a Sons of Norway meeting in Boulder City, Nev., who bought 22 memberships to give away as Christmas gifts for people she knows who have everything. Well, it's probably safe for her to assume they've never been inducted into the Lefse Hall of Fame. And, when Hove runs into people who don't know what lefse is, he just tells them it's a Norwegian tortilla.
Lutefisk's turn
Unfortunately where there's lefse, lutefisk can't be far behind. So, you guessed it, coming soon from Hove is the Lutefisk Hall of Fame.
Lutefisk, just in case there is one person in the Herald's readership area who doesn't know, is lye-soaked cod. Norwegians eat lutefisk when there's no pickled herring to be found. Some people say it's better cooked on the stove, others like it from the microwave. But the truth is, lutefisk tastes the same whether it's cooked on a stove or in an old shoe.
Inductees of the Lutefisk Hall of Fame can get their official lutefisk fishing, ice fishing, hunting or trapping licenses.
"My concern here is that if we don't watch out, lutefisk will be totally overfished," Hove said. "We just have to stop people from taking as many lutefisk as they can."
The licenses should be available shortly before fishing season opens, Hove said. The Park River (N.D.) Bible Camp, which is famous for its lutefisk dinners, has already been inducted into the Lutefisk Hall of Fame as a group member. Lutefisk dinners are popular because they give hardcore Norwegians a chance to eat lutefisk and not smell up the house. Hove said he'd keep me posted on the Lutefisk Hall of Fame, so plug your nose and stay tuned.
RONA JOHNSON
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