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Please join us for two short classics from the “Scandinavians in the Old West” and “Nordic Explorers” Nordic Spirit Symposia.

The Three Lucky Swedes

Hear the story of the “Three Lucky Swedes” (one was Norwegian), who were credited with the gold discovery in 1898 that launched the Nome gold rush.

Learn also about the dog sled relay that brought life-saving serum to combat a diphtheria outbreak in Nome, Alaska in 1925. Presented by Prof. Em. Ernst F. (Fred) Tonsing.

Almost 100 years later, a team of four medical personnel brought COVID vaccine to remote village residents of northern Alaska by plane and dog sled. 

Credit: St. Olaf College Magazine.

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Norman Borlaug, the Man Who Saved a Billion Lives

Nobel Prize winning Norwegian-American Norman Borlaug is credited with saving a billion lives through his work developing superior wheat stock. Larry H. T. Johnson tells this fascinating story.