Lodge History - Washington 3-428
An organization meeting for a Sons of Norway Lodge in the Nation’s Capital was held January 16, 1943. Washington Lodge was selected as the name of the local lodge. Thirty-two candidates were initiated at the first meeting. The Charter was closed March 19, 1943, with 73 members.
A building committee was established in 1959. In 1963 a building fund was begun with the intention of establishing a lodge home and a self-sustaining Norwegian Cultural Center. In 2007 the Lodge purchased a lodge home. In 2008, Washington Lodge held a 65th Anniversary Celebration picnic at the Cultural Center with 6 past presidents in attendance.
Our first Norwegian Christmas Bazaar was held in 1967 at the Washington Hilton Hotel. We have had an annual Christmas bazaar ever since. Beginning in 1997, our bazaar has been part of the Royal Norwegian Embassy’s Christmas at Union Station.
Washington Lodge was host to the Third District Convention in 1964 and co-host in 2008.
Our Lodge Newsletter, the Capital Viking, placed first in the last Third District Newsletter Competition.
Washington Lodge was named the International Lodge of the Year for 1999 at the International Convention held at Stavanger, Norway in 2000.
We are an active lodge with more than 400 members. We have monthly meetings (except July) with excellent programs, an annual lutefisk dinner, a reading circle, a scrapbooking group, a genealogy interest group, and periodic nature walks. Members have earned several Sons of Norway sports medals and a few cultural skills medals. We celebrate the 17th of May by co-sponsoring and participating with other Norwegian-American organizations and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in both a dinner dance and a picnic.
We are proud of our Norwegian heritage and encourage anyone of Norwegian descent or with an interest in Norway to join us.
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