September 2017 Meeting Recap

MUSIC CITY VIKINGS SN 5-681 BOARD MEETING MINUTES
September 23, 2017
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH, NASHVILLE, TN

At noon on Saturday, September 23, 2017, eighteen MCV members and guests met for lunch at Piccadilly Cafeteria at 874 Murfreesboro Road in Nashville. When we finished lunch President Oscar Krosnes called the meeting to order and we sang the Norwegian and American National Anthems. President Oscar Krosnes introduced MCV member LeAnne Péters who told us about being, “An American MOM raising Swedish/American Children in Sweden.” LeAnne lived in NJ, India, FL, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, NYC , London, Amsterdam and New Orleans, LA before living in Sweden for 25 years with her Swedish husband and five children. The youngest son, who was born in Sweden, still lives in Sweden with his Norwegian wife and children, one son lives in Miami, FL, two daughters live and work in London, and one daughter recently moved from Paris and is living in Nashville at present.

LeAnne talked about the wonderful educational system in Sweden where her children were educated. All children in Sweden are fed a hot meal during the school day and receive dental care on the school grounds. Parents receive an allowance for each child from the Swedish government. This allowance helps all families in Sweden. The Swedish Public School System was where LeAnne taught classes in “Mother Tongue” to children who were entitled and wanted to learn English as English was LeAnne’s “Mother Tongue.” LeAnne taught us how to say “borta är bra, men hemma är bäst” in Swedish and then asked us to translate. It means home is the best and home is where you hang your hat and heart and feel at peace with yourself and the world.

Air travel continues to grow and LeAnne told us about the cheap airfare application and the book her daughter has developed. The book, available on Amazon, is titled: “Stopping Planes, Hitching Trains, and Hijacking Cars.” This is a brief compilation of true stories from international friends whose travels led them to very unusual experiences. Each chapter also contains a recipe and drink from that particular country. The book is a marketing tool for Genieme, a coming app for anyone - anyone - who wants to travel (and fares will be 40% less than the competition.)

Terje Brattsveen on a guitar, and Marianne Mashburn on vocals were the special musical guests. Terje told us, “I tune because I care." Terje played ‘Windy and Warm’, ‘Last Thing on My Mind’ and ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ on a Ovation classical 1674

Country Artist, through a Fishman Loudbox acoustic amp. What a delightful musical duo! We were all enchanted by the beautiful sound of the guitar and by Marianne who sang the jazz standard ‘All of Me’ and their version of ‘Ready For the Times to Get Better’ which includes an original verse in Norwegian.

Terje is from Dokka, Norway, he came to the United States in 1974 and been a Nashville resident since 1984. Terje studied music at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, and has played guitar, with cover bands in the U.S. and Canada. Marianne is a native of Florida and lived and played music in Florida and along the east coast before moving to Nashville in 1991.

MCV member Karen Kennedy and Terje on guitar led the group in singing ‘Take Me Back’ by the Norway-Nashville musical group, NorVille. Joe Sun from MN and TN and MCV member Ottar Johansen from Norway helped write the song and form the group NorVille. Ottar is in Nashville several times a year to record and play gigs all around town. It was a perfect ending to our September MCV meeting.

Mark your calendars for the next MCV meetings:

October 15 - MCV Member Carol Fidler will speak about her recent trips to Norway and other European countries she visited this past summer.

November 19 - Program to be announced.

December - The Julefest has been cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. Scandinavian celebration date and place to be announced later.

FYI!
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Exhibits of Interest
‘Keep Me In Mind’ Honoring Scandinavian Country/Pop singer Lynn Anderson through June 24, 2018

Continue to collect cancelled postage stamps to help Children in Norway.

Oscar Krosnes sent the fourth mailing of canceled postage stamps to SON headquarters. This means MCV has sent four pounds of stamps to help needy children in Norway. One lucky member from a SON Lodge across the Nation will win a FREE trip to Norway. Tusen takk for your help.