Luren, 1918-1927


Previous Next]

Luren, 1918-1927

  • 1924: The 50th Anniversary celebration again occurs on March 17, but this time without most of the old veterans. One member of the Luren Quintet is still singing, O. Holm. The celebration “was a splendid one, with ‘hundreds’ of guests in the parlors of First Lutheran Church, lots of good food and song in true Norwegian style, and oratory almost without end.” Although Norwegian songs outnumber English songs, English is the chosen medium for all the speeches and the program!  Mrs.O.W. Holm (sister-in-law of Director Sperati) presents a History of Luren..a project two years in the making. (Note: Dr. J. R. Christianson who wrote the 100-year history of Luren in 1968, and from whose work these notes are drawn, comments that he could not discover a copy of Mrs. Holm’s work and wonders if such a copy exists. He also suggests that it was possibly Mrs. Holm who re-discovered that Luren was really founded in 1868, not 1874).
  • 1925: In May, Luren, led by Professor Sperati, serenades Hartvig Engbretson (the only surviving member of the original quartet) on his 80th birthday, acknowledging him as the founder of Luren in 1868.
  • 1926: As the Lag movement grows among Norwegian-Americans, Luren is invited to perform at various lag annual meetings – Vosselaget, for example.

Previous Next]