MapleCreek joins in on Swedish Cultural Day

On Saturday, March 26, 2011, members of the Swedish Heritage Society group at MapleCreek in Grand Rapids attended a Swedish Cultural Day celebration at Thornapple Covenant Church. They included Susan Lemon, executive director of MapleCreek, Chaplain Becky Ebb-Speese, and two residents of The Terraces at MapleCreek, Pastor Becky’s mother Virginia Ebb and Erma Sundbeck (L-R, photo at left).

The event, hosted by the Swedish American Heritage Society of West Michigan, had workshops for adults about genealogy, Swedish mystery writers, and baking Swedish coffee bread. The guest speaker was Sue Stauffacher, author of Tillie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, a Sewing Needle, and a Bicycle Changed History. Activities for children included making troll masks and stone trolls thar grow hair.

The gathering culminated with a luncheon at noon, featuring favorite Swedish foods. “Great Swedish meatballs, and Mom and I confess to breaking our Lenten discipline,” Pastor Becky said. “We ate a most wonderful cardamom cake with almond cream inside, like a Swedish cream puff!” Sue Lemon enjoyed the desserts and the music and group singing in Swedish. “I have to admit I sounded a bit like the Swedish chef from The Muppets trying to sing those tunes,” she laughed. “I got all those vowels mixed up!”

In addition to five members of the Swedish Heritage Society group at The Terraces, Pastor Becky said there are more Swedes at The Lodge (skilled nursing) and The Woods (memory care) at MapleCreek. The MapleCreek group is part of a larger West Michigan Swedish group that was started in June 1997 by Doris and Clarence Anderson,  who had moved to Michigan from Chicago where they had been very active in other Swedish organizations. They held an organizing meeting and got such a great turnout that the Swedish American Heritage Society of West Michigan was quickly founded and immediately joined the Swedish Council of America. With close to 400 members, it is one of the largest Swedish groups in the country.