Author: Gary Legwold

After I announced the theme of the 5th Annual Lefse Limerick Contest in January, I said to myself, “Uh-oh.” The theme was as shown on the t-shirt below, which will be awarded to the three winners shown above:

This contest could be a bust, I fretted back then, because faith is personal and not really a subject that lends itself to the levity of a limerick. And what does faith have to do with lefse anyway? I feared that the limerick writers who had shined in the previous four Lefse Limerick Contests would take a pass at this contest, perhaps thinking the topic was too heavy for a lefse limerick.

But a voice inside my head said, “Oh, ye of little faith! Lefse limerick writers are up for this! In fact, they’ll be inspired by the topic!” And that voice was right on.

The inherent humor of a limerick was present with the submissions, but also there was room in most of the limericks for faith and its power. I was touched by a comment by one of the limerick writers who expressed gratitude for the opportunity to write about faith in a lefse limerick, of all things. The writer said, “It’s been a tough year since the last contest, and the theme really hit home. It was a joy to do and [I was] truly inspired.”

With that said, I am especially proud to present the 5th Annual Lefse Limerick Contest’s winning limericks.

First Place Winners

Kristen Anderson, unlike most other writers who submitted pages of limericks, wrote just one. It was one of the first limericks submitted, and it told me that this 5th Annual Lefse Limerick Contest was going to be special. She introduced the idea that lefse could play a part, however small, in bringing unity back to our people — an idea that came out in other limericks as well.

When I look to my left and my right
I sure worry about our world’s plight
So let’s peel some potatoes
Become lefse amigos
I have faith in the things that unite.
—— Kristen Anderson, Big Fork, Minnesota                   

Pete Holbrook got into the zone when writing about faith and lefse, and he could not escape. He churned out a dozen, all titled, and any one of them could have won top honors. I’ll give you two.

CUTTING THE MUSTARD

A mountain will move, says the creed,
With faith, small as one mustard seed.
So I pray as I flip
That the lefse won’t slip
And spoil some Lutheran’s feed.
—— Pete Holbrook, Minneapolis

And this one, truly a gut puncher!

NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED

Our deacon was thin as a wraith
So we sent him a meal, in good faith
But he broke his front tooth
On the lefse, forsooth,
Now he lisps ev’ry time he says graith.
—— Pete Holbrook, Minneapolis

Dave Nadaskay submitted 14 limericks, all of them hitting the unity nail on the head. Here are three:

If we take but a moment to share
Both our faith and our lefse, we’d dare
To make hatred a relic
And all people angelic
And bring love (and some butter) to bear.
—— Dave Nadaskay, Fort Worth, Texas

If your life is needing a boost
Give your spirit a new place to roost.
Rolling lefse together
In prayer you can weather
Any storm that the world has unloosed.
—— Dave Nadaskay, Fort Worth, Texas

It’s said lefse can make friends of foes
And mend broken spirits and woes
But without faith in heaven
Our poor rounds unleavened
Can’t lift e’en the lowest of lows.
—— Dave Nadaskay, Fort Worth, Texas

Second Place

John Ofstehage has a sense of humor (see above photo), and in his 14 submissions he showed how to use that humor regarding faith and lefse. Two examples:

AN EXTRAORDINARY UNEXPLAINED EVENT
It was a miracle for sure.
Devine intervention had occurred.
For the first time ever,
My lefse wasn’t leather!
My faith in prayer is reassured.
—— John Ofstehage, Greenwood, Minnesota

DOES THE THIRD COMMANDMENT APPLY?
How can I go to church today?
For I have sinned in an awful way
I committed blasphemy,
Having the audacity
To profane lefse! Let us pray.
—— John Ofstehage, Greenwood, Minnesota

For taking second place, John wins the hat below.

Third Place

Susan Jerde wrote five lefse limericks, and four of them were about having faith regarding your lefse. But she was the only writer to go against the grain and create a limerick about having no faith in a particular lefse maker.

A grouchy old grandma named Cher
Had no faith in the family’s heir.
He rolled lefse all wrong,
And grilled it too long.
So she gave him a dunce hat to wear.
—— Susan Jerde, Aberdeen, South Dakota

On a positive note, there is this one about the big payoff for a young lefse maker named Faith.

A young girl with Faith as a name
Made lefse that brought her much fame
She collected some cash
Found a Norse hunk named Nash,
And that Faith girl was never the same.
—— Susan Jerde, Aberdeen, South Dakota

For winning third place, Susan gets the tote bag that you carry, with a message that can carry you through your days.

Thanks to all the lefse limerick writers who entered the 5th Annual Lefse Limerick Contest. I have faith that we will do it again next year. Keep on rolling!

I was invited back to the monthly Men’s Breakfast meeting, which is part of Mayflower Church in Minneapolis, which is soon to be Creekside United Church of Christ. My speaking topic: lefse.

The issue, however, was I had talked extensively about lefse and how to make very good lefse the last time I presented. What more could I say?

I decided to roll lefse and quickly review how to make good lefse for those who had missed my first presentation. But the core of what I spoke on was about what lefse has meant to me. Originally, I was thinking this would be about humor, but as I prepared my presentation it turned out to much more. So here is my recollection of the 7 Lessons on Lefse and Life.

1. You Don’t Know Until You Roll.

After my Grandma Jenny Legwold died, I called my dad, Conrad Legwold, and asked who would be making lefse for the family now that Grandma had passed. He was stumped, but I was panicked that this grand old tradition was ending in our family. When I pressed him on who is going to make the lefse, he finally said, “Well, how about you?” That led to writing an article in Minnesota Monthly magazine and then to my first book, The Last Word on Lefse: Heartwarming Stories and Recipes, Too! This led to two other books on lefse, two more on lutefisk and eventually all the products on LefseKing.com. All because I decided to not let a tradition die in my family. You just don’t know how “silly” ideas are going to pan out. You don’t know until you roll, and even after you roll you may not know right away how things will turn out. Chairman Mao Zedong was asked what he thought of the French Revolution, and he responded: “It’s too early to tell.” So roll with the idea. Trust yourself. Jane, my wife, gave me a sign that says: “Hold on … I need to overthink this!” No, I don’t. I didn’t 35 years ago when I thought I would chase this lefse dream. And I don’t now that I have become older and, yes, wiser. Trust yourself and do it.

2. Have Humor Handy.

Humor lightens the load. Luckily, with lefse and lutefisk, there is always humor. I call them the Great Social Ignitors. Just say the word “lefse” or “lutefisk” at any social gathering, and the room lights up with stories, memories, and laughter. Those of us in Lefse Land know this and are grateful that we have lefse and lutefisk in our tradition. And it’s not a bad idea to have a good joke at the ready. My standby is: “What did the Norwegian say when he saw his first pizza? ‘Who trew up on my lefse?'”

3. Nothing’s More Powerful Than Kindness.

I learned to cry from my Grandpa Emmanuel Gehring, who farmed in Washburn, North Dakota. He cried when we drove away to Illinois after a visit. So I’ve learned to let the tears flow, and I find that nothing brings me to tears more than an act of kindness. Such hope and love there, and it doesn’t take much to be kind. Lefse is all about kindness. Kindness shown by a grandma, by a neighbor who gives away lefse at Christmas, by a father who makes lefse for a friend’s funeral. I go all over the country selling lefse at markets, and in spite of events of the world, I have always been greeted with kindness. And I greet others with the same kindness. It’s like in the realm of lefse, there is not much room for anything else. And I am moved to tears when I realize how much kindness is all around us. Be kind.

4. A Recipe Lasts Longer Than a Gravestone.

A good lefse recipe is honored and revered. It really is. People love lefse, but they really love making really good lefse. If they have a tried-and-true lefse recipe, they will hold on to that dearly because of the promise of good lefse and the wonderful memories they have of the person who shared that recipe. When that person passes on, there will be visits to the gravestone. But those visits become less frequent with each passing generation, while that lefse recipe will stay fresh because each new generation discovers and delights in the grand old tradition of making lefse. The gravestone represents what was, while the recipe represents what was and what is and what will be.

5. Clean Up Your Mess.

When making lefse, there are lots of dishes to do. The kitchen is a mess, especially if you make a lot of lefse. To only bask in the glory of making wonderful lefse means the lefse making is not done. You have to clean up your own mess with lefse making and, if I may, with life. Everyone makes a mess of something. Good lefse makers do their dishes, and do a good job with the dishes. Your dishes are not for someone else, and there is therapy, of sorts, in washing and drying and putting away the bowls and equipment so someone else can enjoy the experience without having to clean up after a prima donna lefse maker.

6. Help the Next One in Line.

Invite the next generation. Don’t wait for them to come to you. They want to learn to make lefse but will get caught up in the stuff of youth and may not seem interested. They are, especially if you invite them and teach them in a loving way all of your methods for making very good lefse. They want to make you proud, and nothing will make you prouder than when they show up at your door with a big smile and a big platter of pretty dang good lefse.

7. Keep on Rolling.

Lefse making isn’t the only thing that teaches resiliency. But it’s pretty clear there are a lot of lessons on sticking to it to be learned by watching a 92-year-old grandma pull out all the lefse equipment and roll lefse for yet another Christmas. Lefse making can be hard work, but hard work is not to be avoided in order to get to something good, especially if you can share the hard work with laughter and loving family and friends. You are rewarded for your hard work with very good lefse and very good memories. And when the time comes when your hard work is too hard or is not rewarded with very good lefse because of age, then you can keep on rolling with service. You’ve done your good work and helped the next ones in line. Now you can keep on rolling by holding the door for those who are carrying the load. Offer a smile and a joke and encouragement. Help with dishes. And be kind.

“Humor is just truth, only faster.”

Gilda Radner

When I created the t-shirt above, it was an attempt to use humor to deflate the pressure that often comes with rolling lefse alone in my kitchen and especially at markets in front of gatherings.

At markets such as the recent, hugely successful Norsk Hostfest in Minot, North Dakota, I worried that customers would not get the humor in the t-shirt. After all, it’s talking about imposter syndrome, which seemingly has nothing to do with lefse. Right? Wrong. Customers got it. They howled at this t-shirt, which was one of my better-selling products at the Hostfest.

When I am at markets rolling — and even when I am not rolling in the public eye — I always want to roll lefse rounds that are big, thin, and round. Especially round. It gives me pleasure and some street cred, and it makes me feel good when people applaud (it’s happened) or they say, “I’ve never been able to get them that round. How do you do that?” They ask and I tell them and show them, just as I would in my lefse classes.

The F Word

I admit, however, that even though I have rolled countless beautiful lefse, there is still a wee demon on my shoulder saying with every round I roll at the market and with that first round I demonstrate in my classes: “You’re an imposter. You can fool them for a little while, but I know what you really are. A fraud.”

Imposter syndrome was first described in 1978 in high-achieving businesswomen by psychologists Suzanne Imes and Pauline Rose Clance. Since then, it’s been found in all genders and in many lines of work. “One study found that as many as 82% of all people have felt like a fraud at some point — even scientist Albert Einstein,” according to an article in WebMD. People with imposter syndrome are perfectionists who feel they have to be superheroes just to be accepted. They dread the shame of failure, pooh-pooh wins as just luck, and fear success because their luck won’t hold when it’s time to repeat the success.

It may seem silly, but I see imposter syndrome in my lefse class. To be clear, making lefse is a time of laughter and light-hearted humor. Imposter syndrome is not in the picture. But for some folks, it is in the mind when they start to roll. The students want to make very good lefse. They don’t want to make average or bad lefse. Often, they’ve been there, done that in front of Mom or Grandma, who, of course, made perfect lefse. After that type of experience, they may have quit or have settled for making “meh” lefse, justifying their so-so outcomes by saying, “People still eat it.”

But often, just getting by with “meh” lefse is not satisfactory. So they come to my class keenly interested, often determined, to make very good lefse. Maybe Mom or Grandma has passed away, and they want to make lefse now for the family. Maybe Mom and Grandma are far away, and they want to build on the family tradition with their own efforts and style. Maybe they want to try something new, but it’s in their nature to do it well, very well.

THE Lefse King

I was rolling along at a market shortly after I took the domain name Lefseking.com, and this guy watched with arms crossed and wearing a skeptical look. He picked up my card that featured Lefseking.com, which distracted me and I speared a very nice round with my turning stick. I looked at the guy, who shook his head and said, “So YOU’RE the Lefse King?”

I laughed it off and kept on rolling. I have faced imposter syndrome many, many times and have learned to quiet the demon by being kind to myself, not comparing myself to others, and accepting praise with a thank you and not a thanks but … . I pass on these kinds of ways to overcome imposter syndrome in my classes.

I am not THE Lefse King, but rather A Lefse King. There are lots of Lefse Kings and Lefse Queens in Lefse Land. They are known for making outstanding lefse. The goal with my demonstrations and lefse classes is to develop more Lefse Kings and Lefse Queens.

People love to watch lefse being rolled, and they absolutely love to roll it themselves. They love the smell. They love the taste. They love the memories. They love the hope that comes with witnessing lefse rolled round and thin, and then doing it. When people watch me at markets, I often hear them say: “I think I can do that. I’ve got Mom’s grill and all. I just need to get the stuff out and try it again.” And then they do it.

That makes me feel good, knowing that what I do in markets and in my lefse classes can help preserve a grand old tradition by rallying the troops and getting people into or back into the lefse-making game.

I sell a hoodie that says, “You Can’t Make Everyone Happy! You’re Not LEFSE!”

Truth be told, many of us dedicated lefse makers try to make everyone happy by making lefse. We are pleasers, for better or worse, knowing full well from so many painful experiences that we cannot possibly please everyone no matter how hard we try. But we have hope that with the power of lefse, which pleases everyone, we can finally reach the promise land and please everyone!

It is the hope I have with every market I do, that my lefse making will please all and make them like my products and maybe me! This sometimes means making dough and rolling lefse in less than ideal conditions. Let me give you three examples, which were firsts for me:

Making Lefse in a Motel Room

Every year in May, there is Lefse Dagen in Starbuck, Minnesota. I’ve been a vendor there several times. This year, my spouse, Jane, and I decided to stay the night before the event at a motel rather than drive up from Minneapolis the day of this celebration of lefse. Staying in a motel meant making lefse in the motel room, which gave me pause.

Setting up my rolling and grilling station on the room’s desk was not a problem, and the lefse turned out great. It resulted in plenty to sell when the event open the next morning, and plenty of dough that was ready to roll at the event. My biggest concern was privacy. People can smell lefse from the next state, if the wind is blowing right, and I was worried about countless knocks on the door from people whose curiosity and desire for fresh lefse was getting the best of them.

Making Lefse in a Bathroom

One other motel room incident happened last month at the Sons of Norway District 1 Convention, where I was a vendor. Part of the convention was a lefse-making class by Jean Knaak, to be held in Room 229 of the motel in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. Jean asked me to take a break from my vending and offer a few pointers.

When I went to 229, the door was open. The lights were out and there was low murmuring. My imagination became activated and I was worried I had the wrong room and was interrupting … something.

But I smelled lefse and saw someone directing a light from their phone onto a counter used for rolling lefse. Relieved, I saw Jean emerge from the shadowy corner. She said their grills had blown fuses and the room lights were out. However, the class continued in the bathroom, where the electricity was still good.

I made my way to the bathroom and offered several lefse-making tips to the small group huddled and happy to be still rolling lefse. It was weird to be making lefse in a bathroom, but wonderful that these resourceful lefse makers were undaunted by a little darkness.

Making Lefse in a Gale-Force Wind

If you look closely at the opening photo from Lefse Dagen in Starbuck, Minnesota, you can see plenty of signs of a big wind. The canopy cover is blown off, the canopy frame is barely upright from the force of the wind, the tablecloths are furling and flapping, and the cozies are held down by books. But there I am rolling lefse. What a guy!

Actually, the wind heightened the rolling and lightened the moment. As I rolled a round thinner and thinner on my pastry board, I had to pay attention to the wind direction and shield the thin lefse from the wind with my back. Otherwise, the lefse became a spotted kite without a string.

When transferring the rolled round to the grill, I had to play the wind so when I flopped the lefse on the hot grill the wind assisted the round onto the grill and not on the ground.

And then once the round was on the grill, I could not relax but had to cover the windward side of the lefse (see above photo) so the devilish wind would not ruin a good round.

Oh, I could not remove my hand from my rolling pin or else the wind would roll it off the table.

This went on for much of the day. But with three rounds yet to make, a gust blew sand and gravel probably from a beach of nearby Lake Minnewaska. Most of the grit got into my dough, and I knew that my day was done.

But I had put up the good fight and still made good lefse. And maybe I had made everybody happy? Maybe.

Ross Hanson (above left) and Galen Tongen are reigning champs of the National Lefse Cookoff, which is a highlight each year of the Potato Days Festival in Barnesville, Minnesota. I wrote about the Cookoff in Keep On Rolling! Life on the Lefse Trail and Learning to Get a Round. Hanson and Tongen defend their title next Friday, August 23, 2024, from 1 to 3 pm. Oh, the pressure!

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, so these Ole Rollers are, as you can plainly see in the photos, practically crippled with concerns that they can repeat as champs. But they train — oh, they train — determined to once again create that perfect round of lefse. Recently, I traveled to their Lefse Training Camp in Waconia, Minnesota, to get an idea of what it is like to experience the thrill of victory — they are the national champs! — as well as the agony of dealing daily with the demons of doubt. Can they do it again?

Last year at the Potato Days Festival, I was a vendor and could not get over to the National Lefse Cookoff. But in the afternoon when the Cookoff was over, a customer came to my tent and said I gotta see these guys who won. They were really good!

Well, a year later I got to see the winners, Ross Hanson and Galen Tongen, aka the Ole Rollers, at their Lefse Training Camp. Here is an inside look at this humorous and sorta humble duo.

I asked them how they got going with making lefse. They said their church started a fundraiser in 1981, selling lefse made by congregation members.

HANSON: Originally, the fellas who started this were pretty serious. They were actually trying to make lefse at this Lucia Festival. I thought it would be fun to enliven it and asked if I could join in making lefse. They said sure and we introduced a lot of new products. We found other uses for lefse. I had a stapler for a shoe because lefse is resistant to barnyard acid, and we would staple a piece of lefse to a leaky boot, as you might expect. An empty roll of toilet paper was always a disaster in the home when you had guests, and so you always wanted to keep a little lefse on hand. And then we put Galen in charge of R & D, and that brain of his started working and he came up with a whole lot of really great products. You show him, Galen.

TONGEN: For example, we have DAB-A-DOUGH. It’s for when you are craving lefse but don’t have the dough mixed up. This is the dough mixed up for when you want a dab of dough. The beauty is you can use a standard caulk gun with that. You just squeeze a little on your rolling surface and roll it out. It’s just wonderful. And it keeps well, too. You know, this one tube has kept for around 35 years.

HANSON: I grew up with lefse with mom and dad in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

TONGEN: I grew up in Montevideo, Minnesota. Grandma Tongen made lefse, but I didn’t make it until 1987. Ross and I met through church. Actually, we met at a Halloween party. My wife and I dressed up as Ole and Lena, and we had a whole array of jokes to tell that night. I put on my Ole shtick, and Ross and Jan were there, and he grabbed ahold of that and we’ve been together ever since. First time I made lefse was right here in Ross’s barn, where a group of guys roll lefse and make sausage for the church fundraiser one big night in early December.

HANSON: Over 40 years now, we’ve contributed more than $20,000 to a church fund by making and selling lefse and sausage.

LEGWOLD: What has this last year been like? Did you have a tour, a lot of offers coming over the phone? What kind of experience have you had with your fame and fortune as the lefse champs?

HANSON: Crickets. It just never caught on.

TONGEN: Well, we got a lot of local notoriety. We made the local paper, The Waconia Patriot.

LEGWOLD: Why did you enter a lefse contest?

HANSON: We thought it would be fun. It turned out to be worth the drive of 2 ½ hours to Barnesville. I figured our lefse was really good because of the ingredients and such. People really like it compared to other options.

TONGEN: I know that the judge at Barnesville confided that there was no lefse that was close.

HANSON: I could see the faces of the competing teams, and there was severe disappointment.

LEGWOLD: There are a lot of people who make good lefse, but they don’t enter a national contest. Wasn’t there a lot of pressure?

HANSON: Oh, it was unbelievable!

LEGWOLD: Did you sleep the week before, the night before?

HANSON: Not the night before. No, no. I was up all night working on picking out potatoes and so forth. But you know, I never expected us to win. I figured it would just be fun.

LEGWOLD: Did you take your dough with you or make it there?

HANSON: No, we made it here and in the drive up there kept it in a big cooler in the morning. We floured it up a half hour before the contest started and had an hour to make lefse and then choose our best one.

LEGWOLD: Did you feel intimidated?

TONGEN: Uh, no. I think we were the intimidators. We had the shtick going in there, and we were talking smack.

HANSON: It was a little overwhelming for them when I put up the neon lefse sign. But we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves, right, Galen?

TONGEN: Absolutely!

HANSON: No, everyone was in a good mood and friendly. People were tasting each other’s lefse, sharing, talking about ingredients, and watching each other make it. But you know, I was just shocked! Some of these people didn’t use butter! They used oil! I couldn’t believe it.

LEGWOLD: What kind of oil? 10W-30 or what?

HANSON (laughing): I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Some sort of vegetable oil. I knew there was no chance for them. I shared with them, “You gotta use butter!” I love this Millerville Butter and Hope Butter. They remind us of the old butter we had at home as a kid. It’s saltier and you can barely cut it.

LEGWOLD: So both you and Galen rolled? How did you team up in that hour of ultimate pressure?

HANSON: We had made a batch of dough and each took turns rolling a round. We kept track of the ones that we thought looked most perfect, most round.

LEGWOLD: And you had an hour to pick one?

HANSON: Yep.

LEGWOLD: The one you picked, was it one you rolled early in the hour or later.

HANSON: Later. And it was Galen’s. I remember that.

TONGEN: But I must say, as far as ingredients go, Ross, being a procurement guy in his career, is never satisfied until he finds each and every ingredient to be the absolute best that he can locate. That’s a big part of it.

LEGWOLD: Have you felt that you’ve been groomed for this all your life for this, like you are the Chosen Ones who have made it to this golden field of champions?

HANSON (laughing): Yes.

TONGEN (also laughing): He’s the chosen one.

LEGWOLD: Has it been hard to keep your humility this year? You are the champs!

HANSON: We’re Norwegian. Of course it’s not difficult to maintain our humility. There’s always someone better.

LEGWOLD: Do you feel like you are marked now that you are known as the champs? Are “they” coming after you?

HANSON: We’ll find out. We’ll see who shows up for the next contest.

LEGWOLD: You have talked about your shtick. Did you strategize that you needed a shtick, or was your lefse good enough on its own?

HANSON: No, we did not do the shtick until we were introduced as winners. We were in a good mood during the contest, chatting and such. But we didn’t do our shtick until afterward. And then they were agape, slack jawed when we did our shtick. Like with the DAB-A-DOUGH, they weren’t sure we were joking. They were kinda looking at us and not necessarily laughing. I think they thought maybe we were serious. However, we didn’t go long. Brevity is the soul of wit. Leave  ‘em wanting more.

TONGEN: We had the sign. We had the gear, the Viking hats with the horns, slacks with white shirts and bow ties. And we were talking, not that we did our shtick, but we were talking with a little accent and kinda carrying on.

LEGWOLD: I must say that knowing you two and your humor, I thought, “Well, these guys may be a bit light on the lefse and heavy on the shtick.” But the shtick didn’t come until later, so you impressed me with letting your lefse speak for itself. (Editor’s note: I ate a lefse round made by the Ole Rollers, and it was excellent. Tender and tasty.)

LEGWOLD: Galen, how is it working with Ross?

TONGEN: Fun. Ross and I get along so well. We are best pals. He’s an attention-to-detail guy. He’s the crux of this. It starts with Ross. We make a good team and we’ve had so much fun through the years. Too much laughing — that’s probably our problem!

LEGWOLD: When you rolled “the one,” did you know it was the winner?

TONGEN: No, I had lots of good ones. So when we were done, we just had to pick the one that was the roundest.

HANSON: Have we mentioned the Lefse Hall of Fame at our church? No? Well, every pastor who leaves the church and moves on gets inducted into our Lefse Hall of Fame. And the Keeper of the Dead Spud Scrolls reads the official induction message.

TONGEN: We’ve inducted four or five pastors now into our Lefse Hall of Fame at church. We all march in with our horns on and carrying the scrolls.

LEGWOLD: This is bringing tears to my eyes. Quite a solemn event!

TONGEN: I think I wrote the first scroll and then kept re-adapting it and adding new material. Really fun.

LEGWOLD: Ross, how is it working with Galen?

HANSON (laughing): It could be worse. Can’t complain. He’s the creative genius here, I tell you. His sense of humor has translated into some real good stuff.

LEGWOLD: Do you feel you have to raise your game for this year’s Cookoff?

HANSON: Oh, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. One of the guys who is part of the barn lefse-making crew for our church fundraiser is always experimenting making zucchini lefse and squash lefse and such. None of us like it, but he has fun and we pretend that we like it. Anyway, he and his wife are going to compete against us. So that’ll be fun.

LEGWOLD: What is involved in your training?

HANSON (inhales flour and is coughing): One of the big problems, of course, is lefse lung. (Cough, cough, laugh, laugh). We are constantly battling lefse lung, oh my!

LEGWOLD: So you must pay more in health insurance then.

HANSON (still coughing and laughing): That we do, right Galen?

LEGWOLD: It’s clear that your humor is key to handling the immense pressure you’re facing in preparation for your return to Barnesville as the reigning National Lefse Cookoff champs. Can you disclose anything that you are planning in order to win again?

HANSON: Yeah, this next contest is going to be a challenge. I’m not sure we are ready to share. We still have to plan how we’re going to bring our game up. The truth is the lefse is probably not going to change. The lefse is there. The dough is there just waiting for hands to turn it into a work of art.

LEGWOLD: It must be thrilling thinking about your triumphant return to Barnesville next Friday.

HANSON: I don’t know, Galen. Are your feeling it? What’s it going to be like walking into that church dining hall this year?

TONGEN: Oh boy, all eyes are going to be on the Ole Rollers!

HANSON: That’s right everybody! The Ole Rollers are back!

The Lefse Limerick People’s Choice Award is for the author of the best of the rest of the lefse limericks that were not penned by the 4th Annual Lefse Limerick Contest champion. You, the readers, voted to determine who wins the People’s Choice Award.

The winner for the second straight year is Jim Leet, shown above, from Roseburg, Oregon! Congrats! Jim wins a Keep On Rolling Tote Bag Oat.

Jim has been prolific in writing lefse and lutefisk limericks over the years. He doesn’t submit an email with one or two limericks; he submits a Word doc containing scores of limericks, with a note: “Don’t hesitate to award me more than one place…” When I responded that I liked his confidence, he replied by batting away my compliment with this: “Thanks, but it conflicts with my legendary modesty.”

Jim has an original way of looking at things, and no surprise that it comes out in his limericks. Here are three that gathered the most votes for Jim:

If lefse’s your favorite food
Enhancing your Norse attitude
Your passion for rounds
As strange as it sounds
Just makes you a lovable dude

If spicy food is your desire
Then lefse won’t give you that fire
But lifting your soul
Right out of life’s hole
With lefse you’ll hear angels’ choir

The Hammer of God was with Thor
According to old Viking Lore
With Mjolnir to pound
Those thin lefse rounds
They made all in Valhalla roar!

Jim Leet

Dave Nadaskay

Another prolific lefse limerick writer is Dave Nadaskay from Fort Worth, Texas, shown below. Just about every day in March, Dave emailed at least one limerick. Toward the end of the month, he added a note to his email saying that it was his last limerick — only to submit more the next day. When he was tapped out, he wrote: “This was a lot of fun!”

This was Dave’s first lefse limerick contest. He wins the Let’s Make Lefse! Jigsaw Puzzle.

Here are three limericks that gathered the most votes for Dave:

My love for lefse I’m admittin’
But all other food habits I’m quittin’
Lefse brings my life joy
And quells all that annoy
But my clothes, they are no longer fittin’

A Viking in Asgard did ponder
How on earth did they make such a wonder 
Lefse tastes so delicious
I’m sure it grants wishes
And leaves me with no need to plunder

If you’re forced to live up in the snow
Just roll out some blest tater dough
Like a cozy old sweater
Lefse makes the heart better
And warms up your soul til you glow

Dave Nadaskay

Wrapping up the 4th Annual Lefse Limerick Contest, it’s been a great one! Congrats again to John Ziegenhagen, who won, and to the People’s Choice Award winners Jim Leet and Dave Nadaskay. To the victors belong the spoils, but to all who wrote limericks this year goes my respect and gratitude. I tip my hat and smile. You provided great wit and joy.

The Lefse Limerick People’s Choice Award is for the author of the best of the rest of the lefse limericks that were not penned by the 4th Annual Lefse Limerick Contest champion. You, the readers, vote to determine who wins the prizes for the People’s Choice Award winner. The prizes are:

Below are 33 pretty dang good lefse limericks worthy of winning the above prizes. The lefse limericks are listed by number only, not by name. Take your time in reading, and then vote for the number of your three most favorite limericks. You can vote for your own limerick and two other limericks by someone else. Vote simply by emailing me at glegwold@lutefisk.com and make sure you vote by end of day May 3, 2024.

Here are the 33 lefse limericks eligible for the People’s Choice Award. Email me at glegwold@lutefisk.com by end of day May 3, 2024, and include the numbers of your three favorites.

1. 
If you’re ever in need of a purative
Eat lefse, I say, most assurative
You just can’t be sad
When it’s lefse you had
For your life it’s the best kind of curative

2. 
If lefse’s your favorite food
Enhancing your Norse attitude
Your passion for rounds
As strange as it sounds
Just makes you a lovable dude

3. 
When cold weather has taken its toll
I give comfort to body and soul
With a soothing warm round
And advice very sound --
Life ls lefse, let's get on a roll!

4. 
My love for lefse I’m admittin’ 
But all other food habits I’m quittin’ 
Lefse brings my life joy
And quells all that annoy
But my clothes, they are no longer fittin’

5. 
Jack clasped his lefse dearly
As a robber stated quite clearly
“See I’ve got this knife,
It’s your lefse or your life”
Jack paused to think over this query

6. 
A crusty old German named Lest
Ate sausage with gusto and zest
Till the day he met Hesta
And tasted her lefse
His lunch and his life were both blessed.

7. 
A viking in Asgard did ponder
How on earth did they make such a wonder 
Lefse tastes so delicious 
I’m sure it grants wishes
And leaves me with no need to plunder

8. 
Your life’s at the end of its rope
Fresh lefse will help you to cope
Your spirit will soar
You’ll always want more
And never again will you mope

9. 
Christmas pudding is heavy like lead
And lutefisk looks and smells dead.
To make spirits bright
Roll a circle just right
And let “lefse joy” fill up your head.

10. 
Lefse is life, so they say,
And I eat it up every day,
Sav’ry or sweet,
It just can’t be beat,
Flavored and rolled any way!

11. 
There once was a viking named Viddel
Who traded his sword for a griddle
He made lefse with butter
Without missing his cutter
And was happily round in the middle

12. 
Lefse like life can be tragic
Not every batch turns out like magic
When your dough feels like glue
And you haven’t a clue
How to fix it, that’s problematic

13. 
First add butter and spread with a knife
Then a sprinkle of sugar, just right.
Each bite soon melts away
All the gloom of the day.
We like to say, "Lefse is Life".

14. 
Is lefse much better than sex?
The question is rather complex
Depends on the day
And what you might say
The answer is certain to vex

15. 
Lusty Lillian lefse rolled
Mate Olaf is dying she’s told
Since lefse is life
He begged of his wife
Feed me lefse before I go cold

16. 
I believe that I need a good rest 
And lefse will make it the best 
The answer I was told
Is buttered then rolled
And my life would forever be blessed

17. 
It is certainly life's little joys
That quiet the sadness and noise.
A filled coffee cup
Or some lefse rolled up
As balms they're the real McCoys.

18. 
If you’re forced to live up in the snow
Just roll out some blest tater dough
Like a cozy old sweater
Lefse makes the heart better
And warms up your soul til you glow.

19. 
It's some work but it's worth it to make.
Your reward for the trouble you take
Is the finest of fare
For that feeling you share…
Life is lefse…believe…and partake.

20. 
Ancestors live on, at our table
Lefse traditions keep us stable
But lefse carbs count,
Belly fat does mount!
So exercise too, when you're able!

21. 
When you happen to need some relief
From life’s worry and toil and grief
Eat some lefse for livin’ 
Like a sinner forgivin’ 
And then cook up some more and repeat
 
22. 
If spicy food is your desire
Then lefse won’t give you that fire
But lifting your soul
Right out of life’s hole
With lefse you’ll hear angels’ choir

23. 
A lefse cook once told me “Son,
To pursue a good life simply won,
Eat your lefse twice nightly
And live your life rightly
And always make time to have fun.”

24. 
Shakespeare explored man’s condition
Beethoven, made music his mission
Then there was Ole and Sven
Two good Norskie men
Great lefse, their highest ambition

25. 
The Hammer of God was with Thor
According to old Viking Lore
With Mjolnir to pound
Those thin lefse rounds
They made all in Valhalla roar!

26. 
Loving lefse is all that I need
To make living well my daily creed.
It isn’t a stretch
To make me go fetch
Another round of this fine feed.

27. 
If lefse’s the joy of your life
Be careful in choosing a wife
Or make it yourself
With help from an elf
And shortstop some possible strife

28. 
Ole milked his cows in the snowstorm
But the drifts trapped him inside the barn.
He'd packed "lefse to go"
Well ahead of the snow
And it saved him until it got warm.

29. 
They say lefse can cure a cold heart
And your love, it will never depart 
You’ll both be much warmer
If you’re the prince charmer
With lefse as your Cupid’s dart

30. 
You can feed me a line but don't try it.
I know what I need when I spy it.
You can have your square meal --
The well rounded appeal
Of my lefse will do as life's diet.

31. 
There once was a tater that mused
“I don’t want to be mashed and abused!
Unless lefse’s the goal
And to cure a sad soul
In which case I’m greatly enthused!”

32. 
If lefse’s the soul of existence
Its useless to put up resistance
The rounds that you love
Were sent from above
Rewards for your fervent persistence

33. 
In MN, where lefse's a delight,
We roll it thin and cook it right.
Butter and sugar so sweet,
It's a treat you can't beat,
Lefse life in MN, makes my pants tight!

Again, email me at glegwold@lutefisk.com by May 3, 2024, with the numbers of your favorite three. The People’s Choice Award winners will be named in the May newsletter. Good luck, all!

And the winner is … John Ziegenhagen of St. Louis Park, Minnesota!

John entered the contest late this year, and I was worried that his deep, deep limerick well had run dry. But on the last day of accepting limericks, John sent a Word doc of 15 limericks under the cryptic title of “The Lost Limerick Scrolls”. His email simply said,

“I got on a religious kick that I couldn’t lick.”

John

Well, after reading these 15 shimmering limericks, I am certainly glad John found the lost limerick scrolls. The limericks are good, very good. Champion good!

At first I wondered if John had simply found them and not written them. Oh, dear! However, he assured me that in this “religious kick that he couldn’t lick” he saw the light that helped him find his true center — where he sensed the message: “Lefse is life.” In his epiphany on the final day to enter the limerick contest, he dashed off to me these 15 limericks. The rest is history.

Here are three of the limericks, the combination that won John the championship of the 4th Annual Lefse Limerick Contest:

At Communion we used to have bread
But our new pastor served lefse instead.
I’m not going to libel,
It’s right in the Bible.
“Lefse is life,” Jesus said.
 
Brother Lazarus was ready to die
As Jesus was just passing by.
“Wake up, you old geezer.
Become a believer.
‘Cause lefse will make you so spry.”
 
Old Moses, he climbed up that hill.
He admitted it gave him a thrill.
It wasn’t the commandments
That held such enchantments.
‘Twas the lefse God made on His grill.

John Ziegenhagen

John is the first repeat champion of the Lefse Limerick Contest, having won the first contest in 2021. Here is the full list of past champions:

• 2024 – John Ziegenhagen, St. Louis Park, Minnesota
• 2023 – Peter Holbrook, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 2022 – Margie Oloughlin, Northfield, Minnesota
• 2021 – John Ziegenhagen, Minnetonka, Minnesota

John’s award for winning is this prized t-shirt:

I received an intriguing email from Bruce Ludvigson last Thanksgiving that has tempted me to change my lefse recipe, or at least add a wonderful change-of-pace recipe.

Hi Gary,

Just made lefse on Saturday with my 92-year-old brother. [ I’m 81. ] We have been rolling for a lot of years, and we found out our recipe using buttermilk has more flavor then using cream or whipping cream. Don’t know if you have tried this or not, but in the event you have not, give it a whirl. Best regards and have a happy and festive Thanksgiving.

Bruce Ludvigson

OK, Bruce, I got around to trying buttermilk lefse last week … and I love it! Thank you for goosing me to think a bit outside my box.

I simply swapped out buttermilk for cream in my regular lefse recipe. When I make it again, I will add a splash more of buttermilk than my regular amount of cream because I like the flavor so well. The buttermilk adds just the right amount of an engaging buttery sour to what can turn out to be a heavy dose of sugar when you add all the toppings to your finished lefse round.

In addition, the buttermilk made for a really soft, tender lefse round, and that’s notable because I make soft, tender lefse with my regular recipe.

Finally, when I put my buttermilk lefse rounds in a plastic bag and then into the refrigerator after a day or so, the lefse seemed to stay more tender than my regular lefse, which can toughen just a tad in the fridge.

What’s not to like? I may be caught up in the moment, but I am tempted to make buttermilk lefse my regular lefse. Give it a try!

After six years of watching and learning from the pros, I am now making the heirloom lefse rolling pins that I sell. Below is my article about making these pins, which appeared in last December’s issue of American Woodturner magazine.