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FINDING AID

Astrid Lodge No. 9 (Omaha, Nebraska) meeting minutes and other materials, 1939–1953

COLLECTION SUMMARY

Collection Title: 
Astrid Lodge No. 9 (Omaha, Nebraska) meeting minutes and other materials

Collection Number:    
I/O:7

Dates: 
10 June 1939, September 1934–February 1953, and undated

Size:    
1 box (.25 linear feet) and one photograph in oversized box        

Language:    
Swedish (bulk) and English

Creator/Collector:    
Astrid Lodge No. 9 (Omaha, Neb.)

Subject Headings:    
Astrid Lodge No. 9 (Omaha, Neb.)
Independent Order of Vikings
Omaha (Neb.)
Nebraska
Afternoon Past Presidents Club
Swedish American Women
Swedish Americans--History--20th century
Swedish Americans--Nebraska--Omaha--Societies, etc

Repository:    
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.

Abstract:    
This collection contains meeting minutes from the Afternoon Past President’s Club, and a ledger of financial records from the Astrid Lodge No. 9, founded in Omaha, Nebraska around 1906. The Astrid Lodge No. 9 was composed of young immigrant women from Sweden, whose presidents formed the Afternoon Past President’s Club, and came together once a month for lunch and a meeting. 

RIGHTS AND ACCESS

Conditions Governing Access:    
Collection is open for research.

Reproduction and Use:    
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the Swenson Center and the copyright holder. 

Preferred Citation:    
[item identification], in I/O:7 Astrid Lodge No. 9 (Omaha, Nebraska) meeting minutes and other materials, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. 

ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATERIALS

Provenance:    
Transferred from Astrid Lodge No. 9 (Omaha, Nebraska). Materials donated by Mrs. Katherine Ahlgren Orton in 1986.

Source of Acquisition:    
Gift of Mrs. Katherine Ahlgren Orton in 1986.

Processed By:    
Processed by Kermit Westerberg, 1980s. Finding aid written by Shelby Jensen, 2018. 

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

Administrative/Biographical History:    
Astrid Lodge No. 9 was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, around 1906. The Lodge was composed of young immigrant women who came to America from Sweden, and was an offshoot of the Ladies of Vikings, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois until the early 1970s. The presidents of the Lodge formed a group called the Afternoon Past President’s Club, and met together once a month for lunch and a meeting. The men’s lodges, The Independent Order of Vikings, are still in existence and active as of 2018. 

Scope and Content:    
The collection includes four books of minutes with some loose leaves for the Afternoon Past President’s Club. Included are also a bound ledger of treasurer’s records, September 1934 through December 1940; one printed ritual for Ladies of Vikings order; and one oversize, mounted sepia-tone photograph of an unidentified organization gathering.

System of Arrangement:    
Materials arranged chronologically.

Collection Inventory:    
Box 1:
Folder 1: Black and red financial record book for Astrid Lodge No. 9, 6 September through 7 November 1940, Swedish.
Folder 2: Ritual for The Independent Order Ladies of Vikings, including rules and business order of meetings, organizing a new lodge, annual meeting of the Supreme Lodge, and funeral ceremony, 10 June 1939, Swedish and English.
Folder 3: Two books of minutes from the Afternoon Past Presidents Club. Book one dated 11 November 1941 through 14 August 1944. Book two dated 11 September 1944 through 12 July 1949, Swedish.
Folder 4: Two books of minutes from the Afternoon Past President’s Club. Book one (plus addenda) dated 1 November 1949 through 16 December 1950. Book two dated 7 November 1950 through 6 January 1953, Swedish. 

Oversized:
Item 1: Oversized (8 x 22.5 in.), sepia photograph of unidentified Astrid Lodge No. 9 gathering, undated.

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