Nebraska’s Swedish capital celebrates community with monthly meal
In Sweden, gemensam maltid means community meal. In Nebraska’s Swedish capital, the art of a community meal is practiced monthly at Oakland’s Swedish Heritage Center.
From meatloaf to chicken and biscuits, volunteers put together a menu that’s designed to feed hundreds of people on the first Sunday of each month. Occasionally, dinners are hosted on the second Sunday, if a holiday, such as Easter, falls on the first Sunday.
Cooks use traditional calendar events when planning the menu, said Brenda Pearson, an Oakland native and volunteer with the heritage center. In March, diners will feast on corned beef and cabbage in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. November typically features a Thanksgiving-themed meal.
The June meal will be with the feeling of a traditional Swedish smorgasbord, a community buffet. The event – Midsummer – will be hosted at the city park, Pearson said.
The dinners allow Oakland residents to practice the traditions of their Swedish ancestors’ gemensam maltid.
“The meals are important because food brings people together, and in Oakland, they love to eat, visit, and support other organizations,” Pearson said.
Sunday dinners have been offered since 2016, she said. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the heritage center volunteers turned to offering meals-to-go. The option remains popular today.
She and others volunteer to prepare the meals and serve them out of the center’s kitchen, which was remodeled a few years ago, using repurposed wood and fixtures. Up to 10 volunteers help serve dinner, Pearson said.
As people arrive, they proceed to the kitchen’s window, where they’re served their food. They can then find a table to sit and enjoy a hearty meal.
Egg coffee, a Swedish tradition
During the luncheon, volunteers offer a hot cup of freshly-brewed egg coffee. A Swedish-American tradition, a raw egg is added to coffee grounds before brewing the coffee, resulting in a mild-tasting drink. Some diehard egg coffee drinkers have been known to use the crushed eggshell, as well.
While most diners are from Oakland and the surrounding area, others are one-timers, Pearson said.
“Once in a while, we have folks drive by on the highway and see our sign (near a life-size Dala horse),” she said.
Meals are free to the public, but goodwill donations are appreciated, Pearson said.
People visiting the heritage center are encouraged to tour the history museum on the main floor of a renovated church, she said.
With stained glass windows providing a beautiful, colorful backdrop, the heritage center includes the church’s pews.
Transformed into a museum, the heritage center tells Oakland’s history through a series of exhibits, from its early days through the late 1970s, when Oakland’s schools merged with nearby Craig to form Oakland-Craig Public Schools. Of course, colorful traditional dance outfits and dala horses (Sweden’s national symbol) are featured throughout the heritage center.
Oakland, hometown of former Nebraska Governor Val Peterson, was named as Nebraska’s Swedish Capital by then-Gov. Kay Orr in 1987. The town was founded in 1863 by John Oaks, a Norwegian, as a home for Swedish immigrants.
Peterson served as Nebraska’s governor for six years, 1947-53. He became the United States ambassador to Denmark, 1957-61, serving during President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration, and 1967-71 as ambassador to Finland during the Richard Nixon administration.
Oakland has been in a light-hearted rivalry with Stromsburg as Nebraska’s true Swedish Capital. Then-Gov. Val Morrison bestowed that town as the Swede Capital of Nebraska in 1963. You may not want to bring that subject up over the monthly lunch, though.
In the meantime, plan a trip to Oakland on the first Sunday of the month for a delicious meal. And, as they say in Sweden, “bra att äta (good eating).”
