By Iola Historical Society
Watch Norwegian pastry making, lefse making, and Lost Arts artisans ply their crafts at the Annual Taste of Norway & Lost Arts Fair to be held Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Iola Historical Society at 210 Depot Street just west of downtown Iola.
The Annual Fall Craft & Gift Show will be hosted on the grounds as well. The event is free, with the Taste of Norway demonstrations and sales from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., while the Fall Craft Show vendors will open at 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., at the society’s Historic Iola Village complex.
Featured this year will be a Waupaca County historic first: the first car sold and registered in the county, a 1903 Ford Model A Runabout.
Taste Of Norway raffle tickets are being sold locally by Iola Historical Society members and will also be available on site the day of the event. The price per raffle ticket is $3, or two tickets for $5. Prizes include $500 as first prize, $200 as third prize and other prizes donated by area businesses and organizations. The drawing will take place at 1:45 p.m. Winners need not be present to win.
Proceeds from the event are being used to pay for the restoration of the historic Iola & Northern Railroad depot, built in 1894, along with other Iola Historical Society needs.
Norwegian pastries
Taste of Norway provides visitors with tastes of Norwegian pastries as well as demonstrations on how they are made. Historical society members and local residents experienced in preparing Norwegian goodies, ranging from lefse, krumkaka, sandbakkels, rosettes, and fattigman, will explain and demonstrate how to make them. The demonstrations run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The pastries and other homemade baked goods will be available to purchase, while supplies last, in dozen and half-dozen increments. Coffee will be available for purchase too.
Iola’s famous Crystal Café will also be selling food. Scandinavia’s Trout Bum Bakery will have baked goods for sale – scones, cookies, pastries, breads.
The Iola Lions will be holding a brat fry, along with grilled hot dogs and brats, with an option to have the hot dog or brat placed in lefse, rather than in a bun. Troop 631 (Iola) of the Boy Scouts of America will be selling soda and water. The Taste of Norway food court will be located inside the Machine Shed. A local Girl Scout troop will assist with carrying food and cleaning off tables.
1903 Ford Model A Runabout
Acquired by the late Chet Krause in 1972, restored in the mid-1970s, this historic vehicle was displayed at a 1978 luncheon in Milwaukee celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Ford Motor Company. It was regularly featured as an Iola Old Car Show attraction for the next 30 years. In 2006 it was sold to and has been subsequently displayed at the Antique Car Museum of Iowa, located in the Iowa City suburb of Coralville.
The first car sold in Waupaca County, to a Mr. Ware of Waupaca, this vehicle was subsequently traded to the Ford garage in Weyauwega, an agency that was sold to Oscar Weisman in 1927, with the 1903 Ford being included in the deal.
Krause acquired the vehicle from Weisman in 1972. It was restored by Milt Colden of Clintonville, with the engine being completely rebuilt by Jack Dietz using parts from two engines.
The 1903 Ford Model A Runabout, Henry Ford’s first production model, featured eight or ten horsepower two-cylinder engines, with a combined estimate of 1,700 being produced. Other automotive pioneers contributing to the vehicles included the Dodge brothers (engines, drive trains and chassis), and A.P. Bursh (styling), with final assembly by Ford, it bears serial number 605. It is one of perhaps 80 survivors.
Lost Arts Fair
The popular Lost Arts Fair aspect of the event brings artisans to the Village showing how things used to be done. Lost arts ranging from jewelry making, rosemaling, rug weaving, soap making and woodcarving, among others, will be demonstrated. Some of the artisans have items for sale.
“One-Room Schoolhouse Kid’s Activities” will take place in the replica vintage schoolhouse, sponsored by the Sons Of Norway’s Norskeland Lodge 5-580 of Iola. Beginning at 10 a.m., craft projects and snacks will be part of the activities. Kids and adults can try out the vintage corn sheller that will be in place in front of the schoolhouse.
The Annual Fall Gift & Craft Show, which runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., includes vendors selling wool mittens, scarves, runners, handmade soaps; Norwegian wear; jewelry; embroidery; decorations for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas; soy candles; quilted items; handmade caramels, doll cloths; metal garden-art sculptures; and many other items.
Tours of on-site historic buildings
Iola Historical Society docents will provide information on the historic buildings on the grounds, which include the Helvetia Town Hall; a replica of Iola’s first fire station; replica of a one-room schoolhouse; a circa-1920s log cabin, originally used locally by hunters; the original Iola & Northern Railway depot and a vintage caboose. All buildings will be open for tours, except for the depot which is undergoing renovations.
The society’s museum will also be open during the event. The displays include the Wayne Towne Native American artifacts exhibit; vintage Norwegian immigrant items; the Stromberg violin collection, and many other items of local history.
Also featured is a display dedicated to Lee Nelson, Iola’s “Humble Hero.” Nelson was a B-17 bomber pilot who flew several dozen missions over France and Germany in World War II. His autobiography, published by the Iola Historical Society, is available for sale at the event, along with other local history books.
There is also a developing exhibit for Chester L. Krause, world-renowned publisher and philanthropist, who passed away in 2016.
The Machine Shed contains vintage farming and manufacturing equipment used locally, including the machines from Iola’s R.I. Anderson Machine Shop. Also featured is the Bestul Sports Car that was custom crafted in the 1950s by Iola native Lee Bestul.
Fire extinguisher check and vintage tractors
The Iola & Rural Fire Department will be holding its annual fire extinguisher check at the 1901 vintage Iola fire station at the Iola Historic Village. The department has arranged with licensed fire systems supplier Fire Pro to provide, at a nominal charge of $5 per unit, onsite fire extinguisher checks from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Department personnel will check and service personal handheld fire extinguishers to be sure they are current for use and insurance purposes. The replica station contains Iola’s first three pieces of mechanized firefighting apparatus, dating from 1913, 1926, and 1942.
Members of the Central Wisconsin Tractor Club will have classic tractors on display.