Hallinglag of America

2026 Stevne,
Taken at Norway House, Minneapolis, MN.
Photo by Mike Kelly

Hallingdal

"Hallingdal is a rugged mountain valley in Norway, part of Buskerud County (fylke).  Many people migrated from this valley coming to America and Canada, especially during the 1800's. The Hallinglag is an organization formed in 1907 by these immigrants and their descendants. The Hallinglag aims to preserve and promote the unique cultural heritage given to us by these pioneers."

The above paragraph appears in each issue of Hallingen-the magazine that keeps Hallinglag members up-to-date on lag happenings and the message sums up why this group has actively pursued knowledge about its Norwegian heritage. The Hallinglag has published Hallingen, which was given that name in 1912, since 1908. The magazine is just one of the lag's many strengths. Several historical societies and libraries have complete collections, as do members and others. Although Hallingen was printed entirely in Norwegian for years, today only an occasional article is written in Norse.

The Banner

The Hallinglag banner was presented to the Hallinglag of America in Gol, Norway, June 1914. Members of the Hallinglag of America take pride in the lag's banner, which is pictured on the front of each issue of Hallingen and was depicted on a commemorative plate created in 1975. Sixty-one years before that, Hallinglag members helped establish the tradition of commemorating the lag's heritage when a group of them traveled to Norway to celebrate the country's 100th anniversary of independence. A total of 1,242 Norwegian Americans went on that trip.  The Americans brought the Norwegians many gifts; in return the Norwegian Hallings traveled to America the following year and presented the Hallinglag of America with a silk banner made in Christiania. The banner's motif is from Hol, Norway, and Hallingskarvet is in the background. The man's costume is from the Norwegian town of Aal and the woman's is from the town of Gol. The banner proudly declares the lag's theme, "Let Us Not Forget Our Forefathers" which is from an Ivar Aasen poem.

The original banner was retired in 2017 and is housed at the Myra Museum in Grand Forks ND. That original banner was beautiful and a treasure, however, transporting it to yearly Stevnes became a logistical problem. This new, retractable banner was created in 2017 and will be used from here forward. The new banner is 7 feet tall and weighs 5 pounds, making it easy to transport and store.

Stevne Information

The 2027 Stevne will be held with Valdres Samband in
June, in and around Glenwood, MN.

A joint committee is working on details and programming.
More information will be posted at a later date.

Questions can be directed to the Hallinglag President, Marie Renneke.

A Letter from the President
September - 2026

View the Letter from the President.

Hallingen Index 1984 - 2014

Click here to load index.

The above link loads a .pdf file with an index to issues of Hallingen,
published by the Hallinglag of America between 1984 and 2014.

This index also includes information on where these issues may be found.

Membership Information

For a mail in Membership Form Click Here

LINKS

https://www.rrvgs.org/

This is the home page of the Red River Valley Genealogical Society in Fargo, North Dakota where the 400+ resources in the Hallinglag of America M.Kay Buckingham Memorial Family History Collection are housed and available to researchers.  Click on the "Norwegian Collection" button for more information.

http://www.hallingdolen.no/
This link is to the online version of local newspaper in Hallingdal.

http://www.radiohallingdal.no/

This link is to the page of the local radio station in Hallingdal.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/hallinglag/

This link is to our FaceBook page.

This site hosted by Norwegian-American Bygdelagenes Fellesraad : www.fellesraad.com