News of Norway, issue 5, 1998
They call themselves the Norskedalen Trio and were selected to perform at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival that took place on the mall from the end of June to the beginning of July. Initiated in 1967, the Folklife Festival has become a national and international model of a research-based presentation of contemporary living and cultural traditions. It attracts between 1 and 1.5 million visitors each year.
This year, the state of Wisconsin, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary, was selected to be featured along with the Baltic Nations, the Philippines and the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo River Basin.
The three 100 percent second generation Norwegian-Americans that make up the Norskedalen Trio were contacted last spring by Richard March of the Fine Arts Department in Madison, Wisconsin. He called the group and asked them if they were interested in trying out for the festival. March came to hear them play and got a tape of the Trio that he played for a panel in Washington, D.C. The first week of December, Norskedalen Trio received word that they had been selected and were indeed going to Washington, D.C.
Olson said that she thinks they were chosen partly because of their Scandinavian background. "They were looking for that," she said.
To prepare for the event, the group practiced and selected out of a repertoire of about 300 songs the ones that were coming to the Festival. "We brought 141 tunes for this occasion, just in case," said Tip Bagstad, who, when he doesn't sing old Norwegian love songs, plays fiddle. The Trio had 19 performances during the festival.
The group got their name from the nature center, Norskedalen, in Coon Valley, Wisconsin. Back in 1982, the three started out entertaining at Norskedalen board meetings. Tip Bagstad was on the board and Olson had a daughter who was a board member.
Tip had just bought a used fiddle at a farmers auction and taught himself how to play by going to fiddle competitions, taping the fiddlers. Since he doesn't read music, he plays by ear. Olson started playing the accordion again and Eleanor was brought in to play the piano. A reporter from a local newspaper came to one of the board meetings where the Trio performed and later wrote, "Could this be the Norskedalen Trio?" The name stuck.
From board meetings, the three retirees-Tip Bagstad is a retired farmer, carpenter and heavy machinery operator, Eleanor is a retired elementary school teacher and Beatrice is a retired dairy farmer-graduated to dances, festivals, lags, birthdays and other events.
"This is the highlight of our lives," Eleanor said about the festival. Olson added, "We really feel honored from the bottom of our hearts." The Smithsonian Folklife Festival certainly is their biggest event, so far.