About 100 yards from the Red River that snakes between Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., the dream of a man, Gaylord "Guy" Paulson, reaches towards the sky.
News of Norway, issue 5, 1998
"Guy" Paulson and his brother covered up the concrete foundation with stones collected near the family farmstead outside Philip, S.D.
This dream, a replica of the Hopperstad stave church in Vik on Sognefjorden, rises 40 feet tall, another 30 feet if you count the steeple and ornamentation, and an extra 5 if you count the weathervane. The "footprint" of the church, distinguished by its hand carved decorative work, is only 33 by 57 feet.
In late June, some 70-80 of Paulson's relatives, a delegation of over 100 people from Vik, including the vice governor of Sogn Sjur Hopperstad, citizens and dignitaries from Moorhead and Fargo (including mayors from both cities) and Norwegian Consul General of Minneapolis Ulf Christiansen gathered for the public dedication. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the 21st Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival. The church will belong to the city of Moorhead. Mayor of Moorhead Morrie Lanning, said in his speech, that this was the biggest gift Moorhead had ever received on the cultural side. He also promised to take care of the church in the thousands of years to come.
Consul General Christiansen thanked Paulson for the gift to Moorhead and the task he had undertaken. It underscores the close ties between the two cities and Norway and all the Norwegian-Americans in the area, he said.
Gifts were also exchanged and a dinner was hosted the same evening.
Paulson's idea to build a stave church replica originated in the early to mid 1980s when he saw the Chapel of the Hills, a replica of the Borgund stave church, in Rapid City, S.D.
I am of Norwegian heritage, Christian heritage and I like to build and carve, said Paulson, expressing the other factors that prompted him to recreate a piece of Norway in Moorhead, Minnesota.
Paulson's father, Kristian Paulson, came to America on a boat with his parents as a baby. At the Paulson homestead near Philip, South Dakota, Grandpa Jens Paulson would farm until 1929, when after the death of his wife, he returned to Norway. The rest of the family stayed. Paulson grew up in this largely Norwegian community. As a boy, the Hilland Lutheran Church in northern Haaken County was an important center in his life.
The next step was to decide on what church to build. After King Olav II had converted Norway to Christianity by decree (1015-1030), stave churches were built around the country. It is estimated that in the year 1300, around 900 stave churches had been built. About 29 of these stave churches-the name comes from the vertical posts, "staves," that dominate the interior and create its structure-remain today. Paulson narrowed his choice down to four churches: Borgund Church in Sogn, built just before 1250; Gol Church, built in about 1250 in Hallingdal, now in the Folk Museum in Oslo; Eidsborg Church in Telemark, built in about 1300; and Hopperstad Church in Sogn, built shortly after 1200.
In his opinion, Paulson said, the Borgund, Gol and Hopperstad churches are the most attractive ones. Since the Borgund church had already been replicated in the South Dakota Black Hills and Minot were talking about reproducing the Gol Church, Paulson narrowed it down to the Hopperstad Church.
"There are bigger ones," Paulson said, " but [Hopperstad] was of a size that was somehow manageable financially. Paulson, his wife, Beva, and his sister, DeMaris Mathison of Marshalltown, Iowa, have paid for the construction of the church. Paulson has not revealed how much the church will cost. It is listed in the city building permits at $180,000.
Only the estimated contracting costs are covered in this price, not the woodcarving and other donated services.
"I think it is alright for someone who has been so lucky as we have to give something back," Paulson said.
In 1956, Paulson left the farm and spent two years in the army. After the service, he attended South Dakota State University in Brookings where he earned a degree in animal science and chemistry. He received his master's and doctorate degree in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin.
In 1967, he moved to Fargo with his wife Beva and worked for the agricultural research service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Paulson has earned an international reputation for tracking the destinies of chemicals in farm animals. Beva Paulson works in the medical field.
He took up woodcarving and started building furniture in the early 1970s. But it was only five years ago he took his first formal woodcarving course. Paulson is doing all the woodcarving, distinct for the stave churches, himself. In January of 1996, he took out early retirement so he could dedicate all his time to the church project.
According to Paulson, some services, like the architects and structural engineers worked without charge. Other donations, like the electrical fixtures and so on were also donated.
Volunteers have helped him saw the diamond shaped shingles. In his speech during the dedication ceremony, Paulson recognized these peoples' hard work, dedication and donations, which have made his project possible.
Paulson has done all of the woodcarvings, including dragon-like figures and acanthus (stylized vines).
Because of the clay soil at the grounds of the Hjemkomst Center, the church had to be built on a concrete foundation. But Paulson and the other workers have done a marvelous job of hiding the foundation and other modern means, steel screws and plates, used to secure the construction.
The original churches in Norway would rock back and forth for a few years before settling in. No such inaugural movements for the Moorhead replica. It has been thoroughly secured with modern means. To cover the concrete foundation, Paulson, with help from his brother Gordon, has laid stones collected from his parents' farmstead near Philip, South Dakota.
The inside of the church is still not quite finished. Paulson said he estimates it will take him one to two years to finish it. It is up to the city to decide its use. To get access to the church, you have to buy a pass to the Hjemkomst Center, the home of the Viking ship replica Hjemkomst, built by Robert Asp and sailed to Norway in 1982.
The church will also be used for weddings, baptisms, reunions and other similar events.