One who loved the State Fair

The Minnesota State Fair always brings back fond memories of Aunt Annette (Annette Sprick Kulseth, Aug. 23, 1914-Jan. 8, 2002), who loved the fair and even got her picture taken there by a Minneapolis Tribune photographer. For many years, she worked at the fair diner operated by St. Olaf Lutheran Church of Minneapolis, making delicious Swedish meatballs and other ethnic delicacies that caused old Norwegians to wobble tearfully and genuflect. (Annette was 100 percent German-American, of course, but embraced Norwegian-ism after marrying Uncle Hart. She could rosemale better than expert Norwegian rosemalers, for instance.) This photo wasn't taken at the fair, but rather at St. Olaf itself at its centennial celebration on July 4, 1976. St. Olaf, in north Minneapolis, was once a church composed entirely of Norwegian-Americans. Now, under the leadership of the Rev. Dale Hulme, it serves inner-city African-Americans, Liberian immigrants and other core-city folks. Annette loved the church, and stuck with it proudly through all its changes. After she died, your scrapblog editor wrote a newspaper story about the church's Christmas concert, which remains a lovely event. Some things change, but some things do not.