Sharing Love with Lefse

By Nancy Meisel Youngman

What can you do with mashed potatoes, cream, butter and a little bit of love? Make lefse!

Thankfully, we have a neighborhood friend who combined those ingredients to provide lefse for sale to the Epworth community and the Seward/ Longfellow neighborhood.

Julia Vanetta knows that this pandemic season has been hard for everyone. She shared her skills and a favorite family recipe to bring cheer to neighbors and financial support to several charitable organizations, including Epworth.

Not only did Julia make lefse to sell at Epworth’s Holiday Boutique in November and other places, she also donated all proceeds to Epworth, Second Harvest Heartland, and Sisters Camelot.

Julia learned to make lefse from her sister who learned to make lefse from their Norwegian grandmother.

When Julia was a young girl, she sold wooden “lefse turners” at her parent’s store. These turners were made of hard wood by her grandfather who immigrated from Sweden in 1907 and later married his Norwegian wife. Together, they made beautiful lefse!

Julia, her sister, grandniece and others continue to keep this tradition alive.

A family recipe, mashed potatoes, cream, butter, and skillful hands brought some needed warmth and stability to our community!

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Epworth Echoes: Winter 2021

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