Camp Little Norway Association papers, 1941-1947

Biography/History:
The Camp Little Norway Association, Inc. (C.L.N.A.) supported Norwegian armed forces and civilians during and shortly after World War II. It was established in 1941 after a group of American citizens of Norwegian descent from Minneapolis visited Camp Little Norway, a training facility for the Royal Norwegian Air Force located in Toronto, Canada. The C.L.N.A. raised funds for occupied Norway and Norwegian nationals in Canada and the United States for medical care, food, housing, clothing, and recreation in hospitals and convalescent homes, with a special focus on aid to Camp Little Norway and the Norwegian Merchant Marine. The first official meeting of the C.L.N.A. was on September 23, 1941. The organization was incorporated under the laws of the State of Minnesota and registered with the President’s War Relief Control Board, the United States licensing authority for national relief for the benefit of foreign countries.

The C.L.N.A. was led by its National Headquarters in Minneapolis with a board of directors. The national board was made up of prominent Norwegian Americans, some of whom changed roles or left the board during the war years. Board members included the C.L.N.A.’s president Albert Lindholm (of the Lyon Fish Company of Minneapolis); vice president Richard Larson (an executive at Honeywell Heat Regulator Company); chairman of the Film and Lecture Committee and secretary Jacob Stefferud (acting Consul for Norway in Minneapolis); secretary Dr. Sverre Norborg (Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota), who served until he was called to the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, D.C.; secretary Hans Thorsdalen, who served until he joined military service; secretary and counsel Gerhard N. Sonnesyn; treasurer Gustav Svendsen, who served until he joined the 99th Battalion; treasurer Julius P. Blegen; treasurer Raymond M. Hoitomt; accountant and auditor Edwin L. Pearson; John Akslen (sales executive of Paulle-Midway Fixture and Show Case Company); Karl R. Andresen (secretary of the Supreme Lodge of the Sons of Norway); and Arthur Lystad (attorney). Dr. Trygve Alstad was the C.L.N.A.’s agent in Toronto.

Organized under the national board were five regional United States divisions: Eastern, Central/North Central, Southern, Northwest Pacific, and Southern Pacific. Within these divisions, as many as 34 local chapters were created in cities across the country, with the largest chapters based in Chicago, New York, and Seattle. Several national organizations, the National Ski Association and the Supreme Lodge of the Sons of Norway, acted as special chapters of the C.L.N.A. Local chapters raised money by hosting film showings, lecture tours, concerts, and meals, and by gathering membership pledges. Women’s knitting and sewing circles contributed clothing items. 

During a final arrangement with the President’s War Relief Control Board and the National War Fund effective October 1, 1944, the C.L.N.A. and other Norwegian-American relief organizations–American Friends of Norway, Inc., Norwegian Seamen's Christmas and Relief, Inc., and Friends of Little Norway–became units with American Relief for Norway, Inc. Originally founded as Norwegian Relief, Inc. to relieve distress among the people of Norway living under occupation by Nazi Germany, American Relief for Norway became the primary organization directing aid to Norway at the end of the war and several years after its liberation.

By the time the C.L.N.A. ceased most operations at the end of 1946, it had raised over $330,000 for relief work. The C.L.N.A.’s last board meeting was on December 15, 1947, at which time it formally dissolved. American Relief for Norway operated until early 1947, having raised $3,884,728 across all of its units.

Scope and Content:
Materials document the management and activities of the Camp Little Norway Association, Inc. (C.L.N.A.) primarily from 1941-1947, its years of operation. Includes correspondence, periodicals, newsletters, pamphlets, photographs, postcards, reports, minutes, ledgers, newspaper clippings, and publicity. 

The majority of the collection is correspondence between C.L.N.A. national board members in Minneapolis, especially Jacob Stefferud and Albert Lindholm, and chapter leaders across the United States, donors, Royal Norwegian Air Force officials in Canada, and leaders of other Norwegian-American relief organizations. The Camp Little Norway periodical “Lille Norge Avisen,” as well as photographs, postcards, and a diary, also document life and work at the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s training facilities in Canada.

Existence and Location of Copies:
Digital copies of the Camp Little Norway Association papers are available through the Digital Collections of the Norwegian American Historical Association website: https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/digital-collections/collections/show/157. Digitization was completed in 2024-2025.

Funding:
Funding to digitize the Camp Little Norway Association, Inc. papers was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Processing Information:
Finding aid revised by Erin Wiebe in June 2025.