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We'd like you to join us!
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The Norwegian Commercial Club meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month, except during summer break and Thanksgiving. Dinner meetings are held at Leif Erikson Hall (2245 NW 57th Street) in Ballard. If you plan to attend as a guest or prospective member, please call in your dinner reservation by Wednesday, noon, the previous day, at 206-783-1274.
A social hour and networking precedes the dinner meeting from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. and is included in the price of the dinner. Dinner is from about 6:40 p.m. and a program of general business interest follows the dinner.
There are usually between 300 and 400 members listed in almost 100 different business classifications.
Objectives and Purposes
“To promote and encourage
civic and commercial activity
in the end that benefits there from may
accrue to the State of Washington,
City of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest;
“To foster trade and commerce
among its members;
“To promote and elevate
business standards and professional ethics;
“To offer invitations for others to seek
this State and Community as their field
of commercial endeavor and to extend
hospitality to visitors and new arrivals;
“To assist in and encourage the building
of new industries and the expansion of old;
“To advocate good citizenship and to
encourage interest and active participation
by its members in public affairs;
“To provide facilities and accommodations
for business meetings and social gatherings;
“To establish and maintain
a social and business club for Norwegians,
Norwegian Americans and others to
provide such quarters, meeting places and
facilities as will serve the purposes for
which this Norwegian Commercial Club
is organized.”
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The NCC was born in 1932 – not without a great deal of discussion. A group of men of Norwegian descent were members of an organization called the Odinian Society, which was made up of Norwegian Masons. (The group was not growing and efforts to gain new members were unsuccessful.)
During the discussions, it was decided that it was necessary to broaden the base of prospective members. Since it was also the depth of the Great Depression, it was decided that the Norwegians could form a group to help each other, and so the NCC was born.
Eli Paulson, a lawyer and the 2nd President of the NCC drew up the Articles of Incorporation and 69 members signed the articles. Most of the signers attended the first meeting but after that auspicious beginning the active membership dropped considerably. The meetings were held in the Gowman Hotel which was later torn down. The attendance of each meeting stayed at 35-40 members until WWII. It then dropped to 20-30 members, remaining there for quite a few years, but the membership grew steadily after the Club moved to the Norway Center.
The prime attraction for the attending members was the social hour when they primed themselves for the meeting, Old Crow and Old Granddad seemed to be the favorites and everybody seemed to handle it quite well until one meeting Rangval Flakstad, an importer, decided to treat the members to Aquavit and Norwegian beer. Needless to say, the meeting ended in utter confusion.
The second attraction was the poker game which followed every meeting. Those games were the wildest you could wish to see. They had jokers wild, one-eyed Jacks wild, aces wild and every other combination you could think of. Nobody dared to bluff with all the wild cards.
Our membership has included mayors, councilmen, governors, congressmen, senators and kings. If we ever have a Norwegian president, we will try to sign him up. We have had some memorable members, however. Valdemar Holm was treasurer for many years. He was succeeded by Fred Scheel who held that position so long that they made him an honorary past president and a life member. Dr. K. Falkenberg, membership chairman for many years, was the most beloved. Whenever a guest was introduced, he zeroed in on him with a membership card. Thanks to him, we became a viable organization with a membership of around 400. Allen Pomeroy was the most noticeable. He stood about 6’4” and had a voice like a foghorn. He was mayor of Seattle and later U.S. Attorney for Western Washington.
During the years, we have had some great entertainment. Arthur Foss took us for a trip on the Thea Foss; Sally Rand, the fan dancer, addressed one of the meetings, but left her feathers at home; and an earthquake occurred at one meeting. The most fun we had was playing golf against the Swedes at Mt. Si Golf Course. We usually did pretty well on the first nine, but Bob Nelson, of Standard Service Tire Company, always had a wash tub of beer at the end of the first nine. We didn’t do too well after that.
The proudest days of the NCC were those when the committees functioned well. Frode Frodeson was in charge of Civic Affairs and we attended most of the meetings of the Chamber of Commerce and the Port Commission. The efforts of the NCC were instrumental in getting the Shilshole Marina built. Our Fisheries Committee has done valiant work on Fisherman’s Night and many students have benefited from the work of our Scholarship Committees.
When all is said and done, the Norwegian Commercial Club has been great fun and has lived up to its purpose as expressed some 77 years ago.
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NCC Scholarship Fund (Non-Profit)
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"To prepare young men and women who have a background in American-Norwegian ideals with an education in civic and commercial activity to the end that benefits there from may accrue to the State of Washington, City of Seattle, and the
Pacific Northwest.”
“To promote education that will assist in and encourage the building of new industries and the expansion of old through training in accredited formal and vocational public and private schools in the northwestern United States, Canada, and the Scandinavian countries.”
“To further the education of applicants interested in promoting the cultural bonds between the Scandinavian countries and
the United States.”
The applications for scholarships shall be judged on their merits alone. The applicant’s name is removed from all formal applications. Thus, the Committee members when judging applications will avoid all personal favoritisms without mental reservation or secret evasion.
All expenses for administration of the Norwegian Scholarship Fund shall be borne by The Norwegian Commercial Club. As a result, one hundred percent of all scholarship monies are used for scholarships.
This Fund is incorporated as a non-profit corporation under the Revised Code of Washington 24.03. The Fund is exempt from Federal income tax under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3). Donors may deduct contributions to the Fund as provided in Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code. (IRS Tax No. 91-1676907)
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Various businesses and professions represented within the Norwegian Commercial Club membership include:
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Accountants
Advertising
Air Conditioning
Apt. Home Owner
Architecture
Attorneys
Auto Dealers
Auto Repair
Banking/Savings/Loan
Boat/Shipbuilding/Repair
Cabinet and Millwork
Carpentry
Civil Engineering
Commercial Maintenance
Communications
Computer Systems
Consultants
Contractors
Delicatessens
Dentists
Education
Electrical/Electronics
Elevator Service
Engineers
Engines
Fabrication
Farming
Financial Services
Fishermen
Fish Processing
Fish and Seafood
Fishing Representatives
Fishing Equipment/Marine Supplies
Fishing Vessel Owners
Funeral Homes
Furniture
Gifts
Heating
Importers
Insulation
Insurance
Investment Services
Journalism
Kitchen Remodeling
Longshoring/Waterfront
Mailing Services
Management
Manufacturing
Marine Architect
Marine Pilot
Marine Surveyor
Mariner/Master
Maritime Consultant
Marketing
Masonry
Merchant Marines
Ministry
Music
Naval Architect
Norwegian Consuls
Norwegian Sweaters
Oil and Gas
Painting/Decorating
Pharmacist
Printing/Typesetting
Property Management
Publishing
Radio/Broadcasting
Real Estate
Rentals
Retirement Residence
Sales
Ski School
Sporting Goods
Stocks and Bonds
Surveyor (Land)
Transfer/Freight (Sea-Land-Air)
Transportation/Travel Services
Upholstery
Visual Artists
Wholesale/Retail
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