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<!DOCTYPE html>    <html class="no-js"> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> <title>Mina Aasen - Daughters of Norway</title> <meta name="description" content="Lodge page for #55 Mina Aasen Lodge, Minot, North Dakota" /> <meta name="generator" content="concrete5 - 5.6.2.1" /> <script type="text/javascript"> var CCM_DISPATCHER_FILENAME = '/index.php'; var CCM_CID = 219; var CCM_EDIT_MODE = false; var CCM_ARRANGE_MODE = false; var CCM_IMAGE_PATH = "/concrete/images"; var CCM_TOOLS_PATH = "/index.php/tools/required"; var CCM_BASE_URL = "https://www.daughtersofnorway.org"; var CCM_REL = ""; </script> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/files/3013/7833/6124/favicon.png" type="image/x-icon" /> <link rel="icon" href="/files/3013/7833/6124/favicon.png" type="image/x-icon" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/concrete/css/ccm.base.css?v=57d2457b0e2b4a184af1e095ac5c259b" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="/concrete/js/jquery.js?v=57d2457b0e2b4a184af1e095ac5c259b"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/concrete/js/ccm.base.js?v=57d2457b0e2b4a184af1e095ac5c259b"></script> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1024"> <link href="//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Nova+Oval" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/themes/daughters_of_norway/css/main.css"> <script src="/themes/daughters_of_norway/js/vendor/modernizr-2.6.2.min.js"></script> </head> <body class=" list-of-lodges mina-aasen logged-out ">  <div id="site"> <div class="container clearfix"> <header id="masthead"> <div class="site-name">Daughters of Norway</div> <div class="tagline">Celebrating Our Norwegian Heritage for over 100 Years!</div> <nav id="nav-main"> <ul class="nav"><li class="nav-path-selected "><a class="nav-path-selected" href="/" >Home</a></li><li class="link1"><a href="/about/" >About Us</a><ul class="dropdown"><li class=""><a href="/about/latest-news/" >Latest News</a></li><li class=""><a href="/about/endowment-fund/" >Endowment</a></li><li class=""><a href="/about/scholarships/" >Scholarships</a></li></ul></li><li class="nav-path-selected link2"><a class="nav-path-selected" href="/lodges/" >Lodges</a><ul class="dropdown"><li class="nav-path-selected "><a class="nav-path-selected" href="/lodges/list-of-lodges/" >Lodges & Map</a><ul class="dropdown"><li class=""><a href="/lodges/list-of-lodges/aase/" >Aase</a></li><li class=""><a href="/lodges/list-of-lodges/anne-grimdalen/" >Anne Grimdalen</a></li><li class=""><a href="/lodges/list-of-lodges/anna-kolbjornsdatter/" >Anna Kolbj酶rnsdatter</a></li><li class=""><a href="/lodges/list-of-lodges/agnes-wergeland/" >A. 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margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 20px;" src="/files/8416/4574/6608/Mina_Aasen_55_Banner.jpg" alt="Mina_Aasen_55_Banner.jpg" width="149" height="230" />Mina Aasen Lodge #55聽<img style="color: #000000; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; font-family: -webkit-standard; float: right;" src="/files/2615/5096/0953/Mina-Aasen-photo.gif" alt="Mina-Aasen-photo.gif" width="125" height="124" /></h1> <p><strong>Founded: September 25, 2018, Minot, ND</strong></p> <h2>Meeting Details</h2> <p><span><strong>When:</strong>聽First Sunday of聽the Month from 2:00 - 4:00 pm.聽</span><br /><span><strong>Where:</strong>聽Minot Commission on Aging Room,聽</span>Parker Center, 21 1st Ave SE, Minot ND聽 - Use the North door.聽 Also meetings on Zoom.<br /><strong>Contact Us:<strong>聽</strong><a href="mailto:Minalodge55@gmail.com" target="_blank">Minalodge55@gmail.com</a><a href="mailto:Minalodge55@gmail.com"><br /></a></strong><strong>Facebook:聽<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/minalodge55">https://www.facebook.com/groups/minalodge55</a></strong></p> <p>Mina Aasen Lodge #55 featured in聽the<strong> <a href="http://www.minotdailynews.com/search/Daughters+of+Norway">Minot Daily News<br /></a></strong><img style="float: right; margin-left: 30px; margin-right: 30px;" src="/files/cache/a0c39e553e931cc0013c5ef0ee590d90_f2778.jpg" alt="August_2021_White_Coat_Ceremony.jpg" width="250" height="251" /></p> <h2><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="caret-color: #0000ff;">White Coat Ceremony</span></span></h2> <p style="text-align: left;">On August 24, 2021, a great honor was bestowed upon Mina Aasen, the namesake of the Mina Aasen Lodge #55.聽 The MSU Department of Nursing presented a white coat with special embroidery to her family.聽 Paulette Aasen, the current president of DON Lodge #55, and <span>great niece of Mina Aasen, spoke about Mina's youth and experiences as an Army nurse. A display of Mina Aasen's white coat, pictures and book about her experiences is now in the MSU Department of Nursing to inspire others.</span>.</p> <p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #000000;"><em><span style="caret-color: #0000ff;"><span style="font-size: small;">Paulette Aasen speaking at the MSU聽</span></span><span style="caret-color: #0000ff; font-size: small;">White Coat Ceremony</span><strong><span style="caret-color: #0000ff;"><br /></span></strong></em></span></span></p> <h2><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="caret-color: #0000ff;">Mina Aasen Lodge Activities</span></span></h2> <p style="text-align: center;"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="/files/cache/98a7d3ddb9b91ae555e3166278bf142d_f2406.gif" alt="Mina-float-members-2019.gif" width="350" height="237" /><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="text-align: center;">2019 ND State Fair Parade Float</em></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 15px;" src="/files/6916/4619/3148/2022_01_Public_Library_Display_Nisse_Bunads.jpg" alt="2022_01_Public_Library_Display_Nisse_Bunads.jpg" width="223" height="297" /><img style="margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px;" src="/files/7816/4619/3181/2022_01_Public_Library_Display_Banner_Flags_Handouts.jpg" alt="2022_01_Public_Library_Display_Banner_Flags_Handouts.jpg" width="223" height="289" /><br /><em><span style="font-size: small;">Minot Public Library Display January 2022<br /></span></em></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 15px;" src="/files/7216/4619/2778/2021_Midsummer_Festival_Making_Woven_Hearts.jpg" alt="2021_Midsummer_Festival_Making_Woven_Hearts.jpg" width="223" height="242" /><img style="margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px;" src="/files/8016/4619/2807/2021_Midsummer_Festival_Booth.jpg" alt="2021_Midsummer_Festival_Booth.jpg" width="223" height="243" /><br /><em style="font-size: small;">Midsummer Festival June 2021</em></span></p> <h2><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="caret-color: #0000ff;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="caret-color: #0000ff;"><span style="color: #000000;">Lodge Institution Ceremony</span></span></span></h2> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/cache/9fd2f48e426863716c4b861e8591eace_f2300.gif" alt="2019-Mina-Aasen-Group.gif" width="300" height="184" /><br /><em style="font-size: small;">Feiring</em><span style="font-size: small;"> (Celebration) - Mina Aasen Officers, Grand Lodge Installers, 2018-2019 Mina Aasen President's Daughters!<br /><br /></span></p> <div><img style="float: right; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px;" src="/files/4416/4619/1737/Gol_Stave_Church.jpg" alt="Gol_Stave_Church.jpg" width="256" height="252" /> <h2><span style="color: #000000;">Lodge Highlights</span></h2> </div> <div> <table border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Norwegian Sweater Types & Show</em></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Kransekake</em> Demo</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Stave Churches at Heritage Park</em></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: small;">Bergen's Gingerbread City</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Norse Gods & Legends</em></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: small;">Ole Brude's Norwegian Lifeboats</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Jul Fest</em></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: small;">Wheat Weaving Activity</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: small;">S酶ndre Norheim's Ski Story</span></td> <td><span style="font-size: small;">Norwegian Easter Traditions</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: small;">Making Woven Hearts</span></td> <td><span style="font-size: small;">St. Lucia Day & Crowns</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: small;">Tatting Demo</span></td> <td><span style="font-size: small;">Guest Speakers</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Norsk H酶stfest</em> Booth</span></td> <td><span style="font-size: small;">ND State Fair Parade</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p style="text-align: right;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">Gol Stave Church Replica in Minot Scandinavian Heritage Park</span></em></p> <h2>Lodge's Name</h2> <p>Our lodge unanimously chose Mina Aasen as our name in April 2018.聽 We chose to name our lodge after Mina Aasen who was from this area, related to several charter members, and a nurse known as one of the Angels of Bataan.聽聽Mina was born to Sigurd Olsen Aasen and Ingeborg (Ellefson) Aasen on April 19, 1890, in Willmar, MN.聽 Her parents emigrated from the Telemark area of Norway.聽 She had five siblings: Ole, Tillie, Ida, Anne and Sinius.聽 In 1896, the family traveled to ND in a railroad cattle car with all their belongings and homesteaded ten miles north of Minot.</p> <p>Mina attended a rural school, finishing eighth grade.聽 Later she enrolled at the Columbus Hospital School of Nursing in Great Falls,聽Montana.聽 She graduated in 1918 and joined a Red Cross unit headed for France.聽 But when she got to Washington, DC, she was asked to join the Army Nurse Corps and appointed the rank of 2nd LT, assigned to Walter Reed hospital and several other army hospitals.聽 In June 1941 she was sent to the Manila military hospital in the Philippines.聽 When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th, the medical staff was evacuated to Bataan where they attended the wounded soldiers in the jungle under the trees.聽 The hospital in Manila had been burned to the ground.聽 Mina and the 66 other nurses were the first women to experience combat.聽 They were held as聽 P.O.W.'s for over three years and became known and honored as the "Angels of Bataan."聽 They were liberated on Feb. 3rd, 1945.</p> <p><img style="float: left; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" title="Mina Aasen Grave Site" src="/files/7716/1233/6366/FB_IMG_16.JPG" alt="FB_IMG_16.JPG" width="268" height="347" />Due to poor health, Mina retired Dec. 31st, 1946, at the age of 56.聽 She moved to San Francisco where she took up painting and became an accomplished artist.聽 She enjoyed the art galleries, operas and baseball聽 games there and always loved to travel.聽 She returned home to Minot, ND, in 1967, and enjoyed being near family until she died in 1974 at the age of 84.聽 She is buried in Rosehill Cemetery in Minot, ND.</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Norwegian-American Newspaper ran two stories titled "Memories of Mina" written by our sister Jill Beatty. 聽To read more about Mina Aasen's life click on the links below.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.norwegianamerican.com/heritage/memories-of-mina-part-one/">Memories of Mina (part one)</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.norwegianamerican.com/heritage/memories-of-mina-part-two/">Memories of Mina (part two)</a></span></p> </div> </div> <div class="col-side"></div> </div> <footer id="footer"> <div class="copyright">© 2025 Daughters of Norway</div> </footer> </div> </div> </body> </html>