2005 annuaL rePort - Concordia Language Villages

Honoring a Past director
of the villages: Vern and May Mauritsen
Vi Takker Vernon og May Mauritsen
for at denne skaten I skogen ble til. Anno 1970.
We thank Vernon and May Mauritsen
for making possible this treasure in the woods. Year 1970.
the rosemaled plaque honoring Vern, second director of the Language
Villages (1967-1971), and his wife, May, now hangs on the outside wall
of Gimle, the first building constructed at Skogfjorden, the norwegian
Language Village on turtle river Lake.
on July 8, 2005, more than 100 people gathered to celebrate the Village
years when Vern served as director. a Montana native and Concordia
College music education major, Vern first became a high school band
director in sunburst, Mont. the band earned state and regional honors,
and they attended the portland, ore., rose Festival as the honor band in
1952. during this time, Vern and May also directed “glacier Wilderness
Camp,” a summer family camp near glacier national park.
Loving a challenge, Vern’s next directing stop was the construction
business. He began sunburst Builders Mart, a construction and
building materials firm, and he developed one of the first prefabricated
construction systems in Montana.
Just when Vern and May felt “footloose” and ready to retire in the mid
1960s, another directing opportunity lured them to the Language Villages.
Concordia College president Joseph Knudson and Concordia officials,
Bill smaby and roger swenson, persuaded Vern to become the first
full-time director.
“By nature, i like new projects,” Vern said. “We were so taken by the
operation. We thought maybe we should give this a whirl.”
the couple didn’t come prepared with language education, but they came
with enthusiasm to direct young people to their full potential. “it’s like
preparing a concert,” said director Vern. “You work hard to get everything
ready, and once the concert takes
place, it’s just kind of a pleasure.”
Vern created a fertile climate for
success by hiring the right staff,
pulling resources and people
together and then letting them
create. His most challenging
task was to “put a burr under
the saddle” of the skeptical
Concordia Board of regents to
construct a permanent Language
Village on an 800-acre tract of
land on turtle river Lake near
Bemidji, Minn., which was
purchased by the College in 1966.
He not only managed to sway
the regents but also the sons of norway, who helped with the facility’s
authentic details and contributed $40,000 to the project. the momentum
surged with a $200,000 grant from the Bush Foundation.
as the big pieces came together, Vern visualized year-round use for
Skogfjorden, planting seeds for use of the buildings as a conference
center. Skogfjorden was dedicated on July 19, 1970, which set the pace
for building more culturally authentic Villages in the following decades.
in 1971, Vern and Mary returned to their property on Flathead Lake where
they stayed for more than 30 years. at the Villages, Vern left a top-notch
staff of deans and administrators to continue the program.
the director’s beat still continues for the Mauritsens. the couple has
established the first endowed scholarship for the fourteenth Language
Village, Al-Waha, where the arabic language and culture will delight
generations of young people.
Left: Vern and May Mauritsen laid the foundation of our permanent
sites on Turtle River Lake.
Inset: Vern and May at skogfjorden during his years as director.
ConCordia Language ViLLages