Asp worked alone in the early years but when he developed leukemia in 1974, a group of volunteers joined to help with the build. None of them had any experience in shipbuilding. After the ship was completed it was trucked two hundred miles to Lake Superior. When the ship slid into the lake Robert Asp was onboard but sadly he died in December of 1980. In May,1982, the ship with 12 crew members including four of Asp’s children, sailed through the Great Lakes to begin a somewhat perilous journey to Norway. The Hjemkomst arrived in Bergen, Norway on July 19, 1982 and the crew was greeted with celebrations all along the coast as they sailed to Oslo, Norway.
The center has exhibits and videos about building and sailing the ship. The center also includes galleries featuring changing exhibitions.
RVs can be pulled through the spaces in the parking lot. The lot is sloped so wheelchair users may need assistance. Center 46.87739, -96.77811
I lived 2 & 1/2 hours from there (Bemidji, MN) for 6 years and never knew it was there.
ReplyDeleteI should look around here a bit closer... :-)
It is surprising that we often miss seeing the things in our own neighborhoods. We saw some things in Pittsburgh for the first time because a visitor wanted to see them. This was after we'd lived there for years!
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