KENT DAVIES: You’re listening to Preserves: A Manitoba Food History Podcast. Exploring the rich, flavourful history of Manitoba food and the people who make it, sell it and eat it. From the packing table to the dinner table. From restaurant specials to grandma’s secret recipes. We consider the cultural, social, and commercial aspects of Manitoba food and what it means to us. I’m your host Kent Davies. As per usual, I’m joined by Manitoba business historian, Professor Janis Thiessen. 

JANIS THIESSEN: Hi, Kent. What’s in the pantry for us today?

KENT DAVIES: Today we’re listening to some fish stories.

JANIS THIESSEN: Usually that phrase means we’ll be hearing some tall tales.

KENT DAVIES: I assure you, while at some points these stories a little unlikely, they are historically accurate.

JANIS THIESSEN: Right on. Fish has always been an important staple food in Manitoba.

KENT DAVIES: And one of the fish we’re famous for in Manitoba is the subject of our first fish story brought to us by student Henry Vandenberg. It’s the name of our baseball team and a favourite among patrons of the Gimli Fish Market: goldeye.

HENRY VANDENBERG: Goldeye: The Little Fish that Conquered the World. The Story of Robert Firth and the ascent of the Winnipeg Goldeye. Today we know the Goldeye as an exotic and expensive dish served in the finest restaurants. It enjoys an international reputation. It is a signature regional dish of Manitoba and Winnipeg in particular, but it wasn’t always so. There was a time when the Goldeye was considered worthless bycatch and was thrown on fields for fertilizer or fed to dogs. The transformation hinged on a fortunate turn of events involving a failing butcher shop, an enterprising English immigrant, and a river full of little fish.

The Goldeye is an undistinguished fish. It is a bluish silver colour and rather small, rarely reaching a foot in length and are usually about a pound in weight.1 Goldeye range through north central North America from Alberta to the Great Lakes and as far South as Oklahoma but it is mostly found in large Northern waters of the Hudson Bay drainage.2 They like quiet areas of large silty streams and connected lakes.3 The have a mushy, unpalatable flesh and were not really sought after. In fact, they were usually just a bycatch while pursuing more desirable species. They could be “cold smoked” or preserved by hanging them over a fire, but even then, they were still largely used for dog food or simply disposed of on fields for fertilizer and to just get them out of the lake.

The Goldeye seemed destined to remain an obscure, little known and little loved little fish. However, it seems the goldeye was on a collision course with Robert Firth. Firth was an English immigrant who had run away as a teen to work on a North Sea fishing boat as a cook. He later set out to see more of the world, finally settling in Winnipeg in 1886. He started a butcher shop on North Main Street but found that it wasn’t thriving. He was looking for a way to supplement his income somehow. He remembered his experience as a cook on the North Sea and the smokehouses of his native Hull where the kippered herring were prepared and decided to see if he could add to his product line with some smoked fish. At that time in the 1880s, fish in the Red River were “as thick as mosquitoes on a summer cottage screen door.”4 He would fish the river at night and set the catch in a makeshift smoker made of a barrel. He had some success selling to other shops, especially with sauger and pickerel and so he continued his enterprise. Then one fateful day, he had some goldeye in the smoker and let it smoke longer than usual. It looked like a disaster. The fish had gone beyond smoked and were half cooked. The colour was a copper red, and the flesh was pink to red with a firm, flaky texture. Always adventurous, he tried it anyway and to his surprise and delight, the fish was delicious.5 The cheap, unpalatable little goldeye was transformed into a culinary delight. He had stumbled onto a secret that elevated the goldeye from dog food to eventually become the food of prime ministers, presidents, and kings. His “hot smoking” process was about to start the little fish’s ascent in the culinary world.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and soon fishermen were coming up with their own smoking process. The type of wood used for smoking was an issue of profound importance now. Willow gave the fish its distinctive copper colour, but oak and maple gave it a deeper flavour. They experimented with soaking the fish in brine with their own mix of spices. The recipes were guarded fiercely. The fish was gaining a local reputation as a delicacy and might have remained a local phenomenon except for the decision of a CPR chef to include it on the menu first in the dining room at the Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg and then in the dining cars on the railway. The little fish was now being mentioned on the society page. Restaurants in Montreal and Toronto started to ask for “Winnipeg Goldeye.” Soon, there was a demand for goldeye from the American centres of New York and Chicago. In 1919, goldeye was served to King George V and US President Woodrow Wilson at the Grand Café in New York. It made such an impression that the king requested goldeye on his next Canadian visit.6

An unforeseen consequence of the success of the Goldeye was that the little fish that used to annoy the fishermen became a prized catch. The price was rising dramatically but the little fish was now getting harder to find and the demand started to outstrip the supply. Until 1929, Manitoba produced more than a million pounds of goldeye every year, then in 1930, it dropped to a half million and by 1933, a quarter million. By 1946, the yield was down to 70,000 pounds. The fish had gone missing, but the demand remained. The fish called goldeye on the menu was often actually tullibee or cisco which looked similar but was a pale imitation for the real thing.7

Eventually, other populations were discovered in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Northwest Ontario, the trade in goldeye continued. The mystery of the missing goldeye was solved when it was discovered that most of the goldeye caught in the three-inch gill nets were immature and had not yet reached spawning age. In addition, a series of control dams on the Saskatchewan River delta near The Pas were playing havoc with the goldeye. In the spring, mature goldeye would swim into the marshes, spawn, and leave while the water was high. However, the new fingerlings would find themselves trapped behind the dams because the summer water levels were lower. They would eventually perish there due to oxygen depletion. A system was devised to open the dams periodically to let them out.8

But what became of Robert Firth, the unlikely butcher who turned the little fish into an international sensation? Robert Firths’ butcher shop did eventually fail but it didn’t work out too badly for him in the end. He was able to devote more time fishing, working a net downstream between a man on shore and another on a small boat. He built a bigger smoker on the bank of the river. He thrived as a full-time fisherman and smoker until some of the bigger fish companies started plants in Winnipeg, he was then hired as a “smoker” in 1900 and worked at his craft until 1932, retiring at the age of 78. He also taught his art to his five sons, one of whom was still working at Booth Fisheries as a “smoker” at least until the late thirties.9

The process hasn’t changed that much over the years. The results depend entirely on the skill and experience of the smoker. Even though the commercial smoking of goldeye is localized in Winnipeg, there is still considerable variability in the end product based on the smoker.

One local smoker, Chef Kevin Funk from “Hidden Haven Homestead,” a delightful, informative Youtube channel on eating from local food systems shared his recipe:

KEVIN FUNK: What you’re going to need, two litres of water, one cup brown sugar, in this case, I’m using golden yellow sugar, one cup of coarse salt (kosher), a half a cup maple syrup, four bay leaves, four cloves of garlic, a half cup soy sauce, one teaspoon ginger, one teaspoon dried thyme, I teaspoon pepper and what you’re going to do is you’re going to bring that all to a slow boil.10

HENRY VANDENBERG: Another smoker, James Rogowy from the wonderful “Footprint Outdoors” Youtube channel about the outdoor experience shared his recipe:

JAMES ROGOWY: For the brine, I will use six goldeye, frozen, and I’ll use one cup of pickling salt, half a cup of brown sugar, one quarter cup of the maple syrup, one eighth of a cup of ground pepper, one tablespoon of Rosemary. I’ll use ten to twelve of the bay leaves. I’ll use one tablespoon, sorry , two tablespoons of garlic powder, you can used minced garlic as well, I’m fish to the hot water and I will put all this in a very large zip lock bag that will hold the six fish and I will make sure that the cold water I add is enough to top it off, to make sure that all the fish that are in the zip lock bag are covered, to make sure the marinade is surrounding the fish.11

HENRY VANDENBERG: However, the process is basically the same, once the fish are caught, they are immediately scaled and gutted and then frozen. They may stay frozen for four to six weeks before the next step. The frozen fish are put in water to thaw and then cleaned once more. They are placed in a brine mixture for ten to twelve hours and then placed on rods and hung in the smokehouse. The fire is started (only hardwoods are used since softwoods can add an unwanted flavour to the fish) and once it is established, wet ashes are piled on to produce the smoke. The ashes are kept on for about four hours after which the fire is stoked again for another two hours to cook the fish. The fish are left in the smoker until the fire goes out. The fish typically go in the smoker one afternoon and are taken out the following morning.12 Of course, those are the basics. Details like what is in the brine mixture, or the design of the smoker are still closely guarded. And there you have it, the little fish from Manitoba that no one wanted has reached a secure, exalted spot in the culinary world with the help of a failed butcher.

KENT DAVIES: Wow, it’s hard to comprehend how a high end entrée in many Manitoba restaurants was once considered dog food.

JANIS THIESSEN: No kidding. Now, what’s our next fish story.

KENT DAVIES: This one, I produced. It’s about a culturally significant dish which resonates with many communities across the world. Pickled herring is a delicacy for many cultural groups. I know it’s served on Jewish holidays, and on New Year’s in Poland. I’ve had them before at Ukrainian restaurants and weddings. But for Nordic countries like Sweden the herring has been tied to their culture for centuries.

We were fortunate enough to listen and observe a demonstration from the women of Swedish Cultural Association of Winnipeg as they pickled herring one afternoon. Former Manitoba Food History project member Sarah Story interviewed them as they were jarring the fish, and it was such great experience, with some great storytelling. I’m excited share it with you and our listeners.

JANIS THIESSEN: I’m excited to hear it. Let’s have a listen.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Because I just learned by experience!

MARI CLOVECHOK: Is that the discard -- pail there?

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Put the onion in a napkin and I’ll get rid of it in the garbage.

MARI CLOVECHOK: Sounds good.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Well, I guess we could put it a bit in there.

MARI CLOVECHOK: This is ready to go in the fridge.

SARAH STORY: How many of these are you doing today?

MARI CLOVECHOK: We’re doing ten jars.

SARAH STORY: Ten jars? Okay. [kitchen utensils clanging]

KENT DAVIES: That’s Manitoba Food History project member Sarah Story speaking with Mari Clovechok and Sonja Lundström, the President of the Swedish Cultural Association of Manitoba. Today, Story is observing Clovechok, and Lundström busily make a traditional dish for an upcoming cultural gathering.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: [intense clanging] [laughs] I’m chopping wood! [all laugh] That’s how it sounds!

SARAH STORY: That’s what it sounds like, right?

KENT DAVIES: This year Swedish Canadians from across the country are gathering in Lac Du Bonnet, Manitoba to celebrate the xummer and their culture.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: For our reunion Mari, everybody likes to make food. We eat like you can’t imagine. It was so much fun. Well, that’s it. Play the accordion! Dance! Sing! Cook!

KENT DAVIES: Part of that culture, of course is food and one of the most important cultural dishes in the Swedish community is what they’re making today, pickled herring.

The story of Swedish peoples and herring has long been intertwined. According to food historian Jan-Öjvind Swahn, since the Middle Ages, herring has been among one of the most important food staples in large parts of Europe and propelled the Swedish economy over centuries. From late Medieval times until the sixteenth century, herring trade centers in the south of Sweden were among the most important food providers in Europe.13

In History of the Nordic People, published in 1555, the archbishop, cartographer, and author Olaus Magnus states that along the Scanian coasts, people caught and salted so much herring that it supplied most of Europe’s need for fish.14 That trend continued well into the sixteenth century with the west coast of Sweden becoming another epicentre of the herring trade where even foreigners were allowed to fish, salt and sell fish.15

By the 1700s the herring draft was so abundant that fishermen would often run out of barrels and salt, which led to another commodity, the extraction of fish oil for lamps.16 According to historian Rolf Eriksson fish oil became the number one source of lamp oil for Paris and perhaps provided the fuel for its moniker, ‘the city of lights.’ However, the waste from fish oil refineries became so bad in the late 1700s that the majority of herring left for cleaner waters and thus the profitability of the refineries declined, and the fish oil trade died out.17

Yet the herring trade continued and so did ways of preserving and preparing them for consumption. Because the fish would spoil rapidly traditionally the quickest and most common way of preserving herring was to salt it.18 Herring could also be smoked and fermented but eventually the most popular way to preserve and prepare herring was to pickle it.

Cajsa Warg’s cookbook from 1755 contains one of the earliest recipes for pickled herring where Warg instructs the reader to carefully wash the fish in freshwater to remove the salt, then fry them on a grid over a fire. Once the fish is cold, the herring are put it in jars with bay leaves, whole peppercorns, cloves, and then covered with “god ättika” or spirit vinegar.19

There are different ways to pickle herring but as Mari Clovechok explains, salted or unsalted will determine the first steps. If the fish is fresh, then it’s first salted to get rid of moisture. More likely the fish is already salted and needs to soak in fresh water in order for the salt to be removed.

MARI CLOVECHOK: You first let the herring sit in water, to get some of that salt out. Then the brine would probably have to sit for much longer. Maybe close to a week.

SARAH STORY: How does this differ from when you were making it in Sweden? With your mother?

MARI CLOVECHOK: Oh, yeah of course I’d be buying the salted herring from the store. But you can buy it in a can, actually. And it’s salted and you just -- rinse off the water and chop it up. Cook your brine and you would set them for probably about four or five days and then you’re ready to go.

KENT DAVIES: Born in Uppsala Sweden, making pickled herring is a tradition Clovechok has preserved since coming to Canada in 1986.

MARI CLOVECHOK: And I try to keep my Swedish heritage alive. All my family is still in Sweden, so I do go back occasionally. But to have herring at Christmas, Easter and Midsummer for sure, that’s a must. And the more kinds of herring the better. You know, like my mom, she would cook different brines, making different kinds. Some would have onion in them, some would have dill, or like a mustard sauce in it.

SONJA LUNDSTORM: I haven’t put any dill in this, should I put… [cutting onions]

MARI CLOVECHOK: No, no…

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Oh, and you’re crying too, aren’t you!

MARI CLOVECHOK: No, that would be a different, different kind of herring. With the red onion.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Okay.

KENT DAVIES: Sonja Lundström, president of the Swedish Cultural Association of Manitoba remembers her farther as the one who taught her about herring.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Oh my god! It wasn’t my mom; it was my dad, and he was in there. And my dad was as comfortable in the kitchen as any woman. And my dad was a hard rock miner, but he still could do everything in the kitchen! It’s kind of Swedish, isn’t it? The men could do everything!

My family came from— My Swedish came from Jokkmokk, Sweden in 1913. Six weeks after the sinking of the Titanic. And were given land at Eriksdale and where they had to create their own home and totally live off the land. And which they did. And— But no matter how little they had, they always had herrings. Herrings and hard tack. I remember. And my dad talked about it, he was only a little child, but he remembers the herrings and hard tack. And they’d get it in a crate off Logan Avenue and they’d make the herrings because it reminded them so much of home. They wanted to go back. [gets choked up] And so my dad brought that memory. Oh, I’m going to cry now. And we would make the herrings and play the music, and herrings was our main thing. And it was like, it was the symbol of Sweden, although he was just a child, it brought back memories to grandma and grandpa and then through the kids and then through us. [phones ring] [laughs] Forget it. I’m not answering that. And every year— Our whole family. I mean to have the herrings. It’s not just the food, it’s the memories of it, and the music and all the good times we had making the herrings.

Okay, so I’m starting another jar with those there Mari that you’ve got cut.

MARI CLOVECHOK: Yup.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Alright.

MARI CLOVECHOK: And then you cook the brine, and you add it that way. In this case, we’ve already -- we’re using herrings that have already been marinated and we’re cooking our own marinade first, because it’s a slightly different brine than what we have here.

KENT DAVIES: The brine for pickled herring is usually made from one part vinegar, two parts sugar, and three parts water with vegetables and seasoning added in.20

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Here’s the recipe.

SARAH STORY: Oh, right there.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: It’s yellow onions -- sliced thin. Made with a marinade with sugar and crushed allspice. You leave it for sixty minutes and then you put that in with -- the water and vinegar in proportions and I made eight times the recipe for— We’re doing for 120 now, and Gunvor and I did seven jars last time.

KENT DAVIES: As for the most crucial ingredient, the fish itself, today that comes straight from Sweden.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: You know what? And there’s different herrings from different places. I tell you, the Swedish and Icelandic herring, they’re the thickest. And they are the best.

KENT DAVIES: The fish was brought by Gunvor Larrson. A recipient of the Manitoba 150 award, Gunvor and her husband Karl have been at the forefront of Swedish cultural activities in Manitoba since arriving in 1958.21

GUNVOR LARRSON: My husband was an electrician, and it was a good thing. Electricians were needed in Canada at the time. So, that is why we came here, and then we continued from there over.

MARI CLOVECHOK: Gunvor, you and Karl [utensils clanging] had intended to stay here for, was it three years? To start?

GUNVOR LARRSON: Yeah, that was what all the people did.

MARI CLOVECHOK: You thought you would be going back!

GUNVOR LARRSON: Yes! We got stuck here! [laughs] Which was nice. We enjoyed everything.

KENT DAVIES: In 1970 the Folklorama multicultural festival was created as a celebration of Manitoba’s centennial. Gunvor saw this as an opportunity to promote Swedish culture in Manitoba and organized the first Swedish Pavilion here. However, at the time there was no direct importer of Swedish food or cultural products. So, Gunvor also took that upon herself, opening a store which would cater to the Nordic communities of Winnipeg.

GUNVOR LARRSON: When they had the Folklorama, everyone asked for things. But to buy, there was nowhere to be bought. Then I thought that’s a good time to open up a store. So that is how I did it. Thank the Folklorama.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: There was no store like Gunvor’s store. No kidding. She had gallons of lingonberries.

GUNVOR LARRSON: They drove up with buckets.

MARI CLOVECHOK: Oh yes. Mmmhmm.

KENT DAVIES: Gunvor’s store, the Scandinavian Import Boutique, was first established on Lilac Street in Winnipeg in 1970 and ran for ten years. Her boutique shop became an important hub for Swedes visiting or moving to the city including many Swedish hockey players. The store contained imported foods, clothing, special Scandinavian housewares and cultural decorations. The back of the shop was a social area whereas she put it, “the coffee was always on,” and delicious homemade breads were offered to make visitors feel at home.

Gunvor Larrson also taught Swedish language classes, founded a number of Scandinavian dance groups, was a regular contributor at the Canadian-Swedish cultural newspaper the Swedish Press, and was the author of several popular cookbooks of Swedish recipes.22

ELAINE FRIESEN: I call Gunvor the matriarch of the Swedish community in Winnipeg.

MARI CLOVECHOK: I also use the word rock star.

ELAINE FRIESEN: That’s another good one! Yes.

MARI CLOVECHOK: A lot of the Swedish Club members that you meet now, they took Swedish lessons from Gunvor. You know, something like -- thirty years ago, or twenty years ago.

SARAH STORY: Wow.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: This woman is a woman of spirit!

SARAH STORY: I think so.

KENT DAVIES: The Larrson’s story is one of many Swedish newcomers who have been coming to Canada since the late 1800s when the prairies opened up to homesteaders and Winnipeg became the Nordic gateway to the West. Most Swedes passed through Winnipeg as part of the immigration process.23 The Canadian government did their best to attract Swedish immigrants to Canada through advertisement and agents in Sweden setting aside a tracts of land in Manitoba for settlements.24 The vast majority of the first to arrive settled in the country, and were involved in rural life and agriculture.25

SARAH STORY: Why Winnipeg? Why were people attracted?

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Because they were asked to come. They didn’t have a choice. They were told to come. There was no choice. You’re coming and they were given free land, called the homesteader. And the Swedes were the invisible immigrants who went wherever there was a job. And they had such an attitude. [laughs]

KENT DAVIES: According to historian Elinor Barr, for some of the first Swedish immigrants it was struggle to adapt to their new environment. The isolationist and exclusionary nature of the social and political systems, coupled with the sheer vastness of the prairies, led to culture shock and homesickness for some.26

ELAINE FRIESEN: My grandmother when she came, she said in Sweden, that there were posters talking about Canada and Manitoba as the land of milk and honey. And so, that was very appealing to her. Little did she know when she got here…

SONJA LUNDSTROM: There was no milk and honey. [laughs]

SARAH STORY: Minus forty and mosquitos.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: And hot.

KENT DAVIES: That’s Elaine Friesen, who can trace her root’s back to some of the original Eriksdale Manitoba settlers.

ELAINE FRIESEN: Both my parents were born in Canada, but -- their first language taught to them was Swedish. So, all of my grandparents were born in Sweden, and we just kept close contact with them. [clanging pots] My grandparents were part of the founding members of the lodge in Eriksdale. So, that would have been in the early 1900s.

SARAH STORY: Wow.

ELAINE FRIESEN: You know, when my grandparents were here, it was a thriving -- there was a thriving Swedish community.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: We were the Swedish capital of Canada. Okay? Because the most Swedes were here.

KENT DAVIES: Of the Swedes who settled in Manitoba nearly half lived in or around Winnipeg, which remained the “Swedish capital of Canada” until the 1940s. Winnipeg’s Logan Avenue was especially known for Swedish immigrants sporting many Scandinavian run rooming houses, hotels, and businesses. The rest spread westward to places like Eriksdale, Scandinavia, Erickson, Hilltop and Smoland, or eastward to the Lac du Bonnet/Riverland area, the location of this year’s gathering.27

Despite initial hardships, many Swedish immigrants adapted to their new home going on to make significant contributions in Manitoba political, social and economic life.28

Back in the kitchen, we’re almost ready to sample the herring.

MARI CLOVECHOK: This is going to be okay for Saturday, when we’re going to serve it in Lac du Bonnet at our event.

SARAH STORY: That’s great! So, it gives it a freshness?

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Oh yeah.

MARI CLOVECHOK: Yeah, you know not sure where these jars were made. It’s delicious and everything, but ours it’s just a little bit better.

SARAH STORY: Okay.

KENT DAVIES: There are different ways to serve herring, there’s the S.O.S. way, yes just like the Abba song. The Swedish appetizer stands for "smör, ost och, sill", which describes its main ingredients: butter, cheese and herring. It is also usually served with schnapps Akvavit to wash it down.29

Another popular way of serving pickled herring is as part of a celebration smorgasbord. Rather than a buffet, the Swedish smorgasbord is eaten in a specific order and often begins with multiple varieties of pickled herring to kick off the party.30

SONJA LUNDSTROM: It’s the main thing. But we’re also having the boiled potatoes okay, boiled in dill with the chives. And lots of butter and hard tack and cheese. Just like it says on the picture. I couldn’t believe the picture is right there! Of everything. And then, in case people don’t like herrings, because not everybody’s had the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful experience. We’re getting ham and coleslaw. And rye bread. Because we’ve got all of our Swedish tablecloths. This is a party on wheels! [all laugh]

SARAH STORY: Do you always have this in Lac du Bonnet? Is it like—

SONJA LUNDSTROM: No, no, we go wherever the Swedes are!

SARAH STORY: Okay.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Swedish was once the language, main language spoken in Lac du Bonnet.

SARAH STORY: Really.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Yup! Because the most amount of things that Swedes could do, the Swedes went wherever there was work and adventure. Logging -- lumbering, building, mining, they could do it all. Building houses. Farm. And so, it was a major Swedish community. But then, you know, they only survived— So then they’d go out to other places, and they came to Red Lake. That’s what I know about. The mine. And a lot of them wound up in Vancouver or Alberta. And people are coming all the way from Thompson tomorrow.

SARAH STORY: Oh, wow.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: For our event, did you know that?

MARI CLOVECHOK: For Saturday, yup.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: But it’s the spirits you know? That we’re going to sing our drinking song and it’s celebrating you know, our forefathers and our Swedishness and everything through song. And we’re also going to have lots of music! And because it’s a get together of Swedes, and their food, and their history, and their culture through dancing, music and cultural events, the parade and the maypole. And dancing around the maypole.

KENT DAVIES: The celebration Lundström is referring to, the one they’re preparing the herring for is Midsommar or the Midsummer celebration, that often takes place on the weekend nearest to June twenty-fourth, believed to be the longest day of the year. In northern Sweden, traditionally this is the time of the midnight sun, when the sun never sets, and people stay out all night. Homes and churches are decorated with wildflower garlands and flowering tree branches, and an elaborately decorated maypole takes center stage. All night long young and old, dressed in regional costumes, dance around the pole.31

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Midsummer is a -- I think it’s originally pagan, and it’s celebrating the longest day of the year. And the abundance of nature at that time. And it kicks off the summer for the people in Sweden, it’s the beginning of their eight weeks of holidays all summer. And it’s said that that’s their time to get together and party and then they just go all over the place after! Sort of how they’ve done it now. And all the holidays begin then, at there. And it’s a celebration by getting together, it may be in a home, it may be in a small group, or it may be in a large community with the music. And often times a maypole parade to dance. Maypole, right? Even a family group will have a maypole.

GUNVOR LARRSON: Now, when we were young, a couple of us used to bike. Quite a few Swedish moms. For a party, but on the way, we usually would have a picnic in the woods. With the blanket, and you have your shot of vodka. And having a picnic on your own, then you continue dancing all night. You came home at four of five in the morning. And you continued the party.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: [laughs]

KENT DAVIES: There’s no denying the cultural importance of herring in the Swedish diaspora. The oily, silvery fish that propelled Sweden’s economy throughout centuries has become a focal point of countless celebrations bringing together communities to preserve tradition.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: We all associate the herrings as special. You know, because they came in such a long way.

ELAINE FRIESEN: So, I can take the rest of that?

MARI CLOVECHOK: Sure, of course.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: And -- our Swedish people in the community, the other loggers and miners and people would get together to have them. Because it was so special.

MARI CLOVECHOK: Did you make some herring when you were a kid, Gunvor? With your mom maybe, or your grandmother?

GUNVOR LARRSON: Yeah, it was just the way of life. I mean, you never think anything about it. That was the way you did it.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: It was part of your life.

GUNVOR LARRSON: And it was an excuse to have parties.

SARAH STORY: [laughs]

SONJA LUNDSTROM: I went from being breastfed to eating them! I’m not kidding you! [laughs] I’m not kidding you! [all laugh]

SARAH STORY: It was your first food.

SONJA LUNDSTROM: Isn’t that authentic?

KENT DAVIES: Each of the women preparing herring today has their own story, but their stories also reflect the experience of many first-generation immigrants and newcomers to Canada, who have had to build the necessary foundations, whether it be by business or cultural association in order to preserve cultural traditions for another generation.

SOURCES

1Andrew L. Rypel, “The cold-water connection: Bergmann’s rule in North American freshwater fishes,”The American Naturalist 183, no. 1 (2014): 147-156.

2Karla Zubrycki, Dimple Roy, Hisham Osman, Kimberly Lewtas, Geoffrey Gunn, and Richard Grosshans, “A Summary of the NCRB in Northern Manitoba,” Large Area Planning in the Nelson-Churchill River Basin (NCRB): Laying a Foundation in Northern Manitoba (International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), 2016).

3Zubrycki et al., “A Summary of the NCRB in Northern Manitoba.”

4J.C. Royale, “Lowly Goldeye is Elevated to Dish Fit for a King by Mistake in Smoking: Robert Firth Had Last Laugh at Skeptics,” Winnipeg Tribune (19 August 1937).

5Helgi Einarrson, Helgi Einarsson: A Manitoba Fisherman (Winnipeg: Queenston House. 1982), translated from the Icelandic by George Houser.

6Royale, “Lowly Goldeye.”

7Bruce Cherney, “Smoked Goldeye, a Dish Fit for a King,” Winnipeg Real Estate News (17 June 2016).

8Fred Bodsworth, “That Glamorous Goldeye,” MacLeans (1 September 1950); Joe D. Robertson, Resource management: a history of the successes and failures of wildlife and fishery resource management in Manitoba (1913).

9Royale, “Lowly Goldeye.”

10Kevin Funk, Hidden Haven Homestead, “How to Smoke Goldeye,” YouTube video, 5:58. June 20, 2021.

11James Rogowy, Footprint Outdoors, “How to Brine and Smoke Goldeye,” YouTube video, 7:17. August 7, 2020.

12Bruce Cherney, “Smoked Goldeye – A Lake Winnipeg Delicacy,” Interlake Spectator (August 8, 1984); A.W. Lantz and D. G. Iredale, “Techniques in smoking goldeye (Hiodon Alosoides),” Canadian Institute of Food Technology Journal 2, no. 4 (1969): 157-159; A.W. Lantz, D. G. Iredale, M. Vaisey, and R. York, “Processing Effects on the Texture of Goldeye: (Hiodon alosoides).” Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology Journal 5, no. 1 (1972): 39-43.

13Mark Kurlansky. Salt: A World History (New York: Penguin, 2003), 129-144; Isabelle Fredborg. “Easy Swedish pickled herring – and its long history,” Swedish Spoon (17 April 2020).

14Vivian Etting, “The great herring market in Scania,” in Queen Margrete I (1353-1412) and the Founding of the Nordic Union (Brill, 2004), 39-44; P.G. Foote, Magnus, A Description of the Northern Peoples, 1555: Volume III (Routledge, 2017), 208-211.

15Foote, Olaus Magnus, 208-211; David C. Orton and James H. Barrett, “Cod and herring: the archaeology and history of medieval sea fishing,” Cod and Herring (2016): 99-108; Kurlansky, Salt, 129-144; Fredborg. “Easy Swedish pickled herring.”

16Kurlansky, Salt, 129-144; Fredborg, “Easy Swedish pickled herring.”

17Rolf Eriksson, 500 år av sillfeske (Sweden: Roffes el & förlag, 2011); Fredborg, “Easy Swedish pickled herring.”

18Kurlansky, Salt, 129-144; Fredborg, “Easy Swedish pickled herring.”

19Fredborg, “Easy Swedish pickled herring.”

20Fredborg, “Easy Swedish pickled herring.”

21Nancy Drews, “Gunvor Larsson – Winnipeg’s Swedish Matriarch,” Scandinavian Cultural Centre of Winnipeg (2020).

22Drews, “Gunvor Larsson.”

123Elinor Barr, Swedes in Canada: Invisible Immigrants (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015), 63-72.

24Barr, Swedes in Canada, 15, 53; Lennard Sillanpaa, “Swedish Canadians,” Canadian Encyclopedia (19 September 2019).

25Barr, Swedes in Canada, 63-72.

26Barr, Swedes in Canada, 36, 63-72.

27Barr, Swedes in Canada, 63-72.

28Sillanpaa, “Swedish Canadians.”

29Helene Henderson, The Swedish Table (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005): iv-xxiii.

30Barr, Swedes in Canada, 99; Henderson, The Swedish Table, xxiii.

31 Henderson, The Swedish Table, xxiii.

Preserves is made possible by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and assistance from the Oral History Centre at the University of Winnipeg.

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