Minnesota was site of the 'World's Largest Lefse'? You betcha!
STARBUCK, Minn. -- You don't need to see a welcome sign to know you're in Starbuck. It's a town of about 1,300 people full of lefse and lutefisk.
This spring, Starbuck officially opened the Lefse Hall of Fame -- a tribute to a Scandinavian delicacy made out of potatoes, flour and butter.
"You can do anything. You can do sugar, Karo Syrup, butter, some people even do the worst and put a piece of lutefisk in it," said Lefse Hall of Fame's Harvey Pederson.
To open a hall of fame meant residents had to think beyond the rolling pins and spatulas. So they harkened back to July 1, 1983, when the town came together for a feat Ole and Lena would be proud of. That's when they created the world's largest piece of lefse.
Blaine Pederson was one of the helpers that day.
"They didn't know they could do it, but they came up with a griddle, they came up with the ingredients, they had several tries before they could make it work. And sure enough, it worked," Blaine said.
They built a giant roller and a giant spatula, and thousands of people showed up to watch. To set the world record, they needed to grill and roll a 70-pound piece with a 9-foot diameter -- and they had to do it without tearing it. The hall of fame has the tape measure and a bucket that gives you an idea of how much it all weighed.
Afterwards, everyone watching got to eat. Some still have a piece of that famous lefse.
Outside the museum, near other Scandinavian artifacts, there is a plaque that commemorates how it all went down.
"We call 'The Boys of Starbuck.' The lefse team is in history and they're commemorated here," Blaine said.
Afterwards, Gov. Rudy Perpich declared "Lefse Day" in Starbuck. The accomplishment is also in Norway's Schibsted Book of Records, and no one has been able to match it.
It's a big Scandinavian "Uff Da," for a small Minnesota town.
"It's a comfort food. It's a heritage item for families. People rally around it," Blaine said.
The Hall of Fame is new but it's open for Lefse-Dagen in May, and also during celebrations in July and an in the fall, as well as by appointment.
It also highlights all the people who helped make this happen, and lefse stories from the past and present.
