One of Poulsbo’s founders, I.B. Moe, was honored with his own road in downtown. Moe’s two other brothers also founded nearby communities, but never received such an honor. His brother Larry helped establish Winslow on Bainbridge Island, and Curly broke ground in Gorst.
How much do you know about Poulsbo and its Norwegian culture? Test your knowledge with this Viking Fest Quiz. Answers below.
1. True or false: Lud-a-fisk is a Norwegian rapper with such hits as “Act a lure” and “Rollout…in my longship.”
2. True or false: Vikings settled some disputes with doughnut-eating contests.
3. True or false: Little Miss Kupcake Krigen is an actual pageant title.
4. Victor “The Devastator” Dew won which 2013 Viking Fest contest:
a. Lutefisk-Eating Contest.
b. Stand-Up Paddleboard Race.
c. Kupkake Krigen.
5. True or false: “Poulsbo” is a slight misspelling of the town’s intended name, “Paulsbo.”
6. True or false: Norwegian King Olaf V visited Poulsbo in 1975. The city named a parking lot in his honor.
7. Ragnarök, the Viking end times, is scheduled to occur:
a. July 13, 2305
b. May 19, 2014. So party while you can.
c. It already happened on Feb. 22, 2014.
d. Oct. 21, 2015
8. True or false: During lean times in the late 1800s, Poulsbo would make do by raiding and pillaging Scandia on the other side of Liberty Bay.
9. Moe, Iverson and Paulson are:
a. Partners in a Norwegian law firm.
b. Members of a Norwegian folk group.
c. Three early mayors of Poulsbo.
10. The recommended daily serving size of lutefisk is:
a. Half pound
b. One pound
c. Two pounds
d. No pounds
ANSWERS:
1. False. Lud-a-fisk is not a Norwegian hip hop artist. But how cool would that be!?
2. False.
3. False. But we expect that it will be someday.
4. a. The Devastator ate four pounds of lutefisk.
5. True. Bad penmanship has been blamed for the misspelling. The town was initially named after Paulsbo, Norway. But authorities in Washington, D.C. named the local post office in 1886, but spelled it as “Poulsbo,” and the spelling stuck.
6. True. The city also named King Olaf Vei in his honor.
7. c. Authorities with the Jorvik Viking Centre in York made worldwide news in 2013 when they predicted that Ragnarök would be on Feb. 22, 2014. The date also coincided with the centre’s 30th Jorvik Viking Festival. Talk about a coincidence.
8. Technically false, but locals know the true history …
9. c. Andrew Moe, the city’s first mayor, served from 1908-10. Peter Iverson, the city’s second mayor, served from 1910-22; he also served as a state legislator and founded the North Kitsap Herald. Paul Paulson, the city’s fourth mayor, served from Jan. 10, 1924 until his death later that year, on Nov. 19.
10. We’ll leave that one up to the reader.
*Editor’s note: Men by the names of Larry and Curly did not found either Winslow or Gorst, nor did I.B. Moe have any relation to the Three Stooges. If this went over your head, you should catch up on some pop culture.
