World Record Lefse Monument
Starbuck, Pope County, Minnesota
Marker Inscription
World Record Lefse This 9 foot 8 inch slab represents the size of the World Record Lefse baked on this site July 1, 1983, the year of Starbuck's centennial. To commemorate the area's Scandinavian heritage, the Starbuck Chamber of Commerce initiated the novel idea of baking a huge lefse. The Starbuck Lions Club accepted this challenge. The baking team members were: Maurice Amundson, John Gorder, Tilford Jergenson, Luverne Jorgenson, Larry Kittelson, Earl Larson, Chuck Wahlquist, and Maurice Walline. The feat is recorded in Norway's Schibsted Book of Records.
The Story
On this site in July 1983, during Starbuck's centennial, local volunteers baked a lefse measuring nine feet eight inches across — a world record for the thin Norwegian flatbread. The Chamber of Commerce dreamed up the stunt to honor the area's deep Scandinavian roots, and the Lions Club took on the baking. The feat earned a place in Norway's Schibsted Book of Records, and this slab commemorates its size.
Why it matters
The record lefse celebrates how Scandinavian immigrants and their descendants preserved food traditions and community identity in the rural Upper Midwest.
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