Norwegian Lefse Expert, Donna James

Donna James first went to work at Norsland Lefse in 2000. Her son Scott James and his business partner Mark Johnson had purchased Norsland Lefse in 1996; her husband Lee had retired in 1998 and had gone to work at Norsland. When Donna retired from her job at TRW, a local automobile parts factory, she figured she might as well work there too, gradually working at Norsland more and more.

When Donna started at Norsland, she unloaded the lefse from the grills after they were baked. Her husband Lee mixed the potatoes and flour to make the lefse dough. There were a total of six workers, each with their own job to do to make the lefse. Through the years, Donna did all the jobs except mixing the dough and running "Bob." Mixing the dough was a hard job; the massive Hobart bowls filled with dough were very heavy to lift and move. Donna never ran "Bob" either because she said she wasn’t tall enough. In order to load dough into “Bob,” an employee had to reach above her head. The dough then moved down and was formed into a round by the machine to begin the lefse making process. According to Donna, they always called the machine “Bob” because they didn't really know the name for it!

The workers at that time began work at 6:00 a.m. and worked until 2:00 p.m. They liked the schedule because then they could go home at 2:00 and have the rest of the day to themselves. The lefse making season began the second week in September. The reason it began the second week was that Donna’s family, consisting of her eight brothers and one sister, always had a family vacation the first week of September in northern Wisconsin. When Donna got back, the lefse season began and the factory ran full steam until after Christmas.

In January, Norsland would shut down for a two week break. After the break, the lefse production would resume and continue until the end of May when it got too hot.

The entire summer the lefse factory would remain closed due to both the heat and humidity. It’s extremely difficult to make lefse if it’s humid and all of the grills heated to 500 degrees would have made the factory very hot. Donna always liked grilling lefse the rest of the year because she kept warm doing it!

The other workers would collect unemployment over the summer, but Donna said she only could get five weeks of unemployment since her son was a part owner.

When Donna started at Norsland, they were located in a smaller building that is now occupied by the flower shop. In 2007, when Rushford flooded, the machines were all moved to Mark Johnson’s garage outside of town. The flood occurred in late August and the lefse season was soon beginning. Luckily, flood waters had not made it up into the machines; after extensive scrubbing of the belts and rollers, they were again ready to begin making lefse in Mark’s garage.

It took some time before Norsland could return to town. They purchased the former Tri-County Electric building and remodeled it to create the factory, gift shop and cafe. This was a much more spacious area than they had been in before. It took a while, however, for Norsland Lefse to recover financially from the flood.

Through the years, Donna has most enjoyed working with many people at Norsland. "There were so many over the years—I’ve forgotten some of them. The people were so good, so nice!" Donna explained. Some of the recent ones she’s enjoyed working with include Wendy Agrimson, "the nicest person", Donna Johnson and Jean Schick. Donna declared, "You just liked working there!"

Donna remembers when some Amish women worked for Norsland. They were used to going barefoot at home and wanted to do so at Norsland. Because they didn’t drive cars, a driver, Myron Bunke was hired to pick them up at their homes and drive them back again. Some of the Amish girls left the Amish culture and now live in Rushford.

According to Donna, the old lefse rolling machines made by Humble Manufacturing were the best. She commented, "The old ones were wonderful, but they just wore out!"

Donna shared that she had been on TV many times. Local channels 3, 10 and 8 as well as channels from the Twin Cities have come to Rushford to tape segments about Norsland Lefse. They would interview Donna and record her making lefse. In a few years, they’d come back again and remember her from their previous visit!

Through the years as she worked different jobs, Donna was given quite a bit of freedom. At one time, Mark Johnson had said, "Let her do what she wants out there!"

Donna explained, "It was like a family more or less." Now she worries about the work ethic of employees. "It’s not like it was when I was young," she shared.

Mark Johnson was the key to the success of Norsland Lefse in Donna's opinion. Mark was in charge of the day-to-day operation and had a passion for the business. "Mark was on it - always!" Donna exclaimed.

I asked Donna what her favorites were from Norsland Lefse after working there for 25 years. Donna responded that she loves their moist fruitcake which is filled with nuts, cherries and dates. Scott got her one for Christmas, and she confessed that she ate the whole thing herself! Donna also loves the bakery and the coffee in the cafe.

On Donna’s 85th birthday this last April, she decided it was time to retire (again). The last full year she had cut back to working "just" four or five hours a day. This past fall, she got into shipping for Norsland and goes in once a week or so to help. Apparently Donna still enjoys keeping in touch at Norsland!