Clay County Histories

Markus Krueger | Program Director  HCSCC

Mark Hilde (left) and Tom Hanson (right) by the Hjemkomst

In the winter of 1980-81, Tom Hanson read an article about a guy in Moorhead who built a Viking Ship. Robert Asp had passed away shortly after Christmas that winter, but his boat – the Hjemkomst, Norwegian for “homecoming” – was finished and waiting at Knife River for the ice of Lake Superior to melt. Robert Asp’s friends and family would spend the upcoming summer training and preparing to complete Asp’s dream of sailing the Hjemkomst from Minnesota to Norway.  

Tom had always wanted to be a Viking and he was intrigued that Asp grew up near his hometown of Thief River Falls, so the 26-year-old made a phone call to the Asp family and offered his services. With their encouragement, Tom hitched a ride with a trucker friend to Knife River that spring and joined the crew. 

In the summer of 1981, the Hjemkomst had a crew of eight: four of Robert Asp’s children (Tom, Doug, Roger and Deb), Jeff Solum (a Moorhead NDSU student who loved sailing), Bjorn Holtet (a Norwegian who hitchhiked to Minnesota when he heard of the Hjemkomst), Mark Hilde (a 28-year-old Moorhead sailor who had long been part of the project), and Tom Hanson. 

The crew spent the summer taking the Hjemkomst out on Lake Superior. They needed to see what this 1000-year-old model of sailing ship could do, and they needed all the crewmembers, who mostly consisted of Minnesota prairie kids, to become good sailors. Their lives would depend on that. They bunked in sleeping bags on the floor of an abandoned train station.

The crew usually took the Hjemkomst out for day trips, although some trips were up to four days in length. They visited Isle Royal, Bayfield, Madeline Island, and points in between. Mark Hilde, the most experienced sailor, was the skipper of the Hjemkomst that summer. Tom Hanson admits he was absolutely clueless as a sailor at first, and credits Mark for patiently showing him the ropes. Whenever they docked, dozens of people suddenly appeared to greet them and gawk at the Viking Ship. The crew sold books about the Hjemkomst for $1.50 each and signed autographs. The book sales provided them lunch money. 

When the summer ended, the Hjemkomst went ashore for her winter hibernation. Her epic voyage to Norway would begin in May. Tom Hanson would not be on the Hjemkomst for that voyage. He joined the Navy instead. When the Hjemkomst landed in Norway in July of 1982, Tom proudly showed his fellow sailors the People Magazine story about his old ship.

Mark Hilde brought his old shipmate Tom Hanson by the Hjemkomst Center recently to see their old ship. After the Navy, Tom spent a career in ministry and teaching English as a second language. Tom says he skips the occasional crew reunions since he was not one of the 13 who left on the 1982 voyage, but he has fond memories of his summer on the Hjemkomst and he cherishes his “Original Crewmember” T-shirt.