Help Requested From Our Scandinavian Readers -- Nothing About The Bakken -- November 6, 2018

The back story is too long to go into, so we will cut to the chase.

In Dore, ND, there is/was a Finsaas family (featured in The Williston Herald) in 2012.

When I was growing up, when my mom worked the swing shift at the hospital, we had an older woman watch over us at the house. We knew her as Mrs. Romsaas.

Now, here's where I need help. The internet is of limited help.

Is Romsaas  / Finsaas: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, or other? Probably not Irish.

My internet search suggests Swedish.

"Saas" is clearly the anglicized "Sås" which in Swedish, according to an internet source on recipes, is "sauce."

Generally, when I found a recipe with "sås" on the internet it was for a fish sauce/fish recipe.

"Fin" apparently means "delicate" and is used in conjunction when describing a Hollandaise sauce for salmon.

"Rom," interestingly enough, is very likely "rum" -- again, it was used in conjunction with a rum sauce for some (fish?) dish.

My Norwegian father was always a bit biased against the Swedes, something he "took" from his father. I never thought about it much one way or the other.

But it fascinates me to think that my father's Norwegian children may have been watched over by a Swedish woman during their early impressionable years. If so, my dad would say it explains a lot how his children turned out.