Scandinavian American

The Scandinavian American was a publication "dedicated to the interests of the Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, and Icelandic population of the Great Northwest." The first issue came off the presses at 2228 First Avenue, Seattle Washington, in January 1945. It had the look and feel of a magazine, which was the publisher's intention. It was a monthly publication for about the first five years; beginning in August 1949 it was issued twice a month. It went back to being published once a month in July of 1952 and then began being published once a quarter, or about every other month, in 1954. The purpose of the Scandinavian American was explained in an editorial piece in the first issue. The publishers felt that there were Scandinavian Americans that were not being served by the Svenska Posten (Swedish Post) and the Washington Posten, due to the fact that these papers were primarily written in Swedish and Norwegian. They decided a publication was needed that all people of Scandinavian heritage in the Northwest could read andthat would unite them.

The paper included a myriad of sections covering many topics. It included "News from Norway" as well as sections of news from Sweden and Denmark. It also had a section called "Through A Woman's Eyes" written by Anny Kristina Mattson and later a section called "The Wartime Housewife." Another section, entitled "Our Scandinavian-American Servicemen," listed the names of servicemen who were Scandinavian American and from the Northwest, including those who had been killed in action or wounded. It also reported promotions or achievements. The publisher and editors also made an effort to include news about Finnish and Icelandic interests in order to accomplish their goal of being inclusive of all Scandinavian Americans. Although this paper never officially endorsed any specific political party and encouraged support of all political candidates or leaders of Scandinavian heritage, many of the paper's preferred candidates represented the democratic party. This is likely due to the publisher, Knut Einar Carlson, being a strong supporter of the democratic party.

Carlson was an immigrant from Sweden who came to the United States via Canada in 1913. He moved to Seattle in 1918 and lived there the rest of his life. He was a prominent printer and publisher in the state of Washington and in Seattle. He owned the Consolidated Press, Publications Press, and the Svenska Posten and aided in the founding of the Central Printing Company of Seattle. In 1945, he was appointed to be the state printer by Governor Monrad C. Wallgren, who also possessed Scandinavian ancestry, and held that position until 1947. Carlson was very involved in Scandinavian American heritage organizations such as the Vasa Order of America and the American Swedish Historical Foundation. He was even knighted in 1951 by the King of Sweden for "furthering Swedish-American relations." He was also a 50-year member of the International Typographical Union.

Carlson died at the age of 80 in 1974. After a good run of 14 years the Scandinavian American ceased publication in 1958. However, the Svenska Posten, Carlson's other publication, continued to circulate until 1967.