Learn about Gokstad - a Viking Ship at ‘Those Were the Days’ on April 26

OREGON – A replica of a Viking ship that made its way to Chicago will be the topic at the ‘Those Were The Days’ program at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 26, at the Oregon Depot, 400 Collins St.

Perry Straw, former executive of the Moody Radio Network is a member of the Friends of the Viking Ship, a not for profit organization whose mission it is to facilitate the preservation of the ship and to advocate for its public display in a permanent museum setting with adequate security and climate control.

The ship was built at Christen Christensen’s Framnes Shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway in 1892-93, copied after the ancient Viking ship Gokstad which was excavated in 1880.

The Gokstad had been called the most beautiful ship ever built. The Viking Ship sailed from Norway to Chicago, via the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. It became one of the greatest attractions at the World’s Columbian Exposition.

The Viking is approximately 78 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 6.5 feet high from the bottom of the keel to the gunwale. Clinker built, its planks are fastened together with thousands of iron rivets. At sea, the Viking averaged 10 knots and the hull was observed to flex with the waves.

Straw was educated at Southeastern Bible College in Alabama and later he attended and graduated from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. As soon as he arrived in Chicago, Straw became involved with the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle and started working in radio.

In 1971, he became the administrator of the Broadcasting Services department for the Moody Radio Network. He was appointed director of Broadcast Services in 1988, which included overseeing the network’s computer development.

Straw was married to another Moody Bible Institute graduate, Lorraine Meland Straw. The couple became involved with The American Scandinavian Council who in 1994 assumed the responsibility of the 1893 Viking Ship’s preservation and who in 1996 lovingly brought the ship from Chicago to Good Templar Park in Geneva, Illinois.

The couple were some of the founding members of the Friends of the Viking Ship, a not for profit organization whose mission it is to facilitate the preservation of the 1893 Viking Ship as an important artifact from the Columbian Exposition, and to advocate its public display in a permanent museum setting with adequate security and climate control.

To accomplish this goal, FOVS are raising funds for its protection and preservation, and for interpretation of its history. FOVS are seeking appropriate partners who share their mission of securing an optimal long-term home.

The Viking remains in Good Templar Park in Geneva. The fabric canopy has been replaced several times. The dragon “head” and “tail” of the ship are in storage at the Museum of Science and Industry. They feel a ship this beautiful, which they also believe is the largest remaining artifact of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Illinois, deserves to be preserved. They feel the Viking should be valued for the fine ship she is and placed into a museum.

Straw continues his involvement and volunteerism as an honorary member of the Friends of the Viking Ship group in Geneva.

For more information about this program or other other Oregon Depot topics, contact Roger Cain 815-757-9715, Chris Martin 815-742-8471 or Otto Dick 815-440-0639.