Robert Louis Asp (February 13, 1923 – December 27, 1980) was an American educator from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. He is known principally for his involvement building the replica ship ''Hjemkomst'' which sailed from

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

Bergen, Norway Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

in 1982. Robert Louis Asp was born in Minnesota, the son of Charles Otto Olofsson Asp (1868-1941) and Inga Josephine (Iverson) Asp (1886-1960). The idea for building ''Hjemkomst'' originated with Robert Asp during the early 1970s when he was employed as a guidance counselor at Moorhead Junior High School. ''Hjemkomst'', which means "Homecoming" in Norwegian, is a replica Viking ship that is permanently housed in The Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center. The ship is a full-scale replica of the Gokstad Viking ship that was discovered in Norway in 1881. Construction on ''Hjemkomst'' began in 1974 at the Leslie Welter Potato Warehouse in

Hawley, Minnesota Hawley is a town in Clay County, Minnesota, Clay County, Minnesota, United States, along the Buffalo River (Minnesota), Buffalo River. The population was 2,219 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town went through six quick name ...

. The warehouse site was then transformed into the Hawley Shipyard during the construction. That same year, Asp became diagnosed with leukemia; however he still continued to build the ship; he had help from other volunteers. . In July 1980 the Hawley Shipyard was torn down for the removal and christening of the completed ship. ''Hjemkomst'' was shipped overnight to

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, on August 5, 1980. Asp held the rank as captain during the ship's maiden voyage throughout

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

until his death four months later on December 27, 1980. In May 1982, Asp's three sons and daughter along with eight members of ''Hjemkomst''s crew decided to sail ''Hjemkomst'' to Norway, which was Asp's original dream. The ship departed

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on June 8, 1982 and arrived in Bergen, Norway on July 19, 1982. The ship subsequently sailed to

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Norway arriving on August 9, 1982. The ship stayed in Oslo for a year until it was transported back to Minnesota on board the Bulk Carrier ''M/V Brunto''. The story of Robert Asp's adventure was documented in an 11-minute short documentary called "The Hjemkomst: Thirty Years Later". He was inducted posthumously into the

Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame (SAHF) was established in 1984 in Minot, North Dakota, by the Norsk Høstfest Association. The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame is "an enduring means of honoring the persons of Scandinavian descent in North ...

in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asp, Robert 1923 births 1980 deaths People from Minnesota 20th-century American educators American people of Norwegian descent American people of Swedish descent Norwegian-American culture in Minnesota

See also

References