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This album is an outgrowth of the first Snoose Boulevard Festival in the Cedar-Riverside area of Minneapolis, held in April, 1972, to celebrate the neighborhood’s Scandinavian heritage. Cedar-Riverside, now better known as the West Bank, was for many years a colorful community with a large population of Scandinavian immigrants. Norway’s Nobel Prize-winning novelist Knut Hamsun spent some time in the area, and Ole Rolvaag, America’s foremost Norwegian-language author, wrote about life on the West Bank in his novel 'The Boat of Longing.' For several decades, "Snoose Boulevard" was the affectionate nickname for the main street in this neighborhood, Cedar Avenue, and, by extension , for the whole Cedar-Riverside area. 'Snoose' is an Anglicized spelling of 'snus,' the Scandinavian word for snuff. As the least expensive form of tobacco it has always been a favorite in Scandinavia, and Scandinavian immigrants in America came to be recognized by their "snoosing." Other urban Scandinavian neighborhoods throughout America had their 'Snoose Boulevards,' too, e..g., Payne Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota; Chicago Avenue in Chicago; and the area around Leif Ericsson square in Brooklyn, New York. Although only one of several Scandinavian neighborhoods in the Twin Cities, the Cedar-Riverside area was especially important as a center of Scandinavian-language professional entertainment. The neighborhood lodge hall doubled as Scandinavian vaudeville houses and dance halls: Dania Hall at 5th and Cedar; the I. O. G. T. Hall on 2 ½ Street; and Mozart Hall near Seven Corners. All but one of the songs on this album--the exception being "Pelles Yankee Doodle--" are Scandinavian-American songs which were popular along Cedar Avenue between the 1880's and the early 1950's. The, represent a broad sampling of material from various source. Some are folk songs or popular 19th century ballads, brought over by the emigrants from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden; others were composed in the Scandinavian languages in America. Some were sung in the community's homes and churches, others belonged in the repertoire of Scandinavian vaudeville artists who performed in the neighborhood halls or were enjoyed on 78 rpm phonograph recordings. Only twenty years ago, many of the songs could still be heard from bars and dance halls along "Snoose Boulevard." Today they are remembered fondly by many of the old-time Cedar-Riverside residents. Though the songs may be all but forgotten in Scandinavia today, here, in America , they are part of a living tradition. Identifier: SC 05.1.5.023