Harriet Rogge

Celebrating the Life of
Harriet B. Rogge

Harriet bid us farewell, Friday, April 11, 2020.  At age 93 and quarantined to her care facility apartment during the pandemic, she was cared for during her last days by niece Susan Flannigan, a retired nurse practitioner. In her last hours Harriet was surrounded by the familiar voices of many nieces and nephews (via Zoom technology) who shared their stories and words of comfort with her. She was visited by ­Candice, a ­minister from Redeemer Lutheran Church who prayed and annointed her. Harriet took her last breath shortly before 3:10 pm on Good Friday.

The Swedish Connection
Harriet was the last surviving member of her Rogge generation. Parents, Nels (Johnson) Rogge and Martha Sundin met in Östersund, Sweden, which is where many relatives still reside today. Nels Johnson was from the ­municipality of Jämtland and immigrated to the United States in 1903 with his family when he was 17. Martha was from Västernorrland and immigrated in 1909 by herself at age 15. Prior to getting married, at age 24 Nels changed his surname to Rogge. Family members recall that it was because the Johnson name was too common and that Rogge was chosen because it was the name of a family friend in Sweden. Nels and Martha Rogge were married September 5, 1911 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They started their family in Meridan, Iowa, the following year. Harriet Bernice, the second youngest of their eight children, was born at home on October 16, 1926. Harriet was blessed with good health and in 93 years she was never hospitalized.

One of the Smartest Gals in Meriden
Harriet and her siblings were educated at the public school of Meriden.  As a young adult, she moved to Sioux City where she graduated from the National Business Training School and began working as a secretary at Buell & Winter Engineers. In 1955, she moved to ­Minneapolis, Minnesota and began a successful 32 year career at NSP (Northern States Power). She started in the “steno pool” which were mostly female staff members who would be called upon to record meetings in shorthand and later transcribe the information as a typewritten document. During the last 17 years of her career, she served as the ­executive assistant to the chairman and chief executive officers observing and ­participating in the ­decision making process of the company. She retired in 1987 as Vice-President of Administration.

Electricity was Penny Cheap!
Nieces and nephews grew up with the NSP icon, Reddy Kilowatt who was almost like a cousin. The tagline for Reddy was, “Electricity is Penny Cheap at NSP”. Over the years, Harriet lavished them with Reddy Kilowatt pencils, playing cards, snow globes, aprons and plenty of other memorabilia. On one occasion, the CEO presented all of his executives with Reddy Kilowatt cuff links. In those days, it was rare to have a female executive. Harriet received a set of cuff links too. Never worn, she stored them in her jewlery box and eventually gave them away. The cuff link era was over and the links were made into keepsake necklaces.

An Empowering Role Model
Harriet was a long standing member of Zonta International, a group of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. According to their website, their vision is a world in which women’s rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential. “In such a world, women have access to all resources and are represented in decision making positions on an equal basis with men.”  Harriet’s career path exemplified the Zonta philosophy. In addition, Harriet served as either an officer, a director or both for several service organizations: The ­Metropolitan Economic Development Association; The Cricket Theatre and Minneapolis Chapter of Executive Women International. Harriet was also an ­active volunteer at churches she attended. She had a wide circle of volunteer friends throughout her life.

The Clam Lake Get Away
Weekends and retirement years were spent fishing at the cabin on Clam Lake in Siren, Wisconsin. ­Time was spent golfing, bowling, skating, cross-country skiing, biking and playing pinochle. Sunny afternoons were peaceful and spent on the deck listening to Twin’s baseball games. There would be an occasional get-away to the ‘Hole in The Wall’ casino in Danbury or the nearby tavern that featured ‘Shake-a-Day meat raffles. Across the lake and down a canal was the Bilmar, a basement bar with a top-notch local duo on the drums and an accordian. There were some late-night shenanigans (mostly done by Flannigans) and a little bit of hootin’ and hollerin’ when their Rogge cousins came to town. Many family members have fond memories of get-togethers and reunions at the Clam Lake cabin.

The Swedish Heritage
Harriet and her siblings took great pride in their Swedish heritage. They helped the next generation ‘carry on’ with Swedish traditions. There was always lutefisk and glögg at Christmas. Many of the older nieces and nephews remember the Meridan days when Nels and Martha hosted the Christmas family gathering. The pungent smell of lutefisk filled the house. Swedish sausage, rye bread, pepparkakor, herring, lefsa and lingonberries were among the dishes that covered the table. Adults ate in the large dining room and kids were in the kitchen. In recent years, Harriet continued making lefsa from scratch with one of her church groups. For many years, she and her sister Sylvia celebrated “Lutefisk Saturday” with the Flannigan family on the Saturday before Christmas. They enjoyed seeing the Swedish traditions being embraced by the next generations. Fortunately, lutefisk has been refined over the years and much of its distinctive aroma has been eliminated.

Time to Say Goodbye
Harriet and her younger sister Sylvia lived together for much of their lives. They were a pair — Harriet was the driving aunt and Sylvia was the cooking aunt. They were always together and rarely was one seen without the other. Lilla their cat kept them ­entertained and loved for most of the last 17 years. Harriet was a caretaker to Sylvia in her final days and said goodbye to her in May 2017. Harriet said goodbye to Lilla in February 2020. And now it is time for us to say goodbye to Harriet.  All three were cherished by several generations of Flannigan and Rogge kids who will miss them dearly.

A special thank you to Harriet’s caretaker Susan Flannigan and the staff at The Pillars. Memorials preferred to Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3770 Bellaire Avenue, White Bear Lake 651-429-5411.

Much of Harriet’s biographical detail has been gathered and documented by niece Mary (Flannigan) Johnston; information came from various sources including NSP documents. This biography was written by niece Jane Flannigan.

Gratitude and appreciation to John Flannigan for executing final documents, arrangements and logistics for memorial service during the challenging times of a global pandemic.

An abundance of gratitude and heartfelt thanks to Harriet & Sylvia’s nearby Flannigan relatives Susan, John and Paul plus their family members for being available to fulfil many of the Aunties requests and needs during their last years.