Vignette > Sir Eric

The June 25, 2015 Vignette #52 was about a replica of the famous steam schooner Wapama that was in Erik Krag’s front yard on Edgewood. He was also interested in another ship, the Gjøa, the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. With a crew of six, Roald Amundsen of Norway traversed the passage in a three-year journey, finishing in 1906 in San Francisco. Rather than undertake a return voyage around the horn to Norway, Amundsen donated the Gjøa to the city. It was put on display in Golden Gate Park. Over the following decades the Gjøa slowly deteriorated. In 1939, Erik Krag founded the Gjoa Foundation and undertook a complete refurbishment that was completed in 1949.  In 1972 the Gjøa was returned to Norway where it was rebuilt for display in Oslo. In recognition of his efforts in preserving the Gjøa, Erik Krag was knighted by King Olaf of Norway. From then on, friends would jokingly refer to him as Sir Erik. After his retirement in 1960, Erik and his wife, Dagny, split their time between their home on Edgewood and their papaya plantation in Maui. Dagny died in 1981 after sixty years of marriage. Erik died in 1983 at age 91.