Arvid Township

ARVID TOWNSHIP is set in a fictitious northern Minnesota farming community in the summer of 1949. The focus of the story is an impromptu, alcohol and testosterone-fueled midnight auto race through the foreboding depths of the Lundeby Swamp. The race starts off badly, and deteriorates to a tragic end, having a profound impact on the lives of the surviving participants.
It is a wryly entertaining portrayal of assorted Norwegian-American characters as they struggle to cope with their own ineptitude and prejudices in an array of interrelated situations. Their plights are further confounded by random invocations of Murphy’s Law, along with a variety of demons – ranging from rebellious milk cows to cantankerous John Deere tractors.
The story is punctuated by two obituaries from the weekly Quisling Journal. They serve to place the family relationships into perspective, and give insight into the long-standing Uffdahl family scandal which is an undercurrent theme.