Hjalmer Lindahlsen
| Hjalmer Lindahlsen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sex | M |
| Birth date | 1948 |
| Birth place | Spearfish Lake |
| Spouse | Judy Bensen |
Hjalmer Lindahlsen, is a recurring minor character in Spearfish Lake, emphasis on the character as he is a well known practical joker.
Hjalmer first appears in Chapter One of Rocinante as Jackie Archer's date.
In The West Turtle Lake Club he missed an evening with Kirsten Langenderfer because he was slightly injured when his pickup was hit by a limb falling from a tree.WTLC17 Kirsten said it wasn't really a date.WTLC25
Hjalmer goes on to appear in several other books, most notably in Absent Friend Chapter 7. This is the story of Hjalmer's entries in the Spearfish Lake Chili Festival and is not to be missed!
In the 1974 festival he entered Lutefisk Chili. To really understand this you will need to Google lutefisk. In 1975 he won with Retrofire ChiliWTLC57 and which according to common consensus was the cause of 1975 being the last year for a Chili Festival. In fact in later years when the subject came up Hjalmer has been heard to say "You can laugh, and no one knows it. You can cry, and no one knows it. But make one damn pot of chili, and you never live it down".
According to Spearfish Lake Record-Herald Reporter's Handbook AC6:
B. 1948 in Spearfish Lake. m. Judy Bensen, 1974; 2 k, Hjalmer, Jr. (HJ) 1975, Cassandra (Cassie) 1977. No college. Easy going, fun-loving, but very public spirited citizen. VFD since 1970, (except 1980-1983 due to back problems); EMT. Spearfish Lake City Council 1985–present. Fanatic football fan, strong team supporter. Was maintenance man at SL Hospital through 1988, Central Lumber since then, now manager.
(WARNING: Hjalmer is far and away Spearfish Lake's leading practical joker, and has been since a kid -- or so it's believed. He never admits complicity in a gag unless it takes others to help set it up, like the 1991 School Board election. Has toned down his act some since the 1975 Chili Festival incident, in which the community common wisdom is that he tried to blow the town up like a balloon. Doesn't do penny-ante stuff; his specialty is the setup, usually simple but Machiavellian. He takes his time and usually waits until he can anonymously nail his target right between the eyeballs.
