Norm Owen

Norm Owen was known and loved by many. He was born in 1930 and passed away back in January 2017, leaving behind a family and many friends in the community.

The Jamestown man was known as a people person, and an overall “good guy.” The community knew him best for his Korv burger and ham loaf recipes — Swedish recipes that Owen introduced to the area.

“He was the king of Korv and Jamestown was his kingdom,” said Marlene Lucas, who knew Owen since she was young. “Even if you never knew him personally, you were still a part of him. I can’t say enough about him, he was just an overall good guy.”

For this holiday season, Owen’s daughter and family are making available his famous recipes to the public, as they are popular dishes in Swedish culture during the holidays.

“Korv and ham loaf are often made during the holidays and served with things like glug, which is a drink that is a mix of cinnamon and a special wine or vodka, and pickled fish or herring,” Norm’s daughter, Kristen Rodgers, said. “We also thought it would be a good idea to share them for the holidays because we often get people asking us to share them, not just friends but other members of the community as well.”

Owen began his work with meat at Pearson’s Market before and after he served as a part of the Army. After the market closed, he began to work at Wegmans, bringing his recipes and meats with him, along with many of his customers.

“They began selling Swedish food and other items there because of my dad,” Rodgers said. “He brought Swedish food to Wegmans. He also had Mr. Wegman come in and meet him one time while he was there.”

According to his wife, Evelyn, Owen worked for Wegmans as a meat cutter for 21 years, only retiring in December, the month before he died.

“We had just celebrated our 60th anniversary,” Evelyn Owen said. “It was right at the end of December before he died. Of course, because he was so sick we celebrated in our living room, doing nothing. I think it was amazing that we got to make it to 60 years together.”

Together, the Owens had four children, with Rodgers being the only one who still currently lives in Jamestown. Evelyn Owen said for her and her husband, their favorite thing to be was parents to their children.

“I think the most enjoyable years were when the kids were young and still in school,” Owen said. “Time goes so fast, you know, and now everyone has grown up. I’m still surviving too, but I have my good and bad days. I depend on Kristen (Rodgers) a lot.”

One of Owen’s other favorite pastimes was cooking the meat that he became famous for in the area. The family used to go to the Swedish/Scandinavian festival every summer where Owen would cook his Korv burger and ham loaf.

“Korv is normally served as a sausage, not a burger,” Rodgers said. “But my dad, he got the idea to put it on a rye bread loaf to make it easier to eat. That’s how it originated in Jamestown, and it’s still served at the Wegmans bakery today.”

Lucas, who now works at the local Marvin House, and her god daughter, Brittany Anderson, used to cook with Owen, with Anderson helping to make the Korv burger sometimes.

“The Korv burger made it so it was easier to eat it in the bun,” Lucas said. “No matter what, no matter how many he brought, it always sold out.”

Lucas added that Owen was one of the best people she ever met, and that he was “always there, always helping others.”

“He was everywhere,” Lucas said. “He was a staple in the community. Nobody could fill his shoes.”

Additionally, Lucas added that Owen often would help her at her catering business as well.

“He was just a great guy, and he was always there for everybody,” Lucas said. “Brittany (Anderson) wanted me to add that she’s glad he didn’t live through the pandemic, because he never would have been able to socially distance, because he would want to give everyone a hug. We miss him a lot around the holidays. It’s not the same without him.”

The recipes for Owen’s Korv burger and ham loaf are as follows:

THE KORV BURGER

1 whole onion

7 oz salt

1 oz ground white pepper

1 oz All spice

1 pound nonfat dry milk

2 1/2 pounds water

7 1/2 pounds of raw peeled potatoes

12 1/2 pounds of pork butt or shoulder

5 pounds boneless beef

Use sausage casings or make a pan loaf to make your Korv burgers. Chop the onions into medium or small pieces. Cut the potatoes to fit into a meat grinder. Grind them into coarse pieces. Mix the potatoes, ground meat, onions, all spice, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Norm would normally ground it twice.

HAM LOAF

2 pounds ham or lean pork. Grind together

3 cups of corn flakes

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup of milk

1 TBSP salt

1 TBSP pepper

Mix well together. Bake in a loaf pan for 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees.

For the Ham Loaf sauce:

2 TBSP brown sugar

1 TBSP brown mustard

1 TBSP orange marmalade