The 49th annual Fyr Ball Festival was held in Ephraim this past weekend and one of the most important elements of the festival is the crowning of the Fyr Ball Chieftain. The ceremony was Saturday night and Hedvig Elaine Heise, better known as Hedy, was announced as the new chieftain.
Hedy began coming to Ephraim as a 6 month-old with her parents and her family can be traced all the way back to just 4 years after the founding of the Village of Ephraim in 1853. Hedy accepted her chieftain status in a Norwegian sweater given to her by her cousins and lit the first bonfire of the Fyr Ball Festival.
