Ester Moe Lodge #39 was instituted on February 24, 1996, at the fairgrounds in the town of Langley, Washington, on Whidbey Island. It is the second largest lodge in all of Daughters of Norway from their institution in the mid 1990s through today and hosted the 2004 Grand Lodge Comvention. Ester Moe is a very active lodge. It sponsors an outstanding children's Norwegian dance group, the Young Scandia Dansers, who recently danced in Norway in their September, 2006 trip entitled: "Living Our Heritage thru Dance". Members of Ester Moe Lodge encouraged the Scandinavian Language Institute to start teaching language classes on the island. The lodge also sponsors several events each year which provide the public with exposure to Scandinavian foods, crafts, folk music and dancing. A contingent comes to Seattle to march in the Norwegian Constitution Day Parade on the 17th of May and to visit the Nordic Heritage Museum. Speakers from around the northwest are invited to speak at the exciting Ester Moe Lodge meetings. The members of Ester Moe Lodge keep very busy!

The lodge was named for a Norwegian-American pioneer school teacher on Whidbey Island. At the time of the lodge's institution, Marilyn Gabelein, Elsie Olkonen, and Pat Nostrand prepared an abbreviated biography of Ester Moe, excerpts from which follow:

Ester Anderson Moe was born in 1905 in Great Falls, Montana. She was the daughter of immigrant parents. Her father was a mine worker who longed to be a farmer. Her mother finally told him that he had come too far not to finish pursuing his dream. So, in 1906, with baby daughter Ester and all of their worldly possessions, Anders and Bertine Anderson took the train from Great Falls to Seattle. Land was being advertised on Whidbey Island by Jacob Anthes, an original pioneer. After investigating, Anders bought 20 acres just south of Langley and brought his family home.

Anders never did become the farmer he intended to be, but his daughter Ester was always by his side from the time she was just a toddler. He worked in the town cemetery and did all of the jobs from digging to filling back up. Ester learned never to be afraid there, and even at the age of three could tell anyone just where their loved ones were buried. Ester grew up just as Langley did, and her childhood was filled with wonderful adventures, including the big snow of 1916 and the flu epidemic of 1918. Ester's brother became very ill, but she was afraid to be alone with him while her mother went for the doctor. The solution was to send Ester on her horse. When she arrived, the doctor immediately realized that she was very ill, too. He sent medicine home with her for both her and her brother. She became so dizzy on the way back that she had to walk the rest of the way after falling off the horse. They both got better, but she had the flu at the same time for several years.

Ester was active in school plays and the drill team in high school. She graduated with a class of three. Ester went on to Bellingham Normal School [now Western Washington University] and returned home to teach in the Deer Lake School. She was amused to see the initials she had carved into one of the desks when she was a student. As a teacher, she was expected to participate in community activities, and Ester was in charge of many programs such as operettas, plays and basket socials, which were held in Clinton Progressive Hall. Ester was the President of the Deer Lake PTA when the schoolhouse burned and was in charge of the many fund-raisers which paid for the new schoolhouse and the new piano to replace the one that burned. Although no longer a school, the new school which Ester worked so hard for still stands. Ester also fought long and hard to save the school for Clinton, but there were more voters in Langley, so the school and the piano were lost to Langley.

Ester was active in St. Peter's Lutheran Church from 1923 on. She served as a Sunday School teacher to three generations, was substitute and finally the regular organist for many years and also the Choir Director. She conducted Bible study classes for women and even occasionally gave the sermon.

Ester was the Secretary of the Clinton Progressive Association in 1928 and for many years played the piano for dances, helping to raise money for maintenance and improvments to the hall. She was active in the Scandinavian Fraternity when it was responsible for maintaining the hall.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed Ester as Postmaster of the Clinton Post Office, where she served for 29 years until she retired. She also served for many years as a Democratic Precinct Committeeman.

Ester was married to Carl Bergquist and they had two children, a daughter who lived only a few days, and a son who died of appendicitis at the age of eight. Much later she married John Moe who preceded her in death. She died in 1995.

The lodge meets on the second Saturday of most months at 9:30 AM at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, 6330 S. Wilson Place in Clinton, Washington. This is directly up the hill from the Washington State ferry dock. For more up-to-date information about lodge activities, contact the lodge.