Norsk Høstfest is North America's largest Scandinavian festival, held annually in Minot, North Dakota. In October 1986, the festival featured a royal visit from Princess Astrid of Norway.
As the Princess toured the exhibition hall, she passed many model displays but stopped specifically at the table of Palmer Alvin Stadum, a retired union electrician from Minot. Palmer had brought two of his hand-built model locomotives to show. These were not assembled from commercial kits; Palmer had machined and filed each metal part himself from engineering blueprints, down to the smallest valve and wheel.
The Princess stood at the table and talked with Palmer about the craft, asking specifically how he constructed the steam valves and cylinders. The conversation connected Palmer's Norwegian ancestry to his lifelong work as a builder on the Great Plains.
Today, the framed photograph of that royal encounter, along with the two model locomotives (including the one named Scott for his grandson), are preserved in the family exhibit at the Rugby Pioneer Village museum.