Cokes & Smorgasbord

The U.S.'s first and only woman ambassador, quietly elegant Eugenie Anderson of Red Wing, Minn., arrived in Copenhagen less than two months ago. Already Danes call her "second lady of the land." How does she do it? Her Red Wing diplomacy was nicely evident last week.

Her official residence, "Rydhave," in Copenhagen's northern suburbs, had just been redecorated. A housewarming was in order. Instead of a bigwig party, the ambassador invited the painters, plasterers and carpenters who had remodeled her house (90 in all, including wives). Dressed in their Sunday best, the guests flocked in, shook hands with the American diplomat and her husband, Artist John Anderson, tackled the smoergaasbord, Cokes and aquavit, sang folk songs around the grand piano in the salon, watched documentary movies about New York, baseball and Hawaii. It was 2 a.m. when the party broke up. As the happy guests filed out, each received from hostess and host a pound of American-brand coffee, a rationed and prized rarity in Denmark.

Trilled one of the guests: "They're just the nicest couple I've met. In the future we shall reckon time as before or after the Rydhave party. It has been a red-letter day in our lives."

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