"The Other Swedes"
Honoring Them and Remembering Them
~ The Lindsborg Swedes, Their Neighbors & Friends
Mr. Gustaf Nathaniel (G. N.) Malm
~ Remembering Lindsborg's Swedish Renaissance Man
~ Accounts by Dr. Lindquist
G.N. Malm
(1869-1928)
He was a Swedish Augustana Lutheran Christian
Honoring Them and Remembering Them
~ The Lindsborg Swedes, Their Neighbors & Friends
Mr. Gustaf Nathaniel (G. N.) Malm
~ Remembering Lindsborg's Swedish Renaissance Man
~ Accounts by Dr. Lindquist
G.N. Malm
(1869-1928)
He was a Swedish Augustana Lutheran Christian
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" He had great visions for Lindsborg and Bethany College and was an untiring worker on behalf of values that would distinguish the community as a center of culture. His untimely death in 1928 was a great loss to the community."
----Dr. Emory K. Lindquist
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Like Bethany College founder Rev. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson, author and artist G.N. Malm was gifted as well with multiple talents and the energy to use them for the welfare of Lindsborg and Bethany College. Hence, the reason that I have called Mr. Malm, Lindsborg's Swedish Renaissance Man.
He appeared on the Lindsborg scene in 1894 and for over 3 decades gave of his best to the community. For starters, at the request of Dr. Swensson, he, with Bethany College professor artist Swede Carl Lotavé, found himself in Old Main two stories high in the Chapel lying dangerously flat on his back on a scaffold painting the ceiling, like Michael Angelo did for the Sistine Chapel. It appears, beginning in the later 1890s that Mr. Malm partnered with Dr. Swensson to promote widely Lindsborg's "Messiah" performances by an ongoing yearly campaign of letter writing, inviting American journalist and opera soloists and musicians from the States and Europe, to become a part the Messiah Festival. Mr. Malm was the historian and general secretary of the Oratorio Society for many years and he was the leader of the 1902 Bethany Male Chorus activities for more than 2 decades with Samuel Thorstenberg being its first conductor. The construction of the 1929 Presser Hall for these performances was owed to his leadership role. In addition, he, with artist friends Bethany College professors Carl Lotavé, and Birger Sandzén, formed the "first" annual Pioneer Midwest Art Exhibition in 1899, to appear at the same time as the annual "Messiah" Festival, of which both events continues to this day during Easter Holy Week. As well he was the leader in organizing the "first" English speaking 1905 Swedish Lutheran founded church in Lindsborg, the Messiah Lutheran Church. His altar art appears in that church and at the Bethany Lutheran Church where he created the beautiful altar. As an entrepreneur, he invented a nationally recognize stenciling paint company which was to merge with a Detroit company, yet was able to maintain its headquarters in Lindsborg for many years, thereby providing jobs for many Lindsborg citizens. As a Swede, the preservation and promotion of the Swedish traditions in Lindsborg was of the greatest importance to him, especially the Swedish folk dancing. He was the prime mover in the Coronado Heights project which was to commemorate the arrival of Coronado and his Conquistadores in the Smoky Valley in 1541, that resulted in the formation of the Lindsborg Historical Society in 1919 and the acquisition of the highest Smoky Valley butte, today known as Coronado Heights.
While composing Smoky Valley People, Dr. Emory K. Lindquist, fourth Swedish American Bethany College president, could not let the contributions he knew about G. N. Malm go unnoticed to future Lindsborg generations when he dedicated nearly a page about this all "in" citizen!
Here on page 214 of his chapter: "Art in the Community: Artists and Writers" are his words:
"An important figure in Lindsborg cultural history was Gustaf Nathaniel [G. N.] Malm -- artist, writer, and promoter of good causes. Malm was born in Svartorps Parish Jönköping, Sweden, on January 20, 1869, the son of the Rev. and Mrs. P. A. Malm. As a young boy he showed promising talent, and in the desire to provide additional opportunity for development, he was invited to reside for a period at the home of Countess Posse. He was not happy there and stayed only for a brief period. He enrolled then at the College at Jönköping, but inadequate financial support made it necessary for him to discontinue his formal schooling. Young Malm then took up the trade of a painter. In October, 1889, he came to the United States, settling at Omaha, Nebraska. After marriage to miss Matilda Wredberg in January, 1893, the young couple moved to Lindsborg during the following year.
"Malm soon won distinction in his painting craft, especially through various designs and stencils which he developed. In 1913 he became associated with the Acme Paint Company [of Michigan] but fortunately was able to maintain his residence in Lindsborg. Malm was an enthusiastic supporter of Bethany College and of civic activities in Lindsborg. He was secretary and historian of the Bethany College Oratorio Society, a leader in the Male Chorus and a promoter of many worthwhile events in the community. His paintings showed talent of high quality. His greatest distinction resides in his literary contribution. The volume, Charlie Johnson (1919), written in dialect Swedish, with its Swedish American vocabulary and structure, is a classic as is also his dramatic work, "Härute" (1919). Malm wrote many short stories in this dialect as well as some in English. A keen observer, he was able to capture in a unique manner the adaption of Swedish immigrants to the life on the plains. A small man physically, he had great visions for Lindsborg and Bethany College and was an untiring worker in behalf of values that would distinguish the community as a center of culture. His untimely death in 1928, following an illness of a few months, was a great loss to the college and community."
Twenty-two years later in his 1975 Bethany in Kansas, Dr. Lindquist mentions Mr. Malm again yet more briefly in the chapter "The Lindsborg "Messiah" Tradition, on page 169 as follows:
"G. N. Malm, Lindsborg artist, author, and businessman, was a key person in promoting the oratorial tradition. He was a fine painter and a famous author in Swedish American circles. His volumes, "Charlie Johnson" and "Härute" are classics in Swedish American literature. He came to Lindsborg in 1894 at the request of Dr. Swensson and he soon identified himself fully with the college and the community. He was secretary of the oratorio society as well as historian. He wrote extensively for newspapers and periodicals about music and art activities. Dedicated service came to an end with his death in 1928."
It seems that, perhaps for a long time Dr. Lindquist had a dream or a wish to write about this most talented and gifted Lindsborg citizen, which brought about his book of 1989, G. N. Malm: A Swedish Immigrants Varied Career. It was during this endeavor of writing this most important biography for the community of Lindsborg and Bethany College, however, that he lost his central vision. Go HERE to 1989 "G. N. Malm - A Swedish Immigrant's Varied Career" ~ The Words of Dr. Lindquist: Part 1 and Part 2.
He appeared on the Lindsborg scene in 1894 and for over 3 decades gave of his best to the community. For starters, at the request of Dr. Swensson, he, with Bethany College professor artist Swede Carl Lotavé, found himself in Old Main two stories high in the Chapel lying dangerously flat on his back on a scaffold painting the ceiling, like Michael Angelo did for the Sistine Chapel. It appears, beginning in the later 1890s that Mr. Malm partnered with Dr. Swensson to promote widely Lindsborg's "Messiah" performances by an ongoing yearly campaign of letter writing, inviting American journalist and opera soloists and musicians from the States and Europe, to become a part the Messiah Festival. Mr. Malm was the historian and general secretary of the Oratorio Society for many years and he was the leader of the 1902 Bethany Male Chorus activities for more than 2 decades with Samuel Thorstenberg being its first conductor. The construction of the 1929 Presser Hall for these performances was owed to his leadership role. In addition, he, with artist friends Bethany College professors Carl Lotavé, and Birger Sandzén, formed the "first" annual Pioneer Midwest Art Exhibition in 1899, to appear at the same time as the annual "Messiah" Festival, of which both events continues to this day during Easter Holy Week. As well he was the leader in organizing the "first" English speaking 1905 Swedish Lutheran founded church in Lindsborg, the Messiah Lutheran Church. His altar art appears in that church and at the Bethany Lutheran Church where he created the beautiful altar. As an entrepreneur, he invented a nationally recognize stenciling paint company which was to merge with a Detroit company, yet was able to maintain its headquarters in Lindsborg for many years, thereby providing jobs for many Lindsborg citizens. As a Swede, the preservation and promotion of the Swedish traditions in Lindsborg was of the greatest importance to him, especially the Swedish folk dancing. He was the prime mover in the Coronado Heights project which was to commemorate the arrival of Coronado and his Conquistadores in the Smoky Valley in 1541, that resulted in the formation of the Lindsborg Historical Society in 1919 and the acquisition of the highest Smoky Valley butte, today known as Coronado Heights.
While composing Smoky Valley People, Dr. Emory K. Lindquist, fourth Swedish American Bethany College president, could not let the contributions he knew about G. N. Malm go unnoticed to future Lindsborg generations when he dedicated nearly a page about this all "in" citizen!
Here on page 214 of his chapter: "Art in the Community: Artists and Writers" are his words:
"An important figure in Lindsborg cultural history was Gustaf Nathaniel [G. N.] Malm -- artist, writer, and promoter of good causes. Malm was born in Svartorps Parish Jönköping, Sweden, on January 20, 1869, the son of the Rev. and Mrs. P. A. Malm. As a young boy he showed promising talent, and in the desire to provide additional opportunity for development, he was invited to reside for a period at the home of Countess Posse. He was not happy there and stayed only for a brief period. He enrolled then at the College at Jönköping, but inadequate financial support made it necessary for him to discontinue his formal schooling. Young Malm then took up the trade of a painter. In October, 1889, he came to the United States, settling at Omaha, Nebraska. After marriage to miss Matilda Wredberg in January, 1893, the young couple moved to Lindsborg during the following year.
"Malm soon won distinction in his painting craft, especially through various designs and stencils which he developed. In 1913 he became associated with the Acme Paint Company [of Michigan] but fortunately was able to maintain his residence in Lindsborg. Malm was an enthusiastic supporter of Bethany College and of civic activities in Lindsborg. He was secretary and historian of the Bethany College Oratorio Society, a leader in the Male Chorus and a promoter of many worthwhile events in the community. His paintings showed talent of high quality. His greatest distinction resides in his literary contribution. The volume, Charlie Johnson (1919), written in dialect Swedish, with its Swedish American vocabulary and structure, is a classic as is also his dramatic work, "Härute" (1919). Malm wrote many short stories in this dialect as well as some in English. A keen observer, he was able to capture in a unique manner the adaption of Swedish immigrants to the life on the plains. A small man physically, he had great visions for Lindsborg and Bethany College and was an untiring worker in behalf of values that would distinguish the community as a center of culture. His untimely death in 1928, following an illness of a few months, was a great loss to the college and community."
Twenty-two years later in his 1975 Bethany in Kansas, Dr. Lindquist mentions Mr. Malm again yet more briefly in the chapter "The Lindsborg "Messiah" Tradition, on page 169 as follows:
"G. N. Malm, Lindsborg artist, author, and businessman, was a key person in promoting the oratorial tradition. He was a fine painter and a famous author in Swedish American circles. His volumes, "Charlie Johnson" and "Härute" are classics in Swedish American literature. He came to Lindsborg in 1894 at the request of Dr. Swensson and he soon identified himself fully with the college and the community. He was secretary of the oratorio society as well as historian. He wrote extensively for newspapers and periodicals about music and art activities. Dedicated service came to an end with his death in 1928."
It seems that, perhaps for a long time Dr. Lindquist had a dream or a wish to write about this most talented and gifted Lindsborg citizen, which brought about his book of 1989, G. N. Malm: A Swedish Immigrants Varied Career. It was during this endeavor of writing this most important biography for the community of Lindsborg and Bethany College, however, that he lost his central vision. Go HERE to 1989 "G. N. Malm - A Swedish Immigrant's Varied Career" ~ The Words of Dr. Lindquist: Part 1 and Part 2.
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Like Dr. Lindquist, author and historian, Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg would certainly write about G. N. Malm as well. Here are two of her accounts on him.
Go HERE to G. N. Malm and all he did for the Lindsborg community ~ An account by Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg. And, go HERE for G. N. Malm and his Lindsborg's national interior decorating company ~ An account by Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg.
Go HERE to G. N. Malm and all he did for the Lindsborg community ~ An account by Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg. And, go HERE for G. N. Malm and his Lindsborg's national interior decorating company ~ An account by Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg.
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"Let Us Remember Them"
* * *
Swedes: TheWayTheyWere
~ restoring lost local histories ~
reconnecting past to present
* * *
All color photography throughout Swedes: The Way They Were is by Fran Cochran unless otherwise indicated, or obviously concluded it is not.
Copyright © 2022 www.swedesthewaytheywere.org. All rights reserved.
"Let Us Remember Them"
* * *
Swedes: TheWayTheyWere
~ restoring lost local histories ~
reconnecting past to present
* * *
All color photography throughout Swedes: The Way They Were is by Fran Cochran unless otherwise indicated, or obviously concluded it is not.
Copyright © 2022 www.swedesthewaytheywere.org. All rights reserved.
