Scientist Emil O. Deere
Rev. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson
~ An account by Dr. Emory K. Lindquist
~ An account by Dr. Emory K. Lindquist
'Kunskap är makt' -- 'knowledge is power,' and, when joined with the Christian view of life and destiny, ...it provided the ultimate meaning ...*
When days look their darkest, Dr. Swensson would always say, “I morgon blir det bättre” – Tomorrow it will be better! **
When days look their darkest, Dr. Swensson would always say, “I morgon blir det bättre” – Tomorrow it will be better! **
Rev. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson
(1857-1904)
Carl Aaron Swensson was born in Chandler's Valley not far from Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania, His parents were Jonas and Maria (Blixt) Swensson from Smalånd, Sweden, who had immigrated to America in 1856. He was the eldest of six siblings. His father was to become a minister of the Swedish Lutheran Church and president of the Augustana Synod of the Swedish Lutheran Churches in America.
While living in Andover, Illinois, home to the Augustana Lutheran Church where his father was a pastor, Swensson as a youth received his parochial schooling. At the Augustana College and Theological Seminary in Rock Island, Illinois, he would graduate in 1877 from the College and then immediately entered the Seminary, graduating in June of 1879. Just days later he was ordained as a minister of the Swedish Lutheran Church of the Augustana Synod on June 22nd.
He was called to Lindsborg, Kansas by the Synod to serve at the Swedish Bethany Lutheran Church there after the departure of its founder, the Dr. Rev. Olof Olsson, who had been called back by the Synod to teach at the Theological Seminary (and would become third President) of the Augustana College. On July 27, 1879, at twenty-two, (22) Swensson, was installed as pastor of the Swedish Bethany Lutheran Church by the first president of the Augustana Synod, Rev. Dr. T.N. Hasselquist.
Thus, this is how and why, Swensson, the "dreamer of dreams" arrived in Lindsborg. It was in one of those dreams that he envisioned a needed Christian school in the little Swedish community. For he viewed that education was a means by which the worship of the almighty dollar and materialism might be averted, if individuals could first be given the opportunity to develop their God-given talents which might otherwise never be discovered. The purpose of the school was to mold and elevate the character of the students by making available to them life changing experiences and exposing them to opportunities that would otherwise never be dreamed of nor realized.
Henceforth, at the age of 24, on October 15, 1881, this Swedish American Bethany Lutheran Church pastor of devout faith, blessed with strength and optimism, feeling the call of God, stepped out on his own to found the school he had dreamed of in the very church he ministered to from which the College would receive its name.
From fourth Swedish American Bethany College President Emory Lindquist, on pages 17 and 18, in his 1975 book, Bethany In Kansas, a history of a college, we read the following:
"Carl Swensson's first address as [second] president of the College was delivered at the opening convocation in September, 1889. He told the students:
'A good education is the greatest of all riches and a condition of liberty. The ignorant man is a slave in proportion to his ignorance. The development of the intellect . . . will furnish knowledge but it must also build character. The latter is the most important of the two. Let us build from the fine marble of the classics, and founded on the granite of ancient wisdom, let the furniture come from the Eddas and the Valas, but allow it to be cemented together by nothing except the unadulterated and divine truth of Christ's religion . . . .'
'No man is complete, no government is safe, no civilization will be perpetuated without religion.' " (31: from the Lindsborg News article of Sept. 20, 1889.)
Lindquist continues on page 38 in his Bethany In Kansas with the following:
"A dominant characteristic of the founder of Bethany College was faith and optimism. In dark and difficult days he confidently declared: 'I morgon blir det battre' -- 'tomorrow it will be better,' and like all great dreamers and leaders, he believed in the future, in the tomorrow's tomorrows. Moreover, his credo in education was expressed in the phrase which he affirmed again and again with zeal and confidence: 'Kunskap är makt' -- 'knowledge is power,' and, when joined with the Christian view of life and destiny, he believed that it provided the ultimate meaning for individuals and for society.
"His many admirers on the faculty and in the Lindsborg community believed in him. They sacrificed their personal standard of living to support Bethany; they mortgaged their property in times of crisis so that the College would live; they signed notes to keep the institution solvent; they worked, they prayed, they dreamed dreams for Bethany.
"Carl Swensson was dearly loved, esteemed, and respected. Although he had his critics, arising largely from his exuberant enthusiasm for the Republican party or because some felt he promoted the College too rapidly at times, these dissident voices formed only a minimal number. Swensson possessed a certain kind of charisma that was a great personal resource. He inspired his associates and supporters with his own abiding confidence in the promise of the future."
The sudden loss, in 1904, of the first leader and founder of Bethany College, Swedish American Bethany Lutheran Church pastor Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson stands out to be the saddest event ever in the history of Lindsborg! Would the community ever get over this; would this community heal?
While living in Andover, Illinois, home to the Augustana Lutheran Church where his father was a pastor, Swensson as a youth received his parochial schooling. At the Augustana College and Theological Seminary in Rock Island, Illinois, he would graduate in 1877 from the College and then immediately entered the Seminary, graduating in June of 1879. Just days later he was ordained as a minister of the Swedish Lutheran Church of the Augustana Synod on June 22nd.
He was called to Lindsborg, Kansas by the Synod to serve at the Swedish Bethany Lutheran Church there after the departure of its founder, the Dr. Rev. Olof Olsson, who had been called back by the Synod to teach at the Theological Seminary (and would become third President) of the Augustana College. On July 27, 1879, at twenty-two, (22) Swensson, was installed as pastor of the Swedish Bethany Lutheran Church by the first president of the Augustana Synod, Rev. Dr. T.N. Hasselquist.
Thus, this is how and why, Swensson, the "dreamer of dreams" arrived in Lindsborg. It was in one of those dreams that he envisioned a needed Christian school in the little Swedish community. For he viewed that education was a means by which the worship of the almighty dollar and materialism might be averted, if individuals could first be given the opportunity to develop their God-given talents which might otherwise never be discovered. The purpose of the school was to mold and elevate the character of the students by making available to them life changing experiences and exposing them to opportunities that would otherwise never be dreamed of nor realized.
Henceforth, at the age of 24, on October 15, 1881, this Swedish American Bethany Lutheran Church pastor of devout faith, blessed with strength and optimism, feeling the call of God, stepped out on his own to found the school he had dreamed of in the very church he ministered to from which the College would receive its name.
From fourth Swedish American Bethany College President Emory Lindquist, on pages 17 and 18, in his 1975 book, Bethany In Kansas, a history of a college, we read the following:
"Carl Swensson's first address as [second] president of the College was delivered at the opening convocation in September, 1889. He told the students:
'A good education is the greatest of all riches and a condition of liberty. The ignorant man is a slave in proportion to his ignorance. The development of the intellect . . . will furnish knowledge but it must also build character. The latter is the most important of the two. Let us build from the fine marble of the classics, and founded on the granite of ancient wisdom, let the furniture come from the Eddas and the Valas, but allow it to be cemented together by nothing except the unadulterated and divine truth of Christ's religion . . . .'
'No man is complete, no government is safe, no civilization will be perpetuated without religion.' " (31: from the Lindsborg News article of Sept. 20, 1889.)
Lindquist continues on page 38 in his Bethany In Kansas with the following:
"A dominant characteristic of the founder of Bethany College was faith and optimism. In dark and difficult days he confidently declared: 'I morgon blir det battre' -- 'tomorrow it will be better,' and like all great dreamers and leaders, he believed in the future, in the tomorrow's tomorrows. Moreover, his credo in education was expressed in the phrase which he affirmed again and again with zeal and confidence: 'Kunskap är makt' -- 'knowledge is power,' and, when joined with the Christian view of life and destiny, he believed that it provided the ultimate meaning for individuals and for society.
"His many admirers on the faculty and in the Lindsborg community believed in him. They sacrificed their personal standard of living to support Bethany; they mortgaged their property in times of crisis so that the College would live; they signed notes to keep the institution solvent; they worked, they prayed, they dreamed dreams for Bethany.
"Carl Swensson was dearly loved, esteemed, and respected. Although he had his critics, arising largely from his exuberant enthusiasm for the Republican party or because some felt he promoted the College too rapidly at times, these dissident voices formed only a minimal number. Swensson possessed a certain kind of charisma that was a great personal resource. He inspired his associates and supporters with his own abiding confidence in the promise of the future."
The sudden loss, in 1904, of the first leader and founder of Bethany College, Swedish American Bethany Lutheran Church pastor Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson stands out to be the saddest event ever in the history of Lindsborg! Would the community ever get over this; would this community heal?
- Carl Aaron Swensson -
“the father" of Bethany College
“the father" of Bethany College
Lydia's Swedish Bethany Photographs, 1906-192)
To comfort and ease their pain as well as to honor their fallen leader a grand statue in his likeness to be made of Italian marble was ordered from Italy to be erected on the Bethany College Campus in 1905. It would so appropriately represent “the father" of Bethany College, and so appropriately stand in front of the great building--the largest building of its kind for its time west of the Mississippi River, "the biggest and best" in Kansas, the structure that he had erected and so loved--Old Main, identified as the Bethany College of his day!
Lindquist continues to write so appropriately on this most remarkable man of God, of America and of Swedish origin on pages 39 and 40 with the following:
"Many honors came to Carl Swensson in the United States and Sweden. Included were the honorary degree of doctor of philosophy from Uppsala University in 1893 and honorary doctor of divinity degrees from Augustana College and Theological Seminary and Thiel College in 1894. In 1901 he was decorated as a Knight of the Royal Order of the North Star by King Oscar II of Sweden through Bishop von Schéele, Visby, who was visiting in the United States.
"Carl Swensson—pastor, educator, college founder and president, churchman, editor, author, member of the Kansas legislature, public speaker of great renown, promoter of art and music, co-founder with his wife of the Lindsborg “Messiah” tradition, friend of many—has been described as “the colossus of the Plains,” “the giant of Kansas,” “the incomparable Dr. Swensson.” Ernst Skarstedt, the Swedish American author and journalist, has written: 'Swensson loved everything great, nobel, and beautiful: poetry, art, and all that lifts and ennobles.' At the time of Carl Swensson’s death, the Kansas City Star observed in an editorial: 'It is scarcely too much to say that Dr. Swensson was at the time of his death the most famous man in Kansas and his fame will grow as his remarkable achievements are revealed in the light of history . . . . He accomplished what few men would have thought of attempting.'"
Lindquist continues to write so appropriately on this most remarkable man of God, of America and of Swedish origin on pages 39 and 40 with the following:
"Many honors came to Carl Swensson in the United States and Sweden. Included were the honorary degree of doctor of philosophy from Uppsala University in 1893 and honorary doctor of divinity degrees from Augustana College and Theological Seminary and Thiel College in 1894. In 1901 he was decorated as a Knight of the Royal Order of the North Star by King Oscar II of Sweden through Bishop von Schéele, Visby, who was visiting in the United States.
"Carl Swensson—pastor, educator, college founder and president, churchman, editor, author, member of the Kansas legislature, public speaker of great renown, promoter of art and music, co-founder with his wife of the Lindsborg “Messiah” tradition, friend of many—has been described as “the colossus of the Plains,” “the giant of Kansas,” “the incomparable Dr. Swensson.” Ernst Skarstedt, the Swedish American author and journalist, has written: 'Swensson loved everything great, nobel, and beautiful: poetry, art, and all that lifts and ennobles.' At the time of Carl Swensson’s death, the Kansas City Star observed in an editorial: 'It is scarcely too much to say that Dr. Swensson was at the time of his death the most famous man in Kansas and his fame will grow as his remarkable achievements are revealed in the light of history . . . . He accomplished what few men would have thought of attempting.'"
Lindquist carries that thought of "accomplishments" with the following in his book where we find:
Swensson Schedule on pages 35 and 37
"In the comparatively brief span of forty-seven years, Carl Swensson had fashioned great achievement. His rugged and sturdy physique could scarcely conceal the surging energy and vitality of this pastor of a large congregation and founder, and later president of Bethany College. In describing his schedule in the 1880s, he wrote: “I often preached five times a week, sometimes three times on Sunday, and I rode twenty-two miles in a farm wagon. During the week, I delivered five addresses at the college chapel and twelve lectures to classes; articles were sent to three to six newspapers each week. There was additional work on a large book and worry and anxiety day and night for the school’s financial situation, together with carrying on correspondence which on occasion amounted to twenty letters a day. In addition there were continuous trips on the railroad. In 1888 I traveled 25,000 miles, in 1889 it was 22,500 miles.”
Swensson Authorship, Writings, Founder of Swedish American Newspapers on page 37
"The unfailing energy of Carl Swensson produced an amazing range and amount of work. Four books were written: I Sverige (1890), Ater I Sverge (1897), books of travel and commentary, Vid Hemmets Hard (1897), a large volume for the home, and I Morgonstund (1903), a devotional book which has been translated into English, In the Morning Hour (1927). He was a major contributor of two volumes: Forgat-Mig-Ej (1902) in Swedish and Forget-Me-Not (1902) in English, dealing largely with Bethany College and Christian education. He had an impressive role as an editor and co-editor of Korsbaneret in the 1880s, an Augustana Synod church annual, and of Ungdoms-Vannen, a bi-monthly journal for young people, 1879-1887. He was founder of Fosterlandet, a Swedish American weekly newspaper, and a contributor for twenty years. He was the founder of Lindsborgs-Posten in 1897, serving as editor for many years. He was closely identified with the Lindsborg Record, founded in 1896. He was a regular correspondent for Hemlandet, det Gamla och det Nya and Svenska-Tribunen, Chicago weekly newspapers. His column Vid Skrifbordet (“At the Writing Desk”) and his pseudonym, “Leopold,” were well-known in Swedish America. He was the founder and a contributor to the Bethany College publications, Framat, Budbararen, and the Bethany Messenger.
Swensson Church Life on page 37
"Carl Swensson was active in the general work of the Lutheran Church. He served as secretary of the Kansas Conference of the Augustana Lutheran Synod, 1880-82, and represented the Conference on the Synodical Council, serving as secretary 1886-1888. Although an ardent champion of Lutheranism within Swedish American circles, he realized that the future belonged to a united Lutheran Church with an American orientation. In 1885 he was elected secretary of the General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of North American. In 1895 Carl Swensson was president of this organization.
Swensson Politics on pages 37 and 38
"The arena of public life also received Swensson’s time and talent. Citizenship implied responsibility for participation in the life of the body politic. He was a staunch Republican and an especially bitter critic of the Populists in the 1890s. He campaigned extensively in Swedish communities in the United States, devoting full-time for six weeks to the McKinley campaign in 1869. Carl Swensson campaigned for public office on only one occasion, when in 1889 he was drafted and then elected as a Representative to the Kansas legislature on the Republican ticket from McPherson County. He served as one of seven members of the committee on education in the House of Representatives. Included among the bills that he introduced was House Bill No. 299, January 22, 1889. “An Act relative to trusts, and providing for the punishment of persons organizing, managing, controlling, or conducting the same for the purpose of general consumption” and House Bill No. 574, February 6, 1889: “An Act in relation to foreclosure of mortgages,” designed to protect the interest of hard-pressed landowners. Swensson declined to serve longer in the legislature, choosing to devote more time to Bethany College."
- Old Main -
Swensson Schedule on pages 35 and 37
"In the comparatively brief span of forty-seven years, Carl Swensson had fashioned great achievement. His rugged and sturdy physique could scarcely conceal the surging energy and vitality of this pastor of a large congregation and founder, and later president of Bethany College. In describing his schedule in the 1880s, he wrote: “I often preached five times a week, sometimes three times on Sunday, and I rode twenty-two miles in a farm wagon. During the week, I delivered five addresses at the college chapel and twelve lectures to classes; articles were sent to three to six newspapers each week. There was additional work on a large book and worry and anxiety day and night for the school’s financial situation, together with carrying on correspondence which on occasion amounted to twenty letters a day. In addition there were continuous trips on the railroad. In 1888 I traveled 25,000 miles, in 1889 it was 22,500 miles.”
Swensson Authorship, Writings, Founder of Swedish American Newspapers on page 37
"The unfailing energy of Carl Swensson produced an amazing range and amount of work. Four books were written: I Sverige (1890), Ater I Sverge (1897), books of travel and commentary, Vid Hemmets Hard (1897), a large volume for the home, and I Morgonstund (1903), a devotional book which has been translated into English, In the Morning Hour (1927). He was a major contributor of two volumes: Forgat-Mig-Ej (1902) in Swedish and Forget-Me-Not (1902) in English, dealing largely with Bethany College and Christian education. He had an impressive role as an editor and co-editor of Korsbaneret in the 1880s, an Augustana Synod church annual, and of Ungdoms-Vannen, a bi-monthly journal for young people, 1879-1887. He was founder of Fosterlandet, a Swedish American weekly newspaper, and a contributor for twenty years. He was the founder of Lindsborgs-Posten in 1897, serving as editor for many years. He was closely identified with the Lindsborg Record, founded in 1896. He was a regular correspondent for Hemlandet, det Gamla och det Nya and Svenska-Tribunen, Chicago weekly newspapers. His column Vid Skrifbordet (“At the Writing Desk”) and his pseudonym, “Leopold,” were well-known in Swedish America. He was the founder and a contributor to the Bethany College publications, Framat, Budbararen, and the Bethany Messenger.
Swensson Church Life on page 37
"Carl Swensson was active in the general work of the Lutheran Church. He served as secretary of the Kansas Conference of the Augustana Lutheran Synod, 1880-82, and represented the Conference on the Synodical Council, serving as secretary 1886-1888. Although an ardent champion of Lutheranism within Swedish American circles, he realized that the future belonged to a united Lutheran Church with an American orientation. In 1885 he was elected secretary of the General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of North American. In 1895 Carl Swensson was president of this organization.
Swensson Politics on pages 37 and 38
"The arena of public life also received Swensson’s time and talent. Citizenship implied responsibility for participation in the life of the body politic. He was a staunch Republican and an especially bitter critic of the Populists in the 1890s. He campaigned extensively in Swedish communities in the United States, devoting full-time for six weeks to the McKinley campaign in 1869. Carl Swensson campaigned for public office on only one occasion, when in 1889 he was drafted and then elected as a Representative to the Kansas legislature on the Republican ticket from McPherson County. He served as one of seven members of the committee on education in the House of Representatives. Included among the bills that he introduced was House Bill No. 299, January 22, 1889. “An Act relative to trusts, and providing for the punishment of persons organizing, managing, controlling, or conducting the same for the purpose of general consumption” and House Bill No. 574, February 6, 1889: “An Act in relation to foreclosure of mortgages,” designed to protect the interest of hard-pressed landowners. Swensson declined to serve longer in the legislature, choosing to devote more time to Bethany College."
- Old Main -
Lydia's Swedish Bethany Photographs, 1906-1925
Emil O. Deere, with over 3,000 other Swedes and non-Swedes as well, would attend Swensson's funeral on February 23, 1904. Later, Deere received a book commemorating that sad day. It was titled: In Memorian ** Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson. Click on Old Main above to go to this book revealing "the way they were" at Swensson's funeral.
Information source: Swedish American fourth Bethany College President Emory Lindquist’s 1975 book, Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college.
'Kunskap är makt' -- 'knowledge is power,' and, when joined with the Christian view of life and destiny, ...it provided the ultimate meaning ...
--Carl Aaron Swensson*
--Lindquist's Bethany In Kansas
When days look their darkest, Dr. Swensson would always say, “I morgon blir det bättre” – Tomorrow it will be better!** -- Emil O. Deere
* * *
"Let Us Remember Them"
"Let Us Remember Them"
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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.
Copyright © since October 8, 2015 to Current Year
as indicated on main menu sections of
www.swedesthewaytheywere.org. All rights reserved.
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.
Copyright © since October 8, 2015 to Current Year
as indicated on main menu sections of
www.swedesthewaytheywere.org. All rights reserved.
