SWEDES: TheWayTheyWere
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    • The Bethany Artist & the Bethany Scientist: Lydia & Emil ------------------------- \\// >
      • Their 1869 Swedish Lutheran Galesburg Colony and Olsson Colony Smoky Valley Arrivals, ~ With a Galesburg account by Mr. Holmquist >
        • Their Värmland Swedes ~ The "First Swedish Agricultural Company" Lindsborg Founders, 1868, ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist >
          • Swedish Pastor Olof Olsson Emigrating to Lindsborg 1869, June 27th Arrival ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist >
            • Bethany Lutheran Church and Lindsborg Founder Pastor Olsson, 1869 - 1876 ~ An account by Dr..Lindquist
      • Their 1869 "Bethany Lutheran Church" ~ Accounts by Dr. Lindquist and Mr. Carlson >
        • ​Their 1860-1962 "Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod" ~ Gaining and losing its Swedish identity >
          • The 1860 Formation of the Augustana Synod ~ An Account by Mr. Holmquist
          • Their 1892 "Augustana Women's Missionary Society" ~ An account by Ms. Humphrey
          • The 2000 - 2016 "Augustana Heritage Association"
      • Their 1907 "Bethany Lutheran Home" ~ Accounts by Bethany Home Writers >
        • 1976 Lindsborg’s Bethany Home’s Swedish King's Visit ~ An account by Mr. Carlson's
      • Their 1909 and 1919 Swedish Smoky Valley Community Chronicles ~ Compiled and written by Bethany Lutheran Church Rev. Dr. Alfred Bergin, members and others >
        • 1909 translated to "Pioneer Swedish-American Culture in Central Kansas," 1965 ~ By Mrs. Bergin Billdt
        • 1919 translated to "The Smoky Valley in The After Years," 1969 ~ By Mrs. Bergin Billdt & Mrs. Jaderborg
      • Their 1910 Messiah Lutheran Church conducting services in English ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist >
        • ~ An account on the Messiah Lutheran Church formation from Rev. Dr. Alfred Bergin's 1909 ​"Pioneer Swedish-American Culture of Central Kansas"
      • Their 1919 Lindsborg Historical Society's "Coronado Heights" ~ Emil's 1907 thesis and Lydia's photographs >
        • The ​1919 formation of the "Lindsborg Historical Society" ~ The Smoky Hills' "Smoky Hill" christened "Coronado Heights" May 8, 1924 >
          • Lindsborg's Coronado Heights History ~ Three accounts by Mrs. Jaderborg >
            • Coronado and Bethany College Museum" History ~ An account from Dr. Lungstrom
      • Their 1916 Sohlberg House ​ ~ 322 North First [College] Street ~After their honeymoon
      • Their 1920 Old Main Apartments of Bethany College ~ Living on campus with the students for 20 years
      • Their 1940 Deere Home to 1943 ​~ 344 North First [College] Street ~ With new occupants after Lydia
      • Their 1936 1873 Swedish Homestead," "Our Peaceful Acres" >
        • Their 1873 Swede House ~ A close twin of Founder Rev. Olof Olsson's stone house >
          • Peaceful Acres Smoky Valley descendant friends and helpers ~ Honoring them and remembering them
      • 1943, after Lydia, Emil's part in the building of the Lindsborg Community Hospital ~ An account by Dr. Lungstrom
    • Their "1881" Bethany Academy 1882 "First Building" in 2022 ~ Its foundational importance to Bethany College ~ Its 1969 move to the Old Mill Museum Heritage Park
    • Their 1882-1966 Deere's Swensson's "Bethany College Museum" >
      • The 1966 Bethany College Museum Collections Move to the Old Mill Museum ~ Dr. Leon Lungstrom's Role >
        • Articles on the Bethany College Museum Collections Move of 1966
      • Deere's Swensson's Bethany College Museum Collections ~ to 1966
    • Their “1882 on . . .” Bethany College Handel’s “Messiah" Performances” >
      • "Messiah" Performers, Venues & Audiences, Press and Broadcasts >
        • Special 20th Century "Messiah" Performances
      • Handel's "Messiah" & Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" ~ Described for viewers unfamiliar with these oratorios
    • Their “1899 on . . .” Bethany College “Swedish Artists’ Midwest Art Exhibition” ​~ An account by the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery
    • Their “1902 on . . .” Bethany College ‘Terrible Swedes,’ Their “1903 on” ‘Rockar Stockar’ ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist
    • Their “1904 on . . .” Bethany College St. Louis World's Fair “Swedish Pavilion”
    • Their "1895 to 1981" Bethany College Anniversary Celebrations ~ 15, 20, 25, 100 years >
      • Their Celebrating 15 Years of Bethany College, 1881-1896. The First Bethany Annual, 1895-96
      • Their Celebrating 20 Years of Bethany College, 1881-1901. The "Forget-Me-Not," 1902 >
        • The King of Sweden's Emissary, 1901
        • Yale University's Bethany Club
      • Their Celebrating 25 Years of Bethany College, 1881-1906, "Souvenir of Lindsborg and Bethany College"
      • Their Celebrating 100 Years of Bethany College, 1881-1981, "The Centennial of Bethany College"
    • Their "1937" Bethany College's Introduction to New Sweden ~ Founded in 1638 >
      • Deere's Introduction to New Sweden
  • Swedish Immigration Story, 1854
    • "The Story of the Old Spoon" by Ingrid Anderson Sohlberg & Daughter Lydia Sohlberg Deere, 1937
    • Who They Left Behind
    • From Sweden with Love Collections >
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Kosta Portraits, 1867 >
        • The Swedish Sohlberg Kosta Glass
        • The Swedish Sohlberg Letters
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Royal Gold Thread Embroidery Sampler (c1890s)
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Post Cards (c1890s)
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Magazines, (c1940s)
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Books, 1819/1886 to 1899
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Albums, ~ Late 19th early 20th centuries
      • The Swedish Deere Coins -- 1801-1929
  • Artist Lydia Sohlberg Deere
    • Lydia's Lindsborg Photography, 1900-1925 >
      • The Hats
      • The Smoky River
      • The Smoky Hills >
        • Coronado Heights -- One Winter's Day
      • In and Around Lindsborg
      • Sohlberg House with Parents >
        • Our Sohlberg Home and Neighbor Alma Luise Olson
      • Sohlberg House with Emil 1916 to 1920 >
        • Lydia's Travels with Deere 1916 - 1930s >
          • Lydia's California Photographs for Painting
          • Lydia's Palm Springs Pictorial Magazine, 1938-1939
          • Lydia's California Pressed Wild Flowers, c1930
      • "LYDIA'S WORLD" Photography Exhibitions in Lindsborg, 2005 - 2011
    • Lydia as Bethany College Lane Hart Hall Dean of Women, 1906 - 1913 >
      • Lydia's Signatured Black Book of Her Handwritten Sewing Instructions >
        • Nina Sohlberg's Child's Sewing "Little Dots" PICTURE BOOK
      • Lydia Sohlberg Deere's 1927 "Lindsborg Swedish Club's" Handwork >
        • The Lindsborg Swedish Club's "Allers Monster-Tidnings" magazine, 1940
    • Lydia's Art, 1919-1938 >
      • Lydia's Art: The Kansas Collection >
        • The Sketches
      • Lydia's Art: The Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico Collection >
        • The Sketches
      • Lydia's Art: The California Collection >
        • The Sketches
        • Lydia's "Palm Springs Magazine " 1938-39
    • Lydia's Art Professor Sven Birger Sandzén, 1871-1954 >
      • Lydia's Assignments for Professor Sandzén >
        • Students of Sandzén 2019 Exhibition
        • Bethany Home ~ Celebrating Artist Birger Sandzén through his students' paintings
    • Lydia's Art Professor Birger Sandzén's "Art Exhibitions" and "Reviews" .. 1893-1940 >
      • Lydia's Art Professor Sandzén's Exhibition at the Babcock Gallery in New York, 1922
      • Lydia's Sandzén's Body of Work Reviewed by N.Y.C, 1984 "American Impressionism," author William H. Gerdts
    • Lydia's and Sandzén's Swedish Artist Friend Charles Edward Hallberg, 1855-1940
    • Lydia's and Sandzén's Swedish Artist Friend Oscar Brousse Jacobson, 1882-1966
    • Lydia’s Sohlberg Family Connection to Sandzén, 1880-1894-1993
  • Scientist Emil O. Deere
    • Deere & Lydia's Bethany -- Lydia's Photography, 1906-1925 >
      • Bethany College "Campus from Above"
      • Bethany College "The Gateway," 1917 and "Bethany Campus Association," 1912
      • Bethany College "College Street," today's "North First Street"
      • Bethany College "Campus Life"
      • Bethany College "Field Trips"
      • Bethany College's "Earliest Buildings" >
        • Bethany College "​Ladies Dormitory" / "Lane Hart Hall" 1883 - 1899 - 1983
        • Bethany College "Old Main" 1887-1968 >
          • Lydia's and Emil's Old Main Apartments, 1920 to 1940
          • Deere's Bethany College Classes in Old Main
        • Bethany College "Messiah Auditorium" / "Ling Auditorium" / "Ling Gymnasium" 1895 - 1946
        • Bethany College "Swedish Pavilion," 1904
        • Bethany College "​Carnegie Library" / "Bethany Library" 1908 - 1980
        • Bethany College "​Bethany Academy" 1882 -- Swensson's Bethany's Beginnings
    • Deere's 1959 Interview on Rev. Dr. Carl A. Swensson (On YouTube) >
      • Rev. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson, 1857-1904 ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist >
        • Swensson's "Bethany Lutheran Church" and the "Augustana Lutheran Synod"
        • Swensson's Bethany's Beginnings: "The Bethany Academy of 1882"
        • Olsson's Influence, the Swenssons,' the Musicians' and Singers,' "Messiah," 1882 on … >
          • Thure Olof Jaderborg ~ One Lindsborg "Messiah" Commitment from 1901-1954
        • Swensson's Swedish Artists of the 1890s
        • Swensson's "Bethany College Museum," 1882 - 1966
      • In Memorium**Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson, 1904 ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist
    • Deere's Rev. Dr. Ernst F. Pihlblad, 1873-1943 ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist >
      • In Memoriam**Dr. Ernst F. Pihlblad, 1943
      • Rev. Dr. Pihlblad on Bethany College, 1904 - 1941
    • Deere's Swensson's "Bethany College Museum" 1882-1966 >
      • Deere's Dr. Lungstrom's Bethany College "Museum" Chapter >
        • Deere's Swensson's Bethany College Museum Collections ~ to 1966 >
          • Cliff Dwellers' Pottery Collection ~ from Old Main to Sandzén Memorial Art Gallery, 1966
          • Fossils Collection ~ from Old Main to the McPherson County Old Mill Museum, 1966, ~ “The Find”
          • Taxidermy Collection ~ from Old Main to the McPherson County Old Mill Museum, 1966
          • 900 Item Emil O. Deere Pioneer Collection ~ from Old Main to the McPherson County Old Mill Museum, 1966
    • Deere's Smithsonian Institution's Souvenir, 1904
    • Deere's 1940 Presidential Address to the Kansas Academy of Science
    • Deere's 1955 Letter to President Eisenhower re Tuttle Creek
    • Deere's Service, 1901-1966 >
      • Deere's Education & Degrees
    • The Deere's Library ~ What remains of 2,000 books -- pending project
  • "The Other Swedes"
    • Honoring Them and Remembering Them ~ The Smoky Valley Writers >
      • A suggestion to individuals and entities in charge of these books ~ ​Digitalize for posterity and perpetuity
      • Rev. Bror Carlsson and Mr. Alf Brorson from Sweden ~ Tracing Värmland's Rev. Olof Olsson's church life in Sweden and in Swedish America with the Augustana Lutheran Synod >
        • ​"He Gave God Glory" "The Story of Olof Olsson, ​" 1841 - 1900 ~ By Rev. Bror Carlsson
      • Rev. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson ~ Author of countless Swedish & English publications, newspapers articles & books for local, national & European readers
      • Bethany Church, Bethany College, Augustana Synod Writers ​~ Remembering Rev. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson and Rev. Dr. Ernst Frederick Pihlblad
      • Rev. Dr. Alfred Bergin ​~ Compiling foundational Swedish Smoky Valley Augustana Lutheran settlements' histories and more
      • Dr. Emory K. Lindquist ~ Chronicling Swedish Augustana Lutheran Lindsborg and Bethany College from their earliest years >
        • ​1953, "Smoky Valley People, A History of Lindsborg, Kansas" ~ The Words of Dr. Lindquist and Contents & Illustrations
        • 1975 "Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college" ~ The Words of Dr. Lindquist >
          • "Bethany in Kansas" PART I ~ Contents & Illustrations
          • "Bethany in Kansas" PART II ~ Contents & Illustrations
        • 1984 "Hagbard Brase, Beloved Music Master" ~ The Words of Dr. Lindquist >
          • "Hagbard Brase" ~ Contents and Illustrations
      • Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg [Selma Lind] ​ ~ Chronicling the Lindsborg of her day, its early histories, its early citizens >
        • 1965 "Lindsborg On Record" ~ Contents & Illustrations
        • 1967 "Living in Lindsborg and Other Possibilities" ~ Contents & Illustrations
        • 1973 "Talk About Lindsborg" ~ Contents & Illustrations
        • 1976 "Why Lindsborg?" ~ Contents & Illustrations >
          • 1975 Why Lindsborg ~ For the King of Sweden
        • ​1990 "Two Reprints" ~ Contents & Illustrations Lists
      • ​Dr. Leon Lungstrom ~ Chronicling Bethany College's earliest science and math professors, museum curators, collectors and collections, college curriculum, Old Main, and Nelson Science Hall >
        • The Bethany College Museum by Leon Lundstrom ~ The Words of Dr. Leon Lungstrom
        • ​1990 "History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas" ~ The Compilations and the Words of Dr. Lungstrom >
          • "History of Natural Science and Mathematics . . ." The Table of Contents
          • Tabulation of Teachers and Assistants in Natural Sciences and Mathematics
          • References from: Lindsborg News-Record;" "Bethany Messenger;" "Bethany Daisy" &/OR "Bethanian;" "Bethany Magazine" -- pending project
      • Mr. Thomas N. Holmquist ~ Chronicling Lindsborg's neighbors, the Galesburg Swedes of Salemsborg and Freemount, with a personal connection, 1868
      • Mr. Bill Carlson ~ Chronicling Lindsborg's earliest and later histories, with a personal connection, 1867
      • Ms. Karen A. Humphrey ~ Chronicling highlights of Swedish Augustana Lutheran Lindsborg and Bethany College culture in the earliest years >
        • 2012 "Grace, Faith and the Power of Singing: The Alma Christina Lind Swensson Story" ~The Words of Ms. Humphrey
        • "Grace, Faith and the Power of Singing" ~ Contents & Illustrations
      • Mr. A. John Pearson ~ Chronicling the Bethany College Presidents from 1882 to 1983
      • Mr. Kenneth Sjogren ~ Chronicling the Bethany College Presidents from 1941 to 2016
      • Mr. Chris Abercrombie ~ Remembering him as "The Historian," the SVHA president and his body of work
      • Rev. Eugene K. Nelson and the Bethany Home Writers ~ Chronicling the "only known" Smoky Valley story on Bethany Home since 1907
      • Smoky Valley Historical Association Members ~ Chronicling 1993 " Where Did They Live? " "Early Residences of Lindsborg, Kansas"
    • Honoring Them and Remembering Them ---- \\// >
      • Mrs. Alma Christina Lind Swensson ~ Remembering her as Mrs. Rev. Dr. Swensson, the "First Lady" of Lindsborg, organizer of the "Messiah Chorus" and much more ~ From ​Ms. Humphrey's Book
      • ​Samuel Thorstenberg ~ Remembering him as the "earliest" internationally acclaimed Bethany College "Messiah Chorus" conductor
      • Dr. Hagbard Brase ~ Remembering him as the second "earliest" internationally acclaimed Bethany College "Messiah Chorus" conductor
      • B.G. Gröndal ~ Remembering him and his photography in the earliest years of Lindsborg and Bethany College >
        • B.G. Gröndal ~ Accounts by Mr. Abercrombie and Mrs. Jaderborg with LINK to Mrs. Eddy, B.G.'s granddaughter's book review
      • International "NY Times" Correspondent Miss Alma Luise Olson ~ Remembering her as "First Honored American Woman by Sweden" ~ An account by ​Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg* >
        • ​​Miss Alma Luise Olson ~ Remembering her and the extraordinary life she led at home and abroad ~ An account by Ms. Karen A. Humphrey
      • Artist Birger Sandzén ~ Remembering him for "sharing his art with the world," starting "first" at Lindsborg's Bethany College >
        • Dr. & Dr. Mrs. Charles Greenough III ~ Remembering them for their gift of the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery -- pending
      • William Holwerda, M.D. ~ Remembering him as "Doc Bill," a city father and loving citizen, by Dr. Leon Lungstrom and Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg >
        • "Svensk Hyllningsfest" ​ ~ Remembering Dr. William Holwerda as a founder and "the key" organizer in 1941
        • Dr. William Holwerda ~ Remembering their family doctor and Messiah Lutheran Church tributes to him by Dr. Leon Lungstrom
      • Artist Lester Raymer ~ Remembering him as the renowned virtuoso artist and "behind the scenes" community supporter
      • Dr. Arvin W. Hahn ​​~ Remembering him for saving Bethany College from going under!​ >
        • Dr. Arvin W. Hahn ~ Remembering him handing me my Bethany College Diploma on Sunday, May 26, 1968
      • Dr. ​& Mrs. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering them and their 29 years of dedication to that Bethany College "Messiah" tradition of excellence >
        • 1976 Dr. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering him as the “Messiah” conductor for the Bethany College "Swedish King’s," Carl XVI Gustaf's, performance >
          • 1981 Dr. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering him as the "Messiah" conductor for the Bethany College "Centennial Celebration" performance >
            • 1986 Dr. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering him as the televised "American Easter" conductor of the Bethany College Oratorio Society Holy Easter Week
      • Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg ~ Remembering her as the founder of the 1963 "Lindsborg Swedish Folk Dancers" ~ An account by Mr. Chris Abercrombie
      • Mr. & Mrs. Hilding Jaderborg ~ Remembering them and their “Swedish Crafts Shop” of 65 years and 50 trips to Sweden
      • The Swedish Lindsborg Builders ~ Remembering them for the lovely homes they built
      • Mr. Chris Abercrombie ~ Remembering him for "first" shining an international light on Lindsborg and Bethany College, via YouTube
      • Dr. Greta Swenson and Mr. & Mrs. Mark Esping ~ Remembering them for founding Lindsborg's “first” "Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas," 1986 >
        • Remembering their Lindsborg's Folklife Institute's "Swedish-American Heritage Center," 1996
      • Mr. Claude Koehn ~ Remembering him as restorer and preservationist of Smoky Valley stone farmhouses and other stone structures
      • Ms. Rebecca Copley ~ Remembering her as Bethany College's “first” graduate to become an International Concert & Opera Soprano >
        • Ms. Copley's "International Concert and Opera Soprano" ​~ The REVIEWS
      • Mr. Bruce Karstadt ~ Honoring him as a Bethany College graduate for heading up a major national Swedish American institution
      • Dr. Mark Lucas ~ Messiah conductor bringing the Lindsborg “Oberammergau of the Plains" to a "new" world audience
    • 1882 - 1966 Bethany College Museum Science Professor Curators ​~ Their earliest collectors
    • 1894-1962 Bethany College Graduates in Augustana Lutheran Synod World Mission Work ~ An account by Dr. Emory K. Lindquist
    • 1901-2014 The ​Bethany College Swedish Knights and Ladies ~ Honored by the Kings of Sweden
    • ​​1919 "Lindsborg Historical Society's" Earliest Leaders and Members >
      • 1963 "Smoky Valley Historical Association" (SVHA) leaders and members ​~ Some historical and cultural promotion and preservation projects
    • 1961-2021 ​"McPherson County Old Mill Museum" leaders ~ Moving forward in August 2021 as "The Lindsborg Old Mill and Swedish Heritage Museum"
    • 1971 -2020 "American Scandinavian Association of the Great Plains" leaders ~ Providing cultural history and heritage programs with meaningful links to Sweden and Swedish America
    • 1976 His Majesty the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf's Visit to Lindsborg April 17th >
      • The Lindsborg & Bethany College "Swedes" ~ Honored by the King of Sweden, June 6, 1976
    • 1977​ Swedish Emigrant Institute Staff from Växjö, Småland Visits Lindsborg October 16-18
    • 1978 Swedish Documen- tary Film Crew Visits Lindsborg October 2-9 >
      • "Lindsborg News-Record" Clippings of 1978 Swedish Film Crew Visit
    • 1992 - 2020 ​Honoring Them and Remembering Them ~ Their ​Smoky Valley History Research Writers Website Designers
  • Contacts
    • For 1869 Lindsborg CONTACT Today >
      • "A Time to Remember" 1882 - 1988
    • ​For 1881 Bethany College CONTACT Today >
      • "Bethany Campus Walk” ~ Remembering the buildings and the "Bethany Family" of their era, 1882 - 2015
      • Their "I WAS THERE" Coin ~ Bethany College 21st Year Celebration, 1902
    • For 1957 Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery CONTACT Today >
      • Sandzén: "Ecstasy of Color" ~ PBS Doucmentary ~ Aired 6/11/21
    • Closing Remarks >
      • Traveling through SWEDES ​~ The Table of Contents ~ The "Outline" "Online"
      • SWEDES' Swedish American Legacy Photographs >
        • ​Lydia's Lindsborg Photography​, ​1900 - 1925 >
          • Lydia's Bethany College Photography, ​1906 - 1925
    • Kansas Smoky Valley Swedish People's Memorial, 2009 ~ The virtual one >
      • In real time, the real 1941 memorial, the "Pioneer Cross" ​~ Created by Messrs. Lindholm and Oberg
  • The Bethany College Museum by Leon Lundstrom ~ The Words of Dr. Leon Lungstrom
Scientist Emil O. Deere
(Deere & Lydia's Bethany -- Lydia's Photography, 1906 - 1925)
*   *   *
​- To remember this "key" Swedish American "Bethany College Building" is to look back on Bethany's very beginnings -
- It is to remember the "Bethany Family" of its era.
-


​​Many people had to stand outside the Academy Building.
The Bethany Cornet Band played and the Salemsborg Quartette sang Swedish songs. …
The entire dedicatory program and the act of dedication was in Swedish. 

                                                                                                              -- Smoky Valley News, 1882
​
Bethany College "​Bethany Academy" 1882 -- Swensson's Bethany's Beginnings
    
​
-  The Bethany Academy building was at the very heart of the Bethany College beginnings -

Bethany was chartered by the State of Kansas in September 1882
It was dedicated by Founder Carl Aaron Swensson with Augustana Synod leaders presiding on October 4, 1882
It was adopted as "the child" of the Augustana Synod in 1884 at the Kansas Conference at Mariadahl Lutheran Church
 
Picture
Source: "Bethany in Kansas," page 6

In the following excerpts from fourth Swedish American Bethany College President Emory Lindquist's 1975 book, Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, Chapter 1, "Founding and Early Years, 1881 - 1991," Lindquist brings us to the very time of the way it was from the start of Bethany College.


From pages 5 and 7 Lindquist writes:

   "The Lindsburg Localist [a Lindsborg newspaper with a different spelling for Lindsborg] recognized the potential importance of "Swensson's school" in an article in June, 1882: 'There is an enterprise underway here that should not be forgotten by our people, namely the Lutheran Bethany Academy.  No enterprise could be of greater importance to the city.  Talk it up.'  The editor had reported on March 23 that another city in Kansas, apparently McPherson on the basis of other sources, had offered $10,000 as an inducement to move Bethany Academy there.  The Localist expressed concern on June 15:  "Efforts are being made continually by competing towns to have the academy moved there.  Lindsborg could not well afford to lose the academy."  The Smoky Valley News observed solemnly in November, 1882, when commenting about the Lindsborg institution: "We also have the Lindsborg Academy under the supervision of the [local] Lutheran Church, a project that will be of great benefit to our city."
   "The encouraging response to the new school provided the incentive for the developments that occurred in 1882.  The [Lindsborg] public school house, which had been purchased by Swensson, was moved to the "park" which had been donated by the Bethany congregation.  A 16' x 24' addition was built to the school house and the area was then divided into three classrooms, one larger and two smaller.  A small steeple to hold a bell was added.  In July, 1882, the Smoky Hill District of the Kansas Conference of the Augustana Lutheran Synod pledged its congregations and members to support the new school.  The following members of a board of directors were elected:  The Reverends J. Seleen, A.W. Dahlsten, P. M. Sanquist, and C.A. Swensson and Messrs. Charles Strömquist, J. Thorstenberg, John A Swenson, and Andrew Lincoln.
- The Bethany Academy -
in Bethany Park, flanked by College Street on the left and Bethany Lutheran Church on the right
Picture
Source: Billdt & Jaderborg, "The Smoky Valley in The After Years," 1969
-  Before there were trees on the Campus and in Lindsborg -
Third Graduating Class
Picture
Source: Augustana College Archives
   "The first meeting of the board was held on August 30, 1882.  Pastor Sanquist opened the meeting with prayer.  Carl Swensson was elected chairman,  A. W. Dahlsten, secretary, and John A. Swenson, treasurer.  The first action was authorization for Swensson to start a subscription of funds for the school.  ...

   "A charter of Bethany Academy was authorized by the State of Kansas in September, 1882.  Bethany Academy was dedicated at festive services on October 4, 1882.  The Smoky Valley News reported:  "One of the most interesting events in the history of Lindsborg is undoubtedly the dedication of Bethany Academy.  Many people had to stand outside the Academy Building."  The Bethany Cornet Band played and the Salemsborg Quartette sang Swedish songs.  Addresses were given by the Reverends Carl Swensson, J. Seleen, and S.P.A. Lindahl.  The entire dedicatory program and the act of dedication was in Swedish.  When the program at the Academy Building was concluded, the band escorted the entire audience to the Tremont House where dinner was served.  Exercises in the evening were scheduled for the Academy Building, but the crowd was too large and the wind was too strong for the Chinese lanterns that were to provide illumination, so the festivities were moved to the Bethany Church."


​Quoting from the Bethany Academy Catalogue of 1883-84 in his Bethany in Kansas, Lindquist writes on page 11, the following:

   "The motto of Bethany Academy was "Christo et Ecclessiae" ("For Christ and the Church").  The catalogue emphasized the religious commitment as follows:  'Salvation by a personal living faith in a Divine Savior is recognized by the authorities of this school as the chief truth in human knowledge.  Religious instruction not only forms a part of the daily routine of the school, but every endeavor is also made to surround the student with a healthy religious atmosphere.  It is the desire and purpose of both the board of directors and faculty to consecrate the institution to the highest interest of the kingdom of Christ on earth."  An appeal to students and their parents from out-of-town was made in these words:  "While Lindsborg is free from many of the temptations to vice of large cities, it affords nearly all of their social and educational advantages.  This portion of Kansas is noted for its general healthfulness of climate, an important consideration for the student.'


   "The year 1884 witnessed a decisive event when the Kansas Conference of the Augustana Lutheran Synod, meeting at Mariadahl Lutheran Church, near Cleburne, Kansas, passed the following resolution:

 
   'Whereas, Bethany Academy, through its board of directors asks the Conference for its support and protection, be it resolved that the Conference adopt Bethany as its child and that its charter be changed in accordance therewith.

    'Resolved, that Smoky Hill, Clay Center, and the East districts constitute Bethany Academy's territory, from which its support should be forthcoming.'
"
In Lindquist's Chapter 17 -- Alumni Remember, page 267, of his Bethany in Kansas, is a memory which recalls that of the "first" Bethany College building:

  "Dr. Julius Lincoln, a native of Lindsborg, recalled that summer day in 1882 when he watched the old Lindsborg public school house placed on rollers.  He walked expectantly with many spectators to the future campus of Bethany Academy where the old frame structure became the first building.  Ten years later he was a member of the first baccalaureate graduating class of four members.  His temple of memory always included the living and distinct portrait of Bethany's founder, Carl Swensson, and his dynamic words for that day and later:  "Kunska
p är makt" -- 'Knowledge is power.'  …"
*   *   *
" Bethany Academy Building "
- ​The Bethany Academy sign was removed in 2013 and it is identified as Lindsborg's "First School House" -
​
- Today located at the McPherson County Old Mill Museum Heritage Park. -
Picture
Photograph by Fran Cochran, 2011.
Today the Bethany Academy building is showcased exclusively as Lindsborg's First School House of 1879.  ​As explained to me in emails from the McPherson County Old Mill Museum, this building actually played two roles in "education." Initially it served as the "First School House" of Lindsborg in 1879.  Three years later, in 1882, it was moved to the future college campus and became known as the "First College Building" and was named Bethany Academy.  Eighty-seven (87) years later,  in 1969, it was moved from the Bethany College Campus to the McPherson County Old Mill Museum Heritage Park.  Erected in front of it was the Bethany Academy sign.

In 2013, the decision was made by the McPherson County Old MIll Museum to create an exhibit to reflect the building's "first and original" identity as the  "1879 first public school building in Lindsborg."  Thus, the Bethany Academy building sign was taken away and the historic early college memorabilia and artifacts on display within it were returned to the Bethany College Archives, and the building was repainted.*

Since that time, this "first" most important building of Bethany College has had no visual connection with the institution it first served and has had no historical linkage of importance to its role of becoming a real functional school for the Bethany Academy, for our Bethany College.

The McPherson County Old Mill Museum reported in 2018 that one day this building will be promoted as a building of dual historical educational importance to both Lindsborg and the College to include "new exhibits that encompass the entire history of the structure from its conception to the current day."**  This will then restore its true historical Swedish and Swedish American significance of Swensson's Bethany College's Bethany Academy beginnings of 1882.  A letter was written to the Museum to follow up on this in 2019 to see if the status had changed.  There was no reply, which would imply that no further attempt has been made to identify this most important first College building to the Bethany College. 

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- On the right can be seen some of  the "Bethany Academy" building which is located next to the "Swedish Pavilion" -
- These two buildings served Bethany College's needs over 100 years ago. -
In 1969 they left the Bethany College Campus for good and were relocated to the Swedish-type open air museum,
the
McPherson County Old Mill Museum Heritage Park.
Picture
 *   Information from McPherson County Old Mill Museum April 27, 2018.
**  Information from McPherson County Old Mill Museum July 25, 2018.

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​- To remember this "key" Swedish American "Bethany College Building" is to look back on Bethany's very beginnings -
- It is to remember the "Bethany Family" of its era.
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Swedes: TheWayTheyWere
~ restoring lost local histories ~

reconnecting past to present
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All color photography throughout Swedes: The Way They Were is by Fran Cochran unless otherwise indicated.
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