"The Other Swedes"
~ Celebrating Them ~
~ The Lindsborg Swedes, Their Neighbors & Friends ~
On Dr. Greta Swenson: "She used her intellect and rapier wit to guide the Folklife Institutes future."
-- Mark and Mardel Esping, 2020
Dr. Greta Swenson and Mr. & Mrs. Mark Esping
~ Remembering them for founding Lindsborg's "only"
"Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas" 1986
~ Celebrating Them ~
~ The Lindsborg Swedes, Their Neighbors & Friends ~
On Dr. Greta Swenson: "She used her intellect and rapier wit to guide the Folklife Institutes future."
-- Mark and Mardel Esping, 2020
Dr. Greta Swenson and Mr. & Mrs. Mark Esping
~ Remembering them for founding Lindsborg's "only"
"Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas" 1986
Lindsborg, already historically known for its music and art culture through its Bethany Lutheran Church and College, starting at the end of the 19th century and continuing through the 20th century in America, was certainly more than ready for a turnkey institution like the Swedish-American Folklife Institute to shine a professional and broader light on its Swedishness, on its folklife and folk art cultural heritage.
And, for a long season, that is just what the Institute did, as it drew folklife experts from around the country and Sweden to visit Lindsborg, while its members traveled within the United States and to Sweden to share and to teach the Swedish folk art found in this Kansas community and its neighboring Smoky Valley communities.
The Institute, established in 1986, successfully showcased this Swedishness and accomplished much, such as hosting three (3) renowned, internationally known, and well credentialed lifelong American experts in the folklife field. They were Dr. Alan Jabbour, Director of the Library of Congress Folklife Institute; Dr. Michael Owen Jones, Director of the Department of Mythology and Folklore at the University of California at Los Angeles, and Dr. Robert Teske, Director of the Cederburg Center at Cederburg, Wisconsin, author of the 1998 Wisconsin Folk Art : A Sesquicentennial Celebration.
From Sweden, the Institute hosted, the also renowned, internationally known, and just as well credentialed, Dr. Barbro Klein, scholar and professor of Folklife at the University of Stockholm, a professor emerita of ethnology and a director emerita and permanent fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study. She served on the American Folklore Society Board and was a member of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy in Sweden. Much later, she would return in 2012, not as the Institute's guest but that of Bethany College, as that year's Pearson Distinguished Professor of Swedish Studies.
And, for a long season, that is just what the Institute did, as it drew folklife experts from around the country and Sweden to visit Lindsborg, while its members traveled within the United States and to Sweden to share and to teach the Swedish folk art found in this Kansas community and its neighboring Smoky Valley communities.
The Institute, established in 1986, successfully showcased this Swedishness and accomplished much, such as hosting three (3) renowned, internationally known, and well credentialed lifelong American experts in the folklife field. They were Dr. Alan Jabbour, Director of the Library of Congress Folklife Institute; Dr. Michael Owen Jones, Director of the Department of Mythology and Folklore at the University of California at Los Angeles, and Dr. Robert Teske, Director of the Cederburg Center at Cederburg, Wisconsin, author of the 1998 Wisconsin Folk Art : A Sesquicentennial Celebration.
From Sweden, the Institute hosted, the also renowned, internationally known, and just as well credentialed, Dr. Barbro Klein, scholar and professor of Folklife at the University of Stockholm, a professor emerita of ethnology and a director emerita and permanent fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study. She served on the American Folklore Society Board and was a member of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy in Sweden. Much later, she would return in 2012, not as the Institute's guest but that of Bethany College, as that year's Pearson Distinguished Professor of Swedish Studies.
Swedish Costumes from the 2019 Svensk Hyllningsfest
Provided by Mrs. Marla Ann Elmquist and the Hyllningsfest Costume Ladies
Provided by Mrs. Marla Ann Elmquist and the Hyllningsfest Costume Ladies
The Projects and Programs
Funded by many grants including being awarded two National Endowments for the Arts Grant, one to document Wood Working and the other for slide presentations and exhibition development of several previously unstudied areas of folk art. Some of the Institute projects and programs included:
- "Folklife in the Schools Seminars" which provided presenters from Florida, Mississippi, Iowa and the Amana Colonies for Teachers in the State of Kansas. (Among those attending were Kansas teachers from Pratt, Wichita, Hays, Manhattan, and Kansas City, Kansas.)
- Three years of presentations and/or workshops on "Immigrant Culture for Bethany College Elderhostel," including topics of Metalwork, Woodworking, Ljuskröna,* Apples Trees, Storytelling, Swedish Costume, Swedish Dancers and History at the Old Mill Museum.
- The weeklong Folk Art Intensive Workshop taught by 12 Master Folk Artists, including Kepka Belton on Czech Eggs; Sonia Domsch on Bobbin Lace; Margaret Pitzer on Cherokee Basket making; and Beth Walker on Inkler loom.
- Swedish Folk Craft Workshops in knifemaking and woodworking by renown Kenneth Bengtsson from Varby, Sweden who also teaches chip carving, Tine Box making and slojd knifemaking.
- The sponsored storytelling contest with a trip to Sweden as a prize.
- A handmade traveling exhibition that included ten photograph panels and ten Ljuskröna for destinations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and several locations in Kansas including presentations, and, at most stops, lessons on making Ljuskröna.
- The ongoing weeklong "Swedish American Culture as it exists in the Midwest" program.
- The 1992 fieldwork entry at the Smithsonian Institution's annual National Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. in the "Family Farm" section of a Lindsborg farm representing "Kansas Agriculture and Swedish Culture."
- Travel to Sweden for: A research and presentation trip, hosted by Dr. Barbro Klein at the University of Stockholm, to deliver a speech at Stockholm's Nordiska Museet on the Ljuskröna family collections from Lindsborg and other Swedish American regions, and to further research and photograph the Ljuskröna in twelve museums throughout Sweden; also, the presentation with slides of "A Remnant Folk Art Object" at the Institutet for Folklivsforsking, Nordic Museum, Stockholm; and, as well, for the “Jubilee Year" of 1996, the presentation of exhibited works of local Lindsborg artists at the Leksand Sweden Cultural Center.
- The ongoing projects:
- Creating a research and resource library on folklife and folk art
- Collecting stories from rural Kansas areas
- Acquiring slides, negatives, video and audio tapes and objects that reflect the folklife of central Kansas
- Reprinting books
- Publishing research conclusions
- Providing direction to those applying for Kansas Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grants
- Acquiring Lindsborg Svensk Hyllningsfest Swedish costumes worn at each biennial celebration honoring Swedish immigrants
- Passing on Lindsborg Svensk Hyllningsfest Swedish costumes to Mrs. Marla Ann Elmquist and the ladies who are restoring and preserving them
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A Word About the Ljuskröna
Highlighted above in red font is the Swedish word Ljuskröna, that in English means "light crown" which is a paper constructed candelabra. It became a piece of Swedish folk art as a result of the Swedish 1869 emigration into the Kansas Smoky Valley. The first known Ljuskröna was created for the first Christmas for the Lutheran Church in Salemsberg, a small settlement, north of Lindsborg. To study, the unstudied field of this Swedish folk art would be one of the goals of the 1986 Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas. This intense research and study of the Ljuskröna for many years would introduce the Institute team, Ms. Greta Swenson, Mr. Mark and Mrs. Mardel Esping, to Swedish professionals of folk art, to many museums and families in Sweden and those in Swedish America, while this also generated much travel from such groups to Lindsborg and to Bethany College that were organized by the team. As a result, their findings, their stories, and their collections of the Swedish Ljuskröna are found HERE. Also, included, is Mrs. Esping's instructions HERE, on how to create these beautiful Ljuskröna pieces.
Replica of Salemsberg Church Style Ljuskröna
created by
Mark Esping, Director of the Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas
Courtesy of the Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas.
Furthermore, author Mr. Tom Holmquist in his 1994 Pioneer Cross, Swedish Settlements Along the Smoky Hill Bluffs, beautifully writes about that Ljuskröna and the first 1869 Christmas of the Salemsberg Lutheran Church in his last chapter, "The Peaceful Mountain." Here are two of those most touching paragraphs:
"Ljuskröna, translated into English means" light crown." These paper-wrapped candelabras were common in Sweden and positioned in a place of honor according to Swedish tradition. [Pastor] C. J. Brodine built this special ljuskröna, in the days just prior to Christmas, as his gift to the new congregation. It stood approximately two-feet tall at the base and about four inches in diameter. Near the top were eight arms extended like the spokes of a wagon wheel. Each of the arms held a candle-holder, with a long white taper at the end. The entire piece was wrapped in white paper which gave it a festive appearance.
"This piece was not simply a candle-holder on the altar that first cold December morning in Kansas. To the Swedish people, the ljuskröna was the symbol of the light of Jesus Christ coming into the world. In the mist of the midwinter snows they found the light, the glory of Jesus Christ and the hope of the renewal of the life sure to come. This beacon of light led them to the end of their journey. After years of tribulation and many difficulties, they had found a home."
To read more on Mr. Holmquist's most significant 1869 Swedish Christmas Ljuskröna story, go HERE.
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The Team
The Team
Those responsible for the Institute were Swedish American Lindsborg resident and Minnesota's Gustavus Augustus College graduate American Folklorist Dr. Greta Swenson, President; and Kansas' Bethany College graduates -- artists, crafts makers and teachers -- Mark Esping, Director, and Mardel Esping, a "Master Weaver," whose weavings have hung in the Governor's Mansion in Topeka, Kansas, and in the Saline County Offices in Salina, Kansas, and many of which are in private collections.
The early endeavors of these three (3) devoted Lindsborg Folklife Institute pioneers resulted with the Institute receiving a not-for-profit status in 1989. In the first year each of them held Board of Directors' positions and were employed on the grants as field workers.
Before the forming of the Swedish-American Folklife Institute for Central Kansas, Dr. Swenson held the position of the State Folklorist for North Dakota. Here, some of her research for the State included "exploring cowboy poets and Indian culture." However, due to kidney failure, she was forced to return home to Lindsborg to be with her family and to receive kidney dialysis.
All three grew up in the Swedish Augustana Lutheran faith.
The early endeavors of these three (3) devoted Lindsborg Folklife Institute pioneers resulted with the Institute receiving a not-for-profit status in 1989. In the first year each of them held Board of Directors' positions and were employed on the grants as field workers.
Before the forming of the Swedish-American Folklife Institute for Central Kansas, Dr. Swenson held the position of the State Folklorist for North Dakota. Here, some of her research for the State included "exploring cowboy poets and Indian culture." However, due to kidney failure, she was forced to return home to Lindsborg to be with her family and to receive kidney dialysis.
All three grew up in the Swedish Augustana Lutheran faith.
Greta Swenson
Dr. Greta Swenson, a National Scholar graduate from Lindsborg High School, graduated from Lutheran Gustavus Augustus College on May 27, 1973, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a double major of Russian Studies and History and with a minor in Political Science. While there, she spent a semester in Yugoslavia to continue further study of the Russian language which at the same time brought her face-to-face with Gypsy culture and folklore. Thus, this was her introduction to folklore studies. As a result, in 1980, she was awarded a Doctorate Degree in Folklore at the University of Indiana at Bloomington where many of the nation's experts in folklife and folklore studies received degrees as well, one being the current Director (since April 2013) of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage American Folklorist Dr. Michael Atwood Mason who was also awarded a Doctorate Degree in Folklore.
Mardel and Mark Esping
Mr. Mark Esping graduated from Lutheran Bethany College in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a double major of Business and Sociology, and with a minor in History. He continued his studies at Flagstaff's Northern Arizona University where he earned a Master of Arts Degree in Art Education with "glass blowing" being the area of study. He later earned a Master of Science Degree in Educational Media at Manhattan's Kansas State University. Of his varied career experiences, Mr. Esping was an international wholesale jewelry buyer traveling to Europe and Asia, while then Stateside setting up wholesale international jewelry shows across the country. His extended non-tour travels have included Mexico, Europe, Tunisia, Nepal, China, Thailand and Japan where he taught conversational English for four months. Together, he and his wife, Mardel, are the former owners of the Lindsborg, Kansas crafts store, "The Tomtegubbe," and the art gallery, "Sven & Me."
Mrs. Mardel Esping graduated from Lutheran Bethany College in 1968 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree and continued her studies at Dine College which serves the Navaho Nations in Arizona and New Mexico. Here, she studied "weaving" under master Navaho artist Mable Burnside Myers and "basket making" under master Navaho artist Alah Chee Yellow Hair. Her study of basket making continued at Mills College, Oakland, California, with American curator, fiber artist, Virginia I. Harvey, who would later author the 1987 The Techniques of Basketry. At Flagstaff's Northern Arizona University, she would earn a Master of Arts in Art Education, and would continue on with additional studies at Manhattan's Kansas State University. Mrs. Esping taught at Lindsborg High School; Fort Wingate Bureau of Indian Affairs High School; throughout Kansas City, Missouri Elementary Schools; and privately, providing workshops on Navajo weaving and on Swedish Ljuskröna making. She is a charter board member of the Kansas Alliance of Weavers and Spinners; and she was a key player in the establishment of the Smoky Valley Fiber Guild. Together, she and her husband, Mark, are the former owners of the Lindsborg, Kansas crafts store, "The Tomtegubbe" and the art gallery, "Sven & Me."
Mrs. Mardel Esping graduated from Lutheran Bethany College in 1968 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree and continued her studies at Dine College which serves the Navaho Nations in Arizona and New Mexico. Here, she studied "weaving" under master Navaho artist Mable Burnside Myers and "basket making" under master Navaho artist Alah Chee Yellow Hair. Her study of basket making continued at Mills College, Oakland, California, with American curator, fiber artist, Virginia I. Harvey, who would later author the 1987 The Techniques of Basketry. At Flagstaff's Northern Arizona University, she would earn a Master of Arts in Art Education, and would continue on with additional studies at Manhattan's Kansas State University. Mrs. Esping taught at Lindsborg High School; Fort Wingate Bureau of Indian Affairs High School; throughout Kansas City, Missouri Elementary Schools; and privately, providing workshops on Navajo weaving and on Swedish Ljuskröna making. She is a charter board member of the Kansas Alliance of Weavers and Spinners; and she was a key player in the establishment of the Smoky Valley Fiber Guild. Together, she and her husband, Mark, are the former owners of the Lindsborg, Kansas crafts store, "The Tomtegubbe" and the art gallery, "Sven & Me."
The Plan
Early on, before the Institute was established, as Dr. Swenson was receiving kidney dialysis treatments she began to mentor Mr. and Mrs. Esping on knowledge she acquired through her folklore studies at the University of Indiana. The Espings absorbed it all, and, in time, the Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas was born. Together, these three had a good five years of setting the Institute on a firm foundation with a future promise of permanently serving the various Swedish cultural heritage and folklife needs of Central Kansas.
Paraphrased from an Esping email, the following sums up why the Institute start-up and future were so successful:
Paraphrased from an Esping email, the following sums up why the Institute start-up and future were so successful:
"Greta passed on her knowledge to us.
She faithfully taught us how to interview.
She used her intellect and rapier wit to guide the Folklife Institutes' future."
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She faithfully taught us how to interview.
She used her intellect and rapier wit to guide the Folklife Institutes' future."
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President Dr. Greta Swenson
Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas
1986 - 1992
"... Folklife Institute ... [she] worked long and hard to establish ..."
(The photograph and article were submitted by Institute member historian author Elizabeth Jaderborg.)
Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas
1986 - 1992
"... Folklife Institute ... [she] worked long and hard to establish ..."
(The photograph and article were submitted by Institute member historian author Elizabeth Jaderborg.)
" Greta Swenson, 1951-1992: . . . This photograph was taken last week in the office of Folklife Institute of Central Kansas, an organization which Greta had worked long and hard to establish and maintain. In spite of the many physical problems Greta had to bear she continued to work hard at retaining the heritage and folklife history of this area.
"Through her efforts and others, nationally known folklife experts found out about Lindsborg, many visiting or participating in seminars here. She was also instrumental in bringing folk artists to Bethany College for Elderhostels last summer.
"At the time of this photo, Greta had just wrapped up the details on the 2nd Annual Lindsborg Composer’s Showcase’ held Sunday afternoon. Dr. Pelz and his music were very important to Greta and her presence was felt in Presser during the concert.
"We lost an expert resource person, a hard worker and most of all a friend Saturday evening when Greta succumbed to the illnesses which ravaged her body for so many years."
"Through her efforts and others, nationally known folklife experts found out about Lindsborg, many visiting or participating in seminars here. She was also instrumental in bringing folk artists to Bethany College for Elderhostels last summer.
"At the time of this photo, Greta had just wrapped up the details on the 2nd Annual Lindsborg Composer’s Showcase’ held Sunday afternoon. Dr. Pelz and his music were very important to Greta and her presence was felt in Presser during the concert.
"We lost an expert resource person, a hard worker and most of all a friend Saturday evening when Greta succumbed to the illnesses which ravaged her body for so many years."
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In the saddness of that 1992 year, Dr. Swenson would have been delighted that the Institute's Kansas Family Farm project had been accepted by the Smithsonian Institution to enter it into the National Folklife Festival in Washington D.C.; and that 1992 would be the year to first publish the Institute's website (just following the year before when the world's first website was published by an Englishman working in Geneva, Switzerland).
The "Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas" website stated on the "History" page the following:
"The Folklife Institute of Central Kansas has provided many outstanding educational activities in the fields of folklife and folk art. The Institute is a research organization that acts as a presentation umbrella for persons interested in traditional arts and culture. Programs are centered around an oral history collection, folk art classes and exhibit preparation. The Institute encourages apprenticeship in the traditional arts. Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts have provided funds for research, slide presentations and exhibition development of several previously unstudied areas of folk art."
Go HERE to the Folklife Institute's website.
Four years after Dr. Swenson's passing, in 1996, steps were taken by Director Mark and Mardel Esping to establish the Swedish-American Heritage Center.
The "Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas" website stated on the "History" page the following:
"The Folklife Institute of Central Kansas has provided many outstanding educational activities in the fields of folklife and folk art. The Institute is a research organization that acts as a presentation umbrella for persons interested in traditional arts and culture. Programs are centered around an oral history collection, folk art classes and exhibit preparation. The Institute encourages apprenticeship in the traditional arts. Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts have provided funds for research, slide presentations and exhibition development of several previously unstudied areas of folk art."
Go HERE to the Folklife Institute's website.
Four years after Dr. Swenson's passing, in 1996, steps were taken by Director Mark and Mardel Esping to establish the Swedish-American Heritage Center.
Go HERE to Recognizing their Lindsborg's Folklife Institute's Swedish-American Heritage Center, 1996
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