"The Other Swedes"
Smoky Valley Writers on "The Other Swedes"
~ Recognizing and Honoring Them and Their Works ~
"The Swedish heritage of the Smoky Valley is worth the time it takes to pass it on to a child.
Tell them the stories, teach them the traditions, and pass on to each one the legacy of the Pioneer Cross."
--- Thomas N. Holmquist, 1994, Pioneer Cross
Smoky Valley Writers on "The Other Swedes"
~ Recognizing and Honoring Them and Their Works ~
"The Swedish heritage of the Smoky Valley is worth the time it takes to pass it on to a child.
Tell them the stories, teach them the traditions, and pass on to each one the legacy of the Pioneer Cross."
--- Thomas N. Holmquist, 1994, Pioneer Cross
Mr. Thomas N. Holmquist
~ Chronicling key Swedish Augustana Lutheran Smoky Valley settlements other than Lindsborg
1994
Pioneer Cross
Swedish Settlements Along the Smoky Hill Bluffs
~ Chronicling key Swedish Augustana Lutheran Smoky Valley settlements other than Lindsborg
1994
Pioneer Cross
Swedish Settlements Along the Smoky Hill Bluffs
This book is such a beautiful, personal, and well documented book! In Mr. Holmquist's dedication of his book, he writes:
"This book is dedicated to my father, Darrel Holmquist, and to the memory of my uncle, Evan Holmquist. They planted a seed, repeated the stories, and nurtured a sense of history and the true heritage of the Smoky Valley of Kansas in the heart of a small boy."
Holmquist writes elsewhere that, "Pioneer Cross is the result of growing up in the shadow of the Smoky Bluffs, listening to the tales, and a desire to honor the Swedish pioneers who dared to venture onto the plains of Kansas."
Add to that the review of Thomas D. Isern, Dean of the Faculty, College of Humanities and Sciences, North Dakota State University who writes: "Kansas is a quilt of ethnic patches. How fortunate we would be if, like the patch sewed in by the Galesburg Colonization Company, every ethnic settlement had a chronicler such as Tom Holmquist. Pioneer Cross is . . . a true contribution to the history of Kansas and the Swedish settlements in America."
In Kansas State Historical Society President Ruth Olson Peters' review, she writes, " . . . an inspirational look into the pioneer spirit of the Swedes who settled in the beautiful Smoky Valley region of Kansas. The author shows how these immigrants overcame hardships and fears by their strength, courage and never-ending faith . . ."
For me, Pioneer Cross stands out to be a rare and treasured book in the midst of the other Smoky Valley books I used for SWEDES because it concentrates on the earliest settlements of the Smoky Valley's Swedish Augustana Lutheran communities neighboring Lindsborg.
Additionally, Mr. Holmquist book presents information on the forming of the Swedish Augustana Lutheran Synod, the heart of which was found in Andover, Illinois, from where many of these new Swedes had first lived, before arriving in the Smoky Valley. The Galesburg Colonization Company from Galesburg, Illinois, was led by Augustana Lutheran Pastor A. W. Dahlsten whose leadership was key to the success of settling this Galesburg Colony in the Smoky Valley.
From this colony would be established such communities as Falun, Salemsborg, Freemount, and Smolan that would be much smaller in populations to that of Lindsborg, yet would established in 1869 the Freemount and Salemsborg churches, the same year as the establishment of Lindsborg's Bethany Church, all of which belonged to the Augustana Lutheran Synod.
"This book is dedicated to my father, Darrel Holmquist, and to the memory of my uncle, Evan Holmquist. They planted a seed, repeated the stories, and nurtured a sense of history and the true heritage of the Smoky Valley of Kansas in the heart of a small boy."
Holmquist writes elsewhere that, "Pioneer Cross is the result of growing up in the shadow of the Smoky Bluffs, listening to the tales, and a desire to honor the Swedish pioneers who dared to venture onto the plains of Kansas."
Add to that the review of Thomas D. Isern, Dean of the Faculty, College of Humanities and Sciences, North Dakota State University who writes: "Kansas is a quilt of ethnic patches. How fortunate we would be if, like the patch sewed in by the Galesburg Colonization Company, every ethnic settlement had a chronicler such as Tom Holmquist. Pioneer Cross is . . . a true contribution to the history of Kansas and the Swedish settlements in America."
In Kansas State Historical Society President Ruth Olson Peters' review, she writes, " . . . an inspirational look into the pioneer spirit of the Swedes who settled in the beautiful Smoky Valley region of Kansas. The author shows how these immigrants overcame hardships and fears by their strength, courage and never-ending faith . . ."
For me, Pioneer Cross stands out to be a rare and treasured book in the midst of the other Smoky Valley books I used for SWEDES because it concentrates on the earliest settlements of the Smoky Valley's Swedish Augustana Lutheran communities neighboring Lindsborg.
Additionally, Mr. Holmquist book presents information on the forming of the Swedish Augustana Lutheran Synod, the heart of which was found in Andover, Illinois, from where many of these new Swedes had first lived, before arriving in the Smoky Valley. The Galesburg Colonization Company from Galesburg, Illinois, was led by Augustana Lutheran Pastor A. W. Dahlsten whose leadership was key to the success of settling this Galesburg Colony in the Smoky Valley.
From this colony would be established such communities as Falun, Salemsborg, Freemount, and Smolan that would be much smaller in populations to that of Lindsborg, yet would established in 1869 the Freemount and Salemsborg churches, the same year as the establishment of Lindsborg's Bethany Church, all of which belonged to the Augustana Lutheran Synod.
1994 Published, 128 Pages
Cover photo by Linda K. Hubalek
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Unlike the Pastor Olof Olsson's Lindsborg bound colony fresh from the Värmland region of Sweden, these Swedes were from the Smalånd and Dalarna regions of Sweden and first settled in Ohio and Illinois. Their colony would arrive in the Smoky Valley on February 25, 1869, four months earlier than that of the Olsson Colony which began to arrive in June of 1869.
Yet, arriving four (4) months earlier than this Illinois colony, in late October of 1868, were Mr. Holmquist's great grandfather Gust Holmkvist, his great granduncle Johannes Holmkvist and their friend John Danielson. They had come from Dekalb, Illinois, to begin life anew as homesteaders among these to-be Swedish settlements. (Note that "kv" changed to "qu" in the Holmkvist / Holmquist surname.)
Mr. Holmquist continues with sons Ryan and John Holmquist, the fifth generation, to homestead the farm of his great grandfather. In 1992, he and his family were selected by the Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folklife in Washington D.C. to represent "Kansas Agriculture and Swedish Culture" at the Smithsonian Institution's Family Farm section, the project of which was instigated by the Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas located in Lindsborg.
His most recent book, which I do not have, was published in 2019 titled Salemsborg, A History of the Salemsborg Evangelical Church, Volume I: 1869-1939. It is a complete history of the Smoky Valley communities of Salemsborg and Smolan and missionary leader Rev. C. J. Brodine, who was the first pastor of both the Freemount and Salemsborg Congregations, members of the Swedish Augustana Lutheran Synod.
Yet, arriving four (4) months earlier than this Illinois colony, in late October of 1868, were Mr. Holmquist's great grandfather Gust Holmkvist, his great granduncle Johannes Holmkvist and their friend John Danielson. They had come from Dekalb, Illinois, to begin life anew as homesteaders among these to-be Swedish settlements. (Note that "kv" changed to "qu" in the Holmkvist / Holmquist surname.)
Mr. Holmquist continues with sons Ryan and John Holmquist, the fifth generation, to homestead the farm of his great grandfather. In 1992, he and his family were selected by the Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folklife in Washington D.C. to represent "Kansas Agriculture and Swedish Culture" at the Smithsonian Institution's Family Farm section, the project of which was instigated by the Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas located in Lindsborg.
His most recent book, which I do not have, was published in 2019 titled Salemsborg, A History of the Salemsborg Evangelical Church, Volume I: 1869-1939. It is a complete history of the Smoky Valley communities of Salemsborg and Smolan and missionary leader Rev. C. J. Brodine, who was the first pastor of both the Freemount and Salemsborg Congregations, members of the Swedish Augustana Lutheran Synod.
The Churches
- click on photographs to enlarge -
- click on photographs to enlarge -
Freemount Church, 1909 Freemount Church, 1870 Salemsborg Church, 1909
Source: Pioneer Swedish-American Culture in Central Kansas by Alfred Bergin in Swedish 1909 / by Ruth Billdt in English 1965
Mr. Holmquist is also the author of several other books and is just recently retired of Smoky Valley school teaching for 44 years in middle school and high school. Graduating Magnu Cum Laude from Bethany College, he holds a BS in Music Education and a MA in American History from Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas. In 2000, he was awarded a Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholarship for educational work in Japan.
He is the husband of Swedish American retired Education Department Chair Bethany College Professor Dr. Marlysue Holmquist, author of A History of Swedish Craft Work at Bethany College. In addition to their sons, Ryan and John, they have a daughter, Majkin.
He is the husband of Swedish American retired Education Department Chair Bethany College Professor Dr. Marlysue Holmquist, author of A History of Swedish Craft Work at Bethany College. In addition to their sons, Ryan and John, they have a daughter, Majkin.
* * *
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.
