The Other Swedes"
Smoky Valley Writers on "The Other Swedes"
~ Honoring Them and Their Works ~
PENDING
WORKING ON THIS 10 21 21
zz 2013 "Through the Lens of B.G. Gröndal: Keeper of His Time"
~ The Words Mrs. E
Smoky Valley Writers on "The Other Swedes"
~ Honoring Them and Their Works ~
PENDING
WORKING ON THIS 10 21 21
zz 2013 "Through the Lens of B.G. Gröndal: Keeper of His Time"
~ The Words Mrs. E
It was more or less a family affair that energized this project with Bror Gustaf Gröndal's great-granddaughter Ms. Cynthia Eddy providing the greatest support to bring the vision of the beautiful book, THROUGH THE LENS OF B.G. GRONDAL: KEEPER OF HIS TIME, into a true reality in 2013. As the author, her mother, Mrs. Margaret Dahlquist Eddy (1928-2017), so clearly confirms in the first sentence of her "Acknowledgements,
"My profuse thanks goes to my daughter Cynthia Eddy, New York City,
for her talent and knowledge to design and publish this tribute to
her great-grandfather, Bror Gustaf Gröndal."
for her talent and knowledge to design and publish this tribute to
her great-grandfather, Bror Gustaf Gröndal."
However, her acknowledgements and thanks continued with other family members from the Seattle, Washington, area who contributed greatly too. The two main sources from which the body of the text originated came from B.G.'s daughter Edith Gröndal Carlson, her personal recollection writings, and also from son Dr. Bror Leonard Gröndal (a Bethany College graduate) whose material on his father is contained at the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections, the information of which was gathered by his granddaughter Barbara Boyd. It was her sister Margaret Gröndal Delourme, the caretaker of the Gröndal family photographs, who made them available for the book. (Also, the bulk of the Lindsborg and Smoky Valley photographs used for the book came from four families, with the Bethany College librarians providing needed college photographs.)
Ms. Cynthia Eddy followed in the footsteps of her mother graduating from Kansas University (KU) in Lawrence with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Decades later she is a well established New Yorker as a Freelance Software Engineer and Digital, Print Art Director of her own company, EddyWorks, which published THROUGH THE LENS OF B.G. GRONDAL: KEEPER OF HIS TIME.
Her mother, Mrs. Margaret Dahlquist Eddy, first attended Bethany College before finishing at KU where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and devoted her life to her family and to teaching while acquiring a Master's Degree. She retired from Wineteer Elementary School in Wichita, Kansas, in 1990, and with her husband L. G. Eddy she returned to Lindsborg where they were members of Bethany Church. Here they lived in a lovely Swedish style home with Swedish furnishings from where she was hostess to many, including Holy Easter Week Messiah Festival soloists from the East. She was also involved in the Swedish culture events of Lindsborg, at Bethany Church where she volunteered her time and also at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery.
Mrs. Eddy's parents were Henry and Lillian Gröndal Dahlquist of Garfield, Kansas, where she graduated from Garfield High School. It was here that her grandfather Bror Gustaf Gröndal would spend the remainder of his life with his daughter Lillian, her mother, after he closed his photography studio in Lindsborg in 1945, the year that his wife Sarah Margaret Noyd died.
Ms. Cynthia Eddy followed in the footsteps of her mother graduating from Kansas University (KU) in Lawrence with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Decades later she is a well established New Yorker as a Freelance Software Engineer and Digital, Print Art Director of her own company, EddyWorks, which published THROUGH THE LENS OF B.G. GRONDAL: KEEPER OF HIS TIME.
Her mother, Mrs. Margaret Dahlquist Eddy, first attended Bethany College before finishing at KU where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and devoted her life to her family and to teaching while acquiring a Master's Degree. She retired from Wineteer Elementary School in Wichita, Kansas, in 1990, and with her husband L. G. Eddy she returned to Lindsborg where they were members of Bethany Church. Here they lived in a lovely Swedish style home with Swedish furnishings from where she was hostess to many, including Holy Easter Week Messiah Festival soloists from the East. She was also involved in the Swedish culture events of Lindsborg, at Bethany Church where she volunteered her time and also at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery.
Mrs. Eddy's parents were Henry and Lillian Gröndal Dahlquist of Garfield, Kansas, where she graduated from Garfield High School. It was here that her grandfather Bror Gustaf Gröndal would spend the remainder of his life with his daughter Lillian, her mother, after he closed his photography studio in Lindsborg in 1945, the year that his wife Sarah Margaret Noyd died.
* * *
The lovely book cover photograph design by Ms. Eddy shows her great-grandfather's most endearing work that resides along with other photographs in the Library of Congress. It is also included on page 104 of Mrs. Eddy's book with this caption:
Bethany Daisies
The photograph of the girls in white in the midst of the field of daisies was made in the summer of 1904. The girls were attending summer school at Bethany College to renew their teaching certificates. This work has proved to be his most endearing. It was featured with the television broadcast of Handel's Messiah and is in a collection of Lindsborg work in the Library of Congress.
Bethany Daisies
The photograph of the girls in white in the midst of the field of daisies was made in the summer of 1904. The girls were attending summer school at Bethany College to renew their teaching certificates. This work has proved to be his most endearing. It was featured with the television broadcast of Handel's Messiah and is in a collection of Lindsborg work in the Library of Congress.
Due to the gracious permission of the B. G. Gröndal Family are excerpts from are shared in "centered format" like the style of the book to provide an idea of the fine work of Mrs. Margaret Eddy's words and Ms. Cynthia Eddy book design to honor their grandfather and great grandfather respectively, the Swedish gentleman photographer Bror Gustaf Gröndal, on the subjects he loved to photograph from 1887 to 1945, in the Swedish American Smoky Valley.
- A sampling of the works of Mrs. Margaret Eddy and Ms. Cynthia Eddy appear below -
THROUGH THE LENS OF B.G. GRONDAL: KEEPER OF HIS TIME
DEDICATED TO
Bethany College
The Smoky Valley Community
And to the Gröndal Descendants
AND
IN MEMORY OF
Bror Gustaf Gröndal
Sarah Margaret Noyd Gröndal
PHOTOGRAPHY BY B.G. GRONDAL I TEXT BY MARGARET DAHLQUIST EDDY I DESIGN BY CYNTHIA EDDY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOREWORD
by
Lorna Nelson, Director
McPherson County Old Mill Museum
THROUGH THE LENS OF B. G. GRONDAL, KEEPER OF HIS TIME
showcases the life and work of a gifted Swedish-American photographer who worked in the Lindsborg and Smoky Valley area of Kansas from 1887 to 1945. His work spanned the age of photography, from the use of wet plates to dry, to sensitized film, and the advent of color photography. Gröndal‘s unique perspective and talent brought artistry to the recording of life in the Smoky Valley for nearly 60 years.
B.G. Gröndal documented life in a Swedish-American community in the Midwest from the settlement period of the 1880s, through the time of transition and Americanization, and the end of WW II. His talent allowed him to capture people and places around him in a way that transcends the passage of time. He was generous with his time and dedicated to the highest quality in his work. Families across the area captured much of their own history through Gröndal‘s lens.
Gröndal influenced the changing field of photography and received recognition for his efforts. Manufactures named a new photo mount after him in 1903. In 1905 he helped organize the Kansas Photographers Club, a highly recognized and exclusive group limited to 12 photographers at a given time. He served as an officer of the Kansas Professional Photographers Association and earned numerous accolades from colleagues. As the state’s oldest active photographer for many years, he earned the title of “Dean of Kansas Photographers.”
Gröndal‘s reputation as a master of photography was remembered after his passing with these words:
"He came to Lindsborg with his camera in 1887, established himself in the community, and built such a state of the art studio in 1908 that photographers from across the state flocked to the town to see it.“
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFACE
by
Don Weddle | April 9, 2010
The Magic of Lindsborg Is People
If this is a startling statement, well, that's natural because magic is startling.
Let me explain. As far back as I can remember, it was people – not matinee idols
or other famous folks – who impressed me most. To me, distinguished and accomplished
local people are so vivid. Except for a few national figures such as
Admiral Byrd and Charles Lindbergh, most of the people that are so vivid to me
are Lindsborg people. They are my heroes.
Bror Gröndal, the gifted photographer, gave us color and electricity, vitality
and vigor. His chatter and wit were always present. His artistic stimulus
was a wizardly part of the setting. His understanding of the depth of his subjects
was, for him, in his nature.
Bror was handsome, like Thomas Alva Edison. I thought of him as a gallant
Swedish sailor. My vision of him was strangely part
of the imaginary of his falling from a ship in New Orleans harbor.
He died when I was young.
To this day, I think of his former studio as the Gröndal atelier.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
From the "Acknowledgements," of dozens of Lindsborg friends, Mrs. Eddy states:
"Grateful thanks go to Don Weddle who suggested the book, wrote the beautiful Preface, and encouraged me: 'Margaret, you have to!'
He and other local historians including Jane Brunsell, A. John Pearson, and Chris Abercrombie offered their encouragement and knowledge."
[Mr. Weddle (1923-2017) came to be known as the unofficial ambassador of Lindsborg]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
by
Don Weddle | April 9, 2010
The Magic of Lindsborg Is People
If this is a startling statement, well, that's natural because magic is startling.
Let me explain. As far back as I can remember, it was people – not matinee idols
or other famous folks – who impressed me most. To me, distinguished and accomplished
local people are so vivid. Except for a few national figures such as
Admiral Byrd and Charles Lindbergh, most of the people that are so vivid to me
are Lindsborg people. They are my heroes.
Bror Gröndal, the gifted photographer, gave us color and electricity, vitality
and vigor. His chatter and wit were always present. His artistic stimulus
was a wizardly part of the setting. His understanding of the depth of his subjects
was, for him, in his nature.
Bror was handsome, like Thomas Alva Edison. I thought of him as a gallant
Swedish sailor. My vision of him was strangely part
of the imaginary of his falling from a ship in New Orleans harbor.
He died when I was young.
To this day, I think of his former studio as the Gröndal atelier.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
From the "Acknowledgements," of dozens of Lindsborg friends, Mrs. Eddy states:
"Grateful thanks go to Don Weddle who suggested the book, wrote the beautiful Preface, and encouraged me: 'Margaret, you have to!'
He and other local historians including Jane Brunsell, A. John Pearson, and Chris Abercrombie offered their encouragement and knowledge."
[Mr. Weddle (1923-2017) came to be known as the unofficial ambassador of Lindsborg]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER
Page 7
Page 7
LIFE EXPERIENCES: From birth in Västerås, Sweden, to a manor in Thunbergia, to the Uppsala University town at age 4, to Florida orange groves, to sailing on clipper ships, to learning photography in Saint Paul, to the small town of Round Rock, Texas, to Lindsborg, Kansas, this was the life of Bror Gustaf Gröndal.
“At the very head of the profession of photography in Kansas stands Bror Gustaf Gröndal, who, for 30 consecutive years, had conducted the leading studio at Lindsborg," wrote William Connelly in the 1918 edition of A Standard History of Kansas. “Mr. Gröndal, both in his profession and in other lines of activity is a man of widely diversified experience. His career is an interesting one since he came to America in childhood years and has fought continuously a brave and unremitting struggle until he placed himself in a position where he is master of a congenial profession. Mr. Gröndal is former president of the Kansas State Photographers Association.”
In 2006, the Lindsborg community enjoyed a retrospective exhibition of Gröndal‘s work in the McPherson County Old Mill Museum. Director Lorna Nelson summed up his work: “He not only took traditional portraits in his studio but also photographed numerous aspects of community and real life over time. He was known for the outstanding quality of his work and fair business practices that made photographs affordable for everyone. His love of both photography and his community is evident in his body of work. Everyone in the Smoky Valley knew B.G. Gröndal‘s photography. His photos are part of family traditions. Beyond that, the photographic history of this part of Kansas is infinitely richer because of the work of this talented photographer and a lifelong pursuit of his art… It is fitting that he be recognized as a major figure chronicling the early life of Lindsborg and its citizens.” One note of distinction is that in 1899 some of Gröndal‘s work was published in Wilsons Photographic Magazine, in New York City.
Bob Brinkman, of the Texas State Historical Society, wrote in his book, Round Rock, “Gröndal took traditional studio portraits and also city scenes and landscapes, building a valuable record of life in Round Rock and Lindsborg.”
Bror Gustaf Gröndal, in adulthood known to friends as B.G., was born in 1855 in Västerås, Sweden, the son of Johan Gustaf and Sofi Jack Gröndal, the ninth of eleven children. At his death in 1858 his widow Sofi established the family home where her sons could be assured of a good education in the city of Uppsala at the University. Bror, 11, began his schooling at the University’s Latin School for Boys, but unlike his brothers, he was not a scholar. He preferred sports and spending time outdoors. The elder brother Filip advised Bror‘s mother to have him enter the Swedish Navy at
age 16 as a cadet.
“At the very head of the profession of photography in Kansas stands Bror Gustaf Gröndal, who, for 30 consecutive years, had conducted the leading studio at Lindsborg," wrote William Connelly in the 1918 edition of A Standard History of Kansas. “Mr. Gröndal, both in his profession and in other lines of activity is a man of widely diversified experience. His career is an interesting one since he came to America in childhood years and has fought continuously a brave and unremitting struggle until he placed himself in a position where he is master of a congenial profession. Mr. Gröndal is former president of the Kansas State Photographers Association.”
In 2006, the Lindsborg community enjoyed a retrospective exhibition of Gröndal‘s work in the McPherson County Old Mill Museum. Director Lorna Nelson summed up his work: “He not only took traditional portraits in his studio but also photographed numerous aspects of community and real life over time. He was known for the outstanding quality of his work and fair business practices that made photographs affordable for everyone. His love of both photography and his community is evident in his body of work. Everyone in the Smoky Valley knew B.G. Gröndal‘s photography. His photos are part of family traditions. Beyond that, the photographic history of this part of Kansas is infinitely richer because of the work of this talented photographer and a lifelong pursuit of his art… It is fitting that he be recognized as a major figure chronicling the early life of Lindsborg and its citizens.” One note of distinction is that in 1899 some of Gröndal‘s work was published in Wilsons Photographic Magazine, in New York City.
Bob Brinkman, of the Texas State Historical Society, wrote in his book, Round Rock, “Gröndal took traditional studio portraits and also city scenes and landscapes, building a valuable record of life in Round Rock and Lindsborg.”
Bror Gustaf Gröndal, in adulthood known to friends as B.G., was born in 1855 in Västerås, Sweden, the son of Johan Gustaf and Sofi Jack Gröndal, the ninth of eleven children. At his death in 1858 his widow Sofi established the family home where her sons could be assured of a good education in the city of Uppsala at the University. Bror, 11, began his schooling at the University’s Latin School for Boys, but unlike his brothers, he was not a scholar. He preferred sports and spending time outdoors. The elder brother Filip advised Bror‘s mother to have him enter the Swedish Navy at
age 16 as a cadet.
CHAPTER
Pages 31-32
Pages 31-32
THE SMOKY VALLEY: “Who would think that in 1887 a church conference in Round Rock, Texas, could play an important role in the history of Lindsborg, Kansas?" wrote Nancy Peterson. (Mrs. Peterson wrote a brief biography of Gröndal for the 1991 program for Lindsborg's biennial fall Hyllningsfest that honors senior citizens.) At the church conference was Dr. Carl Aaron Swenson, president of Bethany College, a small Lutheran college, located in Lindsborg, Kansas. There he met B. G. and Sarah Gröndal. He was impressed by the quality of their work. He said Lindsborg, dependent upon itinerant photographers, needed a permanent photographer, and asked the couple to come to Lindsborg and grow with the college. They came and B.G. never regretted it, for Bethany College was responsible for a large portion of the Gröndal business – its students and faculty. Dr. Swensson's hope was realized. When the first yearbook, the Bethany Daisy, was published in 1908, the photographs were B.G.‘s
At first B.G. located his Lindsborg gallery on the west side of the street near the intersection of Main and State in an existing frame building that he fitted out with a skylight and dark room. For about five years, the Gröndals operated studios simultaneously in Lindsborg and Round Rock, where, according to Texas historian Bob Brinkman, he partnered with William B. Praytor. This arrangement was made with the option of a return to Round Rock, as Sarah was loathe to leave her friends in Texas.
After the Texas home and studio were sold, a house across the street on the northeast corner of Main and State was bought and remodeled into a “First Class Photo Gallery." From the newspaper: “B.G. Gröndal is now installed in his new photographic gallery, and is prepared to give his patrons better service than ever. The new gallery is splendidly furnished and equipped in the most up-two-date manner and can rival any of the galleries in the country."
In 1908, B.G. erected a spacious brick studio on the southeast corner of Main and State with a large “opening," or posing room equipped with a single – slant skylight on the north where he could take group photographs of as many as 40 persons. Several months later, the community read that B.G. Gröndal was receiving letters from prominent photographers in the state, asking for information in regard to the construction of photographic studios. The local paper also reported that Mr. Gröndal "is an authority on the subject, having one of the best constructed and equipped studios in the state.“
When lean times struck, some folks were unable to pay for their work. In 1894, the local paper Lindsborg News ran advertisements that read: “Gröndal does the very best of work in the photographic line and his prices have been greatly reduced, owing to the hard times. It will pay you to call on him." This ad was repeated in succeeding weeks. Another ad, dated September 4, 1894, read: “Hard Times, but Good News – FOR A SHORT TIME, I will make you A DOZEN good and DURABLE Cabinet Photographs for $1.50."
His account book for 1890 shows monthly total receipts ranging from 45 cents for one month to $11.40 in May and $86.85 in December. Gröndal was such an enthusiastic Bethany supporter that he contributed money, even beyond his means, in the difficult 1890s.
Athletic teams were formed at Bethany about five or six years after he arrived in town. Once he bought a camera with the fastest lens available in order to snap pictures of those giants, the Terrible Swedes football team in action. In 1903 the Bethany College football team had a national reputation and challenged Harvard University to an intersectional contest. For several years B.G. made panels with pictures of the various athletic teams at Bethany College and presented them to members of the teams.
Venturing afield from Lindsborg in 1890, B.G. travel to Colorado with a group of Lindsborg businessman. There he took a series of photographs in the Garden of the Gods, a stunning landscape of rock formations in the foothills of the Rockies near Colorado Springs. In 1894, accompanied by J. S. Westerland, he went to Trinidad, Colorado, to take photographs for the Las Animas Sand Company. During that trip he appeared with his camera case and tripod in a group photograph of tourists atop Pikes Peak. In those days railroads crisscrossed the country, making faraway places easily assessible.
At first B.G. located his Lindsborg gallery on the west side of the street near the intersection of Main and State in an existing frame building that he fitted out with a skylight and dark room. For about five years, the Gröndals operated studios simultaneously in Lindsborg and Round Rock, where, according to Texas historian Bob Brinkman, he partnered with William B. Praytor. This arrangement was made with the option of a return to Round Rock, as Sarah was loathe to leave her friends in Texas.
After the Texas home and studio were sold, a house across the street on the northeast corner of Main and State was bought and remodeled into a “First Class Photo Gallery." From the newspaper: “B.G. Gröndal is now installed in his new photographic gallery, and is prepared to give his patrons better service than ever. The new gallery is splendidly furnished and equipped in the most up-two-date manner and can rival any of the galleries in the country."
In 1908, B.G. erected a spacious brick studio on the southeast corner of Main and State with a large “opening," or posing room equipped with a single – slant skylight on the north where he could take group photographs of as many as 40 persons. Several months later, the community read that B.G. Gröndal was receiving letters from prominent photographers in the state, asking for information in regard to the construction of photographic studios. The local paper also reported that Mr. Gröndal "is an authority on the subject, having one of the best constructed and equipped studios in the state.“
When lean times struck, some folks were unable to pay for their work. In 1894, the local paper Lindsborg News ran advertisements that read: “Gröndal does the very best of work in the photographic line and his prices have been greatly reduced, owing to the hard times. It will pay you to call on him." This ad was repeated in succeeding weeks. Another ad, dated September 4, 1894, read: “Hard Times, but Good News – FOR A SHORT TIME, I will make you A DOZEN good and DURABLE Cabinet Photographs for $1.50."
His account book for 1890 shows monthly total receipts ranging from 45 cents for one month to $11.40 in May and $86.85 in December. Gröndal was such an enthusiastic Bethany supporter that he contributed money, even beyond his means, in the difficult 1890s.
Athletic teams were formed at Bethany about five or six years after he arrived in town. Once he bought a camera with the fastest lens available in order to snap pictures of those giants, the Terrible Swedes football team in action. In 1903 the Bethany College football team had a national reputation and challenged Harvard University to an intersectional contest. For several years B.G. made panels with pictures of the various athletic teams at Bethany College and presented them to members of the teams.
Venturing afield from Lindsborg in 1890, B.G. travel to Colorado with a group of Lindsborg businessman. There he took a series of photographs in the Garden of the Gods, a stunning landscape of rock formations in the foothills of the Rockies near Colorado Springs. In 1894, accompanied by J. S. Westerland, he went to Trinidad, Colorado, to take photographs for the Las Animas Sand Company. During that trip he appeared with his camera case and tripod in a group photograph of tourists atop Pikes Peak. In those days railroads crisscrossed the country, making faraway places easily assessible.
To learn of the contents of Mrs. Eddy's book that lists the chapters and the photograph titles, go HERE to The Contents of "Through the Lens of B.G. Gröndal: Keeper of His Time."
SOURCES: THROUGH THE LENS OF B.G. GRONDAL: KEEPER OF HIS TIME; LinkedIn; Wichita Eagle, August 24, 2017; Salina Journal, August 19, 2017
SOURCES: THROUGH THE LENS OF B.G. GRONDAL: KEEPER OF HIS TIME; LinkedIn; Wichita Eagle, August 24, 2017; Salina Journal, August 19, 2017
* * *
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.
