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" … Most distinctive in Bethany's range of college symbols of that type is the famous "Rockar! Stockar" yell. It all started in 1903..." *
"In 1903 the Bethany College football team had a national reputation and challenged "Harvard University" to an inter-sectional contest." **
"In 1903 the Bethany College football team had a national reputation and challenged "Harvard University" to an inter-sectional contest." **
Their Bethany College 1902 "Terrible Swedes," Coach Bennie Owen,
Their 1903 "Rockar Stockar"
&
- Early Sports Photographs -
Source: "Smoky Valley People" found between page 198 & 199
From fourth Swedish American President Dr. Emory Lindquist's 1953 Smoky Valley People, Chapter XIV, "Bethany College: Organizations and Activities," page 222, paragraphs 1 and 2, we read:
"'The attitude at Bethany College toward the gridiron sport must be placed against the background of the times. It was, as judged by present standards, a rough and dangerous game. It involved much more direct bodily contact than is now the situation. Direct force and power characterized the game. Moreover, football had been outlawed in many colleges and universities. Even Dr. Swensson, later an enthusiastic supporter of Bethany's gridiron teams, felt that the game should be banned. In a statement presented in the Bethany Messenger in March, 1895, he wrote that he opposed football because it was (1) brutal, (2) dangerous, (3) a poor substitute for gymnastics, (4) it caused students to forget their studies, and (5) it fostered a wild and unruly spirit. He pointed out that it was now banned and he hope never again to see a Bethany eleven. Swensson continued, ' Who does not despise the noisy boisterousness, the savage, all penetrating yelling, the free and unpleasant exhibition of unrestricted lung-power so closely allied to the sport of football? '
"While the decision to ban football was not well received in some quarters, it stood until the end of the century when agitation under the leadership of the faculty produce a change in the situation..."
From page 223 paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 ongoing; then to page 224 paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, Lindquist continues:
“The resumption officially of football at Bethany in the autumn of 1902 introduced a great era of victories. Associated with the seasons of 1902, 1903, and 1904 is the name of Bennie Owen, famous football coach. Following a great playing career at the University of Kansas in 1897, Owen went to Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas, as coach of athletics in 1900, and the following year he served as assistant to "Hurry Up” Yost at the University of Michigan. Bennie Owen applied to Swensson for the position at Bethany and was immediately hired as instructor in chemistry and coach at a salary of $500 per year.
“Benny Owen’s coaching career at Bethany was phenomenal. During his three years there, his Bethany teams won twenty-two games and lost two, and tied two. The ”Terrible Swedes” as they became known, scored 796 points to 93 points from their opponents. In 1902 Bethany won nine games, scoring 388 to 34 points for the opposing teams. In 1903 the ”Terrible Swedes” lost only to Washburn, a team that was decisively defeated the following year. In 1904 Bethany was all victorious.
The games and scores for the 1904 season were as follows:
Bethany 23, Chilocco 0.
Bethany 82, Cooper 6.
Bethany 17, Fairmount 0.
Bethany 16, Kansas State Normal 0.
Bethany 28, K.S.A.C. 5.
Bethany 71, Ottawa University 0.
Bethany 36, Oklahoma University 9.
“The feature games in 1903 and 1904 were with Oklahoma University. The 1903 game was played in Colcord Park in Oklahoma City on Thanksgiving afternoon. Two hundred Bethany fans went to the Sooner capital via special train. The game was only eight minutes old when the Swedes started a ninety-six (96) yard touchdown march. Win Banbury, half-back, made a thirty-yard (30 yard) run for the first touchdown. Bethany lead at the end of the half 12-0. The final score was Bethany 12, Oklahoma University 10. Bennie Owen's Swedes were all victorious when they faced a strong Oklahoma University team at Sportsman’s Park in Oklahoma City on Thanksgiving Day, 1904. The Bethany team again unleashed a fast, deceptive type of play that swept Oklahoma players off their feet. The “spinner,” "cross buck,” "the unbalanced line,” and other types of play were used for perhaps the first time in the Plains area by Owen’s Bethany teams. When the first half of the 1904 game was over, Bethany was ahead 24-4. The final score showed Bethany 36, Oklahoma University 9!
"Bethany's team under Benny Owen played fast, hard, and clean. Officials and spectators everywhere praise the fine conduct of the “Terrible Swedes.” They played with alertness and knew exactly what they wanted to do. Training rules were observed with strict concern. The team was outstanding. Benny Owen was a leader of men. An enthusiastic team played to win for coach and Alma Mater.
"The “Terrible Swedes” made history for Bethany. Owen had the Banbury brothers from Pratt, Win and Quince, who were fast and rugged. There were the four Peterson brothers from Mitchell County, Dave, Leslie, Alfred, and Andrew. Others on the outstanding Bethany squads were Fred Troutman, Leonard Runbeck, Frank Henderson, Elmer T. Peterson, "Wink” Busch, E. Wiley, Luther and Martin Swanstrom, George White, "Kacie" Swenson, Edwin Anderson, J. R. Skidmore, Anton Peterson, Eric J. Heurlin, Carl Slatt, Leonard Petterson, Paul N. Carlson, Charlie Clancy, Arthur "Doc" Berquist, Frank Gibbs, Oscar Ostrum, Otto Oleen, Clarence Rapp, Luther Stromquist, John Turner, Evan Pugh, "Bill” Bailey, “Gabe” Carlson, G. Edwin Johnson, Arthur Gibson, Leonard Haggman, Roscoe Peterson, Leonard Swedberg, and Sam Holmberg. The training was intensive. Following long scrimmage, the players would jog to the bridge two miles east of Lindsborg and back. When returning from a football trip, Owen would ask the conductor to stop the train two miles out of Lindsborg, and the coach and team trotted into town. Physical condition and mental alertness we're basic factors in Owen’s great teams. Morale was high.
“Oklahoma University realized the great ability of Bennie Owen. Following the 1904 season, he was approached by Professor Vernon Parrington in behalf of Oklahoma University. He left Bethany reluctantly to begin a great career as football coach, and then later as director of athletics at Oklahoma University…”
"'The attitude at Bethany College toward the gridiron sport must be placed against the background of the times. It was, as judged by present standards, a rough and dangerous game. It involved much more direct bodily contact than is now the situation. Direct force and power characterized the game. Moreover, football had been outlawed in many colleges and universities. Even Dr. Swensson, later an enthusiastic supporter of Bethany's gridiron teams, felt that the game should be banned. In a statement presented in the Bethany Messenger in March, 1895, he wrote that he opposed football because it was (1) brutal, (2) dangerous, (3) a poor substitute for gymnastics, (4) it caused students to forget their studies, and (5) it fostered a wild and unruly spirit. He pointed out that it was now banned and he hope never again to see a Bethany eleven. Swensson continued, ' Who does not despise the noisy boisterousness, the savage, all penetrating yelling, the free and unpleasant exhibition of unrestricted lung-power so closely allied to the sport of football? '
"While the decision to ban football was not well received in some quarters, it stood until the end of the century when agitation under the leadership of the faculty produce a change in the situation..."
From page 223 paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 ongoing; then to page 224 paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, Lindquist continues:
“The resumption officially of football at Bethany in the autumn of 1902 introduced a great era of victories. Associated with the seasons of 1902, 1903, and 1904 is the name of Bennie Owen, famous football coach. Following a great playing career at the University of Kansas in 1897, Owen went to Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas, as coach of athletics in 1900, and the following year he served as assistant to "Hurry Up” Yost at the University of Michigan. Bennie Owen applied to Swensson for the position at Bethany and was immediately hired as instructor in chemistry and coach at a salary of $500 per year.
“Benny Owen’s coaching career at Bethany was phenomenal. During his three years there, his Bethany teams won twenty-two games and lost two, and tied two. The ”Terrible Swedes” as they became known, scored 796 points to 93 points from their opponents. In 1902 Bethany won nine games, scoring 388 to 34 points for the opposing teams. In 1903 the ”Terrible Swedes” lost only to Washburn, a team that was decisively defeated the following year. In 1904 Bethany was all victorious.
The games and scores for the 1904 season were as follows:
Bethany 23, Chilocco 0.
Bethany 82, Cooper 6.
Bethany 17, Fairmount 0.
Bethany 16, Kansas State Normal 0.
Bethany 28, K.S.A.C. 5.
Bethany 71, Ottawa University 0.
Bethany 36, Oklahoma University 9.
“The feature games in 1903 and 1904 were with Oklahoma University. The 1903 game was played in Colcord Park in Oklahoma City on Thanksgiving afternoon. Two hundred Bethany fans went to the Sooner capital via special train. The game was only eight minutes old when the Swedes started a ninety-six (96) yard touchdown march. Win Banbury, half-back, made a thirty-yard (30 yard) run for the first touchdown. Bethany lead at the end of the half 12-0. The final score was Bethany 12, Oklahoma University 10. Bennie Owen's Swedes were all victorious when they faced a strong Oklahoma University team at Sportsman’s Park in Oklahoma City on Thanksgiving Day, 1904. The Bethany team again unleashed a fast, deceptive type of play that swept Oklahoma players off their feet. The “spinner,” "cross buck,” "the unbalanced line,” and other types of play were used for perhaps the first time in the Plains area by Owen’s Bethany teams. When the first half of the 1904 game was over, Bethany was ahead 24-4. The final score showed Bethany 36, Oklahoma University 9!
"Bethany's team under Benny Owen played fast, hard, and clean. Officials and spectators everywhere praise the fine conduct of the “Terrible Swedes.” They played with alertness and knew exactly what they wanted to do. Training rules were observed with strict concern. The team was outstanding. Benny Owen was a leader of men. An enthusiastic team played to win for coach and Alma Mater.
"The “Terrible Swedes” made history for Bethany. Owen had the Banbury brothers from Pratt, Win and Quince, who were fast and rugged. There were the four Peterson brothers from Mitchell County, Dave, Leslie, Alfred, and Andrew. Others on the outstanding Bethany squads were Fred Troutman, Leonard Runbeck, Frank Henderson, Elmer T. Peterson, "Wink” Busch, E. Wiley, Luther and Martin Swanstrom, George White, "Kacie" Swenson, Edwin Anderson, J. R. Skidmore, Anton Peterson, Eric J. Heurlin, Carl Slatt, Leonard Petterson, Paul N. Carlson, Charlie Clancy, Arthur "Doc" Berquist, Frank Gibbs, Oscar Ostrum, Otto Oleen, Clarence Rapp, Luther Stromquist, John Turner, Evan Pugh, "Bill” Bailey, “Gabe” Carlson, G. Edwin Johnson, Arthur Gibson, Leonard Haggman, Roscoe Peterson, Leonard Swedberg, and Sam Holmberg. The training was intensive. Following long scrimmage, the players would jog to the bridge two miles east of Lindsborg and back. When returning from a football trip, Owen would ask the conductor to stop the train two miles out of Lindsborg, and the coach and team trotted into town. Physical condition and mental alertness we're basic factors in Owen’s great teams. Morale was high.
“Oklahoma University realized the great ability of Bennie Owen. Following the 1904 season, he was approached by Professor Vernon Parrington in behalf of Oklahoma University. He left Bethany reluctantly to begin a great career as football coach, and then later as director of athletics at Oklahoma University…”
"Rockar! Stockar!"
Lindquist's 1953 Smoky Valley People, (on page 220, paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5 and continuing on 221 for two additional paragraphs) tells the story of how this Swedish American Lindsborg Bethany cheer came to be:
"The college world has developed it symbols, and Bethany, too, is a part of that pattern. Students and graduates proudly display the yellow and blue Bethany pennants. They join in singing enthusiastically the Alma Mater song. Most distinctive in Bethany's range of college symbols of that type is the famous "Rockar! Stockar" yell. It all started in 1903 in the great days of Bennie Owen and the “Terrible Swedes.” A group of students, including Eric Heurlin, Karl J. (Kacie) Swenson, and E. O. Deere, later Bethany’s Dean, expressed dissatisfaction with the old "Rah, Rah" yells. Membership in a class that was studying Swedish mythology brought to their attention the power possessed by Thor, as he rushed through space in a chariot pulled by charging goats. It symbolized drive and strength. The students also had read about a certain Jarl in Sweden of old, who had placed all his possessions on a log raft which was then pushed into the Baltic Sea with the intent that wherever the raft stopped, there a great city would be built. This myth symbolized the spirit of adventure and success.
"The combination of these factors furnished a strange background for a college yell, but the elements were there. The words and lines were formed. Several members of the class of 1904 learn the yell and immediately before a critical game, they rushed out on the field and gave the first public version of “Rockar Stockar!”
"The meaning of the yell, as interpreted by Dr. E. O. Deere, who helped to initiate what apparently the Rev. Eric Heurlin had drafted in the first instance, is as follows:
"The college world has developed it symbols, and Bethany, too, is a part of that pattern. Students and graduates proudly display the yellow and blue Bethany pennants. They join in singing enthusiastically the Alma Mater song. Most distinctive in Bethany's range of college symbols of that type is the famous "Rockar! Stockar" yell. It all started in 1903 in the great days of Bennie Owen and the “Terrible Swedes.” A group of students, including Eric Heurlin, Karl J. (Kacie) Swenson, and E. O. Deere, later Bethany’s Dean, expressed dissatisfaction with the old "Rah, Rah" yells. Membership in a class that was studying Swedish mythology brought to their attention the power possessed by Thor, as he rushed through space in a chariot pulled by charging goats. It symbolized drive and strength. The students also had read about a certain Jarl in Sweden of old, who had placed all his possessions on a log raft which was then pushed into the Baltic Sea with the intent that wherever the raft stopped, there a great city would be built. This myth symbolized the spirit of adventure and success.
"The combination of these factors furnished a strange background for a college yell, but the elements were there. The words and lines were formed. Several members of the class of 1904 learn the yell and immediately before a critical game, they rushed out on the field and gave the first public version of “Rockar Stockar!”
"The meaning of the yell, as interpreted by Dr. E. O. Deere, who helped to initiate what apparently the Rev. Eric Heurlin had drafted in the first instance, is as follows:
ROCKAR! STOCKAR!
(The jarl wore a jacket or coat – Rockar. He was on a log raft – Stockar,
braving the perils of the Baltic, floating to the peninsula where he founded Stockholm.)
THOR OCH HANS BOCKAR!
(Thor going forward with lightning speed, driving his goats from pinnacle to pinnacle, drives irresistibly through all opposition.)
KöR IGENOM! KöR IGENOM!
Drive on through! Drive on through!
TJU! TJU! TJU!
(A Swedish interjection.)
BETHANIA
(Bethany)
(The jarl wore a jacket or coat – Rockar. He was on a log raft – Stockar,
braving the perils of the Baltic, floating to the peninsula where he founded Stockholm.)
THOR OCH HANS BOCKAR!
(Thor going forward with lightning speed, driving his goats from pinnacle to pinnacle, drives irresistibly through all opposition.)
KöR IGENOM! KöR IGENOM!
Drive on through! Drive on through!
TJU! TJU! TJU!
(A Swedish interjection.)
BETHANIA
(Bethany)
"Thus came into being Bethany's famous yell which is heard at all Bethany athletic contests and whenever Bethany groups assemble. “ 'Rockar! Stockar! Thor och Hans Bockar! Kör Igenom! Kör Igenom! Tju! Tju! Tju! Bethania.'...”
The Deere's and Bethany's Sports -
Emil Deere was a College Athletic Association member since 1901; he, with others, in 1902, as noted above, created the college cheer, "Rockar Stockar" which is used to this day; in 1913 he was a College Athletic Committee member and the Tennis Association Secretary; he was the College Athletic Advisor and Manager of Athletics representing Bethany at the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conferences (KCAC); and he was the KCAC president for nine (9) years, traveling to meetings of the National Collegiate Athletic Conferences in New Orleans in 1929, in Chicago in 1933 and in Los Angles in 1940.
Emil and Lydia shared a family photo album containing photographs of the sports that they so surely enjoyed. A few of these photographs are shown below.
Emil and Lydia shared a family photo album containing photographs of the sports that they so surely enjoyed. A few of these photographs are shown below.
Bethany College Sports Photographs
Baseball 1901
Source: 1902 "Forget-Me-Not," page 36
Basketball 1901
Source: 1902 "Forget-Me-Not," page 32
Basketball 1910 - 11
Source: Lydia's and Emil's Photo Album; this could very well be Lydia's photograph.
Basketball 1912
Source: Lydia's and Emil's Photo Album; this could very well be Lydia's photograph.
Tennis
Source: Lydia's and Emil's Photo Album; Lydia Sohlberg Deere Photograph
Source: Lydia's and Emil's Photo Album; Lydia Sohlberg Deere Photograph
Croquet
Source: Lydia's and Emil's Photo Album; Lydia Sohlberg Deere Photograph
* Dr. Emory Lindquist's Smoky Valley People, A History of Lindsborg, Kansas
** Mrs. Margaret Eddy's Through the Lens of B.G. Gröndal: Keeper of His Time
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