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"...the author ...was one of the few still around ...having had considerable experience in...Old Main.…"
"Soon much of this information will be unattainable if not recorded now. ...No doubt this could not have been collected anywhere else again."
Dr. Leon Lungstrom drew heavily on articles found in the Lindsborg News-Record (1901-1990) and the Bethany Messenger (1893-1990).
"Soon much of this information will be unattainable if not recorded now. ...No doubt this could not have been collected anywhere else again."
Dr. Leon Lungstrom drew heavily on articles found in the Lindsborg News-Record (1901-1990) and the Bethany Messenger (1893-1990).
Their friend, Leon Lungstrom,
and his
1990 "History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas"
(The forgotten book)
and his
1990 "History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas"
(The forgotten book)
Leon George Lungstrom (1915-2000) was a dear and devoted protégé to Emil O. Deere who considered him "a son!" From the time of Deere's death in 1966 to his own in 2000, Leon would each Memorial Day place flowers on Emil's grave at the Lindsborg Elmwood Cemetery. When Emil and Lydia had finished building the house of their dreams, Deere House, Leon was there in 1940 to help Emil with the landscaping and to plant grass around it. Leon always referred to Lydia as "Mrs. Deere" and Emil as "Dean Deere" or "Dr. Deere" in the formal way then.
Leon would continue to visit Deere House after Emil's death, visiting my grandmother Nina Sohlberg Fry, who inherited the home, and then my mother Lois Fry Cochran when she became owner. While I had long term visits with my mother at Deere House in 1976-1977, and in 1981, Leon continued these visit regularly. It was always a joy listening to Leon on "his college history" of Bethany. Our family always referred to Dr. Lungstrom as Leon, as that is how Emil referred to him, as if his son.
Leon would continue to visit Deere House after Emil's death, visiting my grandmother Nina Sohlberg Fry, who inherited the home, and then my mother Lois Fry Cochran when she became owner. While I had long term visits with my mother at Deere House in 1976-1977, and in 1981, Leon continued these visit regularly. It was always a joy listening to Leon on "his college history" of Bethany. Our family always referred to Dr. Lungstrom as Leon, as that is how Emil referred to him, as if his son.
Leon's work, "History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas," his labor of love, he finished in 1990. As far as I know, it contains the "only" written account of college history detailing, not only the fields of Science and Mathematics, but also the Bethany College Museum, as this is not found in Lindquist's 1975 book, Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college.
Why did Dr. Leon Lungstrom write the book? Why do so few know about it?
In time, Dr. Lungstrom saw the need to record what he could on his observations and experiences at Bethany in the same committed way as Dr. Emory Lindquist. They both saw the need, and accepted "the call" to do so!
Dr. Lungstrom's close association with Dr. Emil O. Deere who had the longest link to Bethany College history, one which spanned sixty-seven (67) years, probably, more than anything, gave him an appreciation and a perspective for the value of Bethany College history.
This, coupled with his having experienced other universities after graduating from Bethany in 1940, may have also increased his appreciation of Bethany's unique and special legacy, i.e. her Swedish culture, her music, her art and her museum (of which he would become a key player in its move in 1966 to the McPherson County Old Mill Museum). For Dr. Lungstrom would observe and compare, historically, his college to that of Kansas State University (founded in 1863 originally known as the Kansas State Agricultural College where Deere attended) while working towards his M.S. Degree in Zoology and Parasitology in 1946, and, also, while working towards his Ph.D. there in Medical Entomology in 1950. Dr. Lungstrom would also make comparative observations during his postgraduate work at New Orleans' Tulane University (founded in 1834) and at California's Stanford University (founded in 1885).
These experiences, along with his employment at Bethany College beginning in 1952 as an assistant biology professor which would grow into other positions until 1981 when he retired, all "sent him quietly to work" in the late 1980s to write History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas, knowing all along that he could very well be "the only person left" to put down some words on the College, the Museum, and the professors involved in the fields of study, Science and Mathematics, that he and his colleagues so loved.
This would be "his personal and up close narrative" on these Swedes as well as on other non-Swedes of Bethany professors who made their contributions in their fields of study. It could have been his "Swedish shyness and reserve" that others were prevented from knowing about his book, and it could have been his tight budget, as well. However, there were 26 professors from whom he asked for their infomation that he wrote about, so the majority of them that were living certainly knew about this book and were given copies of it.
In his book, covering the years from 1881 to beyond 1987, Dr. Lungstrom provides a selection of seventeen (17) Bethany College science professors' biographical sketches, one of whom was from India, Professor Dr. Sundapalayan N. Devanathan; and another selection of six (6) mathematics professors' biographical sketches, two of whom were woman: Professors Anna Marm and Jen Jenkins.
In addition to these fields, Dr. Lungstrom also covers "Computer Science," writing biographical sketches on three (3) professors, including one of whom was from India, Professor Sridhar Seshadri, and one of whom was a woman from Kuwait, Professor Reni A. Abraham, whose husband, Professor Sajan Abraham, as well was at Bethany lecturing in his fields of "Business and Economics." Dr. Lungstrom also includes, a field no longer taught in colleges and universities, "Home Economics," taught by Professor Mildred Holmberg, who was also heavily involved in missionary work through the Evangelical Covenant Church of Lindsborg.
At the end of History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas, fourteen (14) pages of Old Main blue prints appear, and two (2) pages of blue prints appear on the Nelson Science Hall.
In addition, Dr. Lungstrom's book ends with a nineteen (19) page, single spaced, typed list of the titles of all "news" articles he used from the Lindsborg News-Record, from 1901 to 1990. He did the same from the Bethany Messenger, thirteen (13) pages from 1893 to 1990.
In the " Introduction" of the book, page iii, Dr. Lungstrom writes:
"This project was initiated for two reasons. First, the author, when a student at Bethany, had developed a very high regard and respect for his instructors, to the extent that he felt motivated to record some of the history of the institution to which they had made a life-long dedicated contribution. In the second place, the author began to realize that the time had come when he was one of the few still around who had been both a student and faculty member of the college, having had considerable experience in the building known as Old Main. Soon much of this information will be unattainable if not recorded now."
He goes on to state on page iv that, "Some information also came from unusual places and sources. Scraps of paper found in Dr. Deere's office on the fifth floor of Old Main provided a detailed floor plan of the Old Main Chapel. No doubt this could not have been collected anywhere else again."
Unlike Dr. Lindquist, who had dozens of individuals to assist him with the various needs that accompany one in the writing of a book, Dr. Lungstrom worked on his narrative all on his own with the exception of one person, the "typist," Mrs. Joyce Englund, wife of the to-be Bethany College Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Charles 'Doc' Englund, who would type the 397 page manuscript. This manuscript would never see a reviewer to write a Foreword, nor see an editor or a publisher, it would remained in its typewritten form, be copied and bound for "a limited readership." It is copyrighted, but has yet to be included in the Library of Congress Catalog. There is no record of it online!
Thus, Dr. Lungstrom's informative narrative, "History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas," on these selected mathematics and science professors, on the College Museum, and on certain aspects of Old Main is a rare work, as no one else has officially written on these subjects, as far as I know. To add to its rareness, the Bethany College Archives reports that it has only two (2) copies.*
In time, Dr. Lungstrom saw the need to record what he could on his observations and experiences at Bethany in the same committed way as Dr. Emory Lindquist. They both saw the need, and accepted "the call" to do so!
Dr. Lungstrom's close association with Dr. Emil O. Deere who had the longest link to Bethany College history, one which spanned sixty-seven (67) years, probably, more than anything, gave him an appreciation and a perspective for the value of Bethany College history.
This, coupled with his having experienced other universities after graduating from Bethany in 1940, may have also increased his appreciation of Bethany's unique and special legacy, i.e. her Swedish culture, her music, her art and her museum (of which he would become a key player in its move in 1966 to the McPherson County Old Mill Museum). For Dr. Lungstrom would observe and compare, historically, his college to that of Kansas State University (founded in 1863 originally known as the Kansas State Agricultural College where Deere attended) while working towards his M.S. Degree in Zoology and Parasitology in 1946, and, also, while working towards his Ph.D. there in Medical Entomology in 1950. Dr. Lungstrom would also make comparative observations during his postgraduate work at New Orleans' Tulane University (founded in 1834) and at California's Stanford University (founded in 1885).
These experiences, along with his employment at Bethany College beginning in 1952 as an assistant biology professor which would grow into other positions until 1981 when he retired, all "sent him quietly to work" in the late 1980s to write History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas, knowing all along that he could very well be "the only person left" to put down some words on the College, the Museum, and the professors involved in the fields of study, Science and Mathematics, that he and his colleagues so loved.
This would be "his personal and up close narrative" on these Swedes as well as on other non-Swedes of Bethany professors who made their contributions in their fields of study. It could have been his "Swedish shyness and reserve" that others were prevented from knowing about his book, and it could have been his tight budget, as well. However, there were 26 professors from whom he asked for their infomation that he wrote about, so the majority of them that were living certainly knew about this book and were given copies of it.
In his book, covering the years from 1881 to beyond 1987, Dr. Lungstrom provides a selection of seventeen (17) Bethany College science professors' biographical sketches, one of whom was from India, Professor Dr. Sundapalayan N. Devanathan; and another selection of six (6) mathematics professors' biographical sketches, two of whom were woman: Professors Anna Marm and Jen Jenkins.
In addition to these fields, Dr. Lungstrom also covers "Computer Science," writing biographical sketches on three (3) professors, including one of whom was from India, Professor Sridhar Seshadri, and one of whom was a woman from Kuwait, Professor Reni A. Abraham, whose husband, Professor Sajan Abraham, as well was at Bethany lecturing in his fields of "Business and Economics." Dr. Lungstrom also includes, a field no longer taught in colleges and universities, "Home Economics," taught by Professor Mildred Holmberg, who was also heavily involved in missionary work through the Evangelical Covenant Church of Lindsborg.
At the end of History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas, fourteen (14) pages of Old Main blue prints appear, and two (2) pages of blue prints appear on the Nelson Science Hall.
In addition, Dr. Lungstrom's book ends with a nineteen (19) page, single spaced, typed list of the titles of all "news" articles he used from the Lindsborg News-Record, from 1901 to 1990. He did the same from the Bethany Messenger, thirteen (13) pages from 1893 to 1990.
In the " Introduction" of the book, page iii, Dr. Lungstrom writes:
"This project was initiated for two reasons. First, the author, when a student at Bethany, had developed a very high regard and respect for his instructors, to the extent that he felt motivated to record some of the history of the institution to which they had made a life-long dedicated contribution. In the second place, the author began to realize that the time had come when he was one of the few still around who had been both a student and faculty member of the college, having had considerable experience in the building known as Old Main. Soon much of this information will be unattainable if not recorded now."
He goes on to state on page iv that, "Some information also came from unusual places and sources. Scraps of paper found in Dr. Deere's office on the fifth floor of Old Main provided a detailed floor plan of the Old Main Chapel. No doubt this could not have been collected anywhere else again."
Unlike Dr. Lindquist, who had dozens of individuals to assist him with the various needs that accompany one in the writing of a book, Dr. Lungstrom worked on his narrative all on his own with the exception of one person, the "typist," Mrs. Joyce Englund, wife of the to-be Bethany College Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Charles 'Doc' Englund, who would type the 397 page manuscript. This manuscript would never see a reviewer to write a Foreword, nor see an editor or a publisher, it would remained in its typewritten form, be copied and bound for "a limited readership." It is copyrighted, but has yet to be included in the Library of Congress Catalog. There is no record of it online!
Thus, Dr. Lungstrom's informative narrative, "History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas," on these selected mathematics and science professors, on the College Museum, and on certain aspects of Old Main is a rare work, as no one else has officially written on these subjects, as far as I know. To add to its rareness, the Bethany College Archives reports that it has only two (2) copies.*
* * *
Sharing Some of Dr. Lungstrom's Book with You
For Dr. Lungstrom's first chapter, Bethany College, covering, pages 1-22 , access it below:
| dr._leon_lungstrom_on_bethany_college_pgs_1-7.pdf |
For Dr. Lungstrom's second chapter, Museum, covering pages 23-32, access it below:
| dr._leon_lungstrom_on_the_bethany_college_museum.pdf |
For Dr. Lungstrom's list of Natural Science and Mathematics Professors from 1881-1990, pages 47 to 55, access it below:
| dr._lundstrom_s_list_of_natural_sciences___mathematics_professors.pdf |
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Old Main Floor Plan of the Basement to the Fifth Floor
click on images
Found on pages 339 - 352
of the
1990
History of Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas
by
Dr. Leon Lungstrom
Old Main Floor Plan of the Basement to the Fifth Floor
click on images
Found on pages 339 - 352
of the
1990
History of Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas
by
Dr. Leon Lungstrom
Permission to use Leon's book given by Mrs. Leon Lungstrom, December 2016
The "Quiet Determined Happy Swede"
Dr. Leon George Lungstrom
1915-2000
(He was my friend.)
* Email of September 25, 2017 from Denise Carson, M.L.S. Assistant Professor Director of Wallerstedt Learning Center.
* * *
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* * *
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