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America Letter Sept 2005 Vol. XIX, No. 3 Your Museum in the An International THE DANISH IMMIGRANT MUSEUM Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Protector Heart of the Continent Cultural Center BOX 470 • ELK HORN, IOWA 51531 ® Member of the American Association of Museums Hans Christian Andersen Parade’s U.S. Tour As part of the world-wide celebration of the bicenten- “We are absolutely delighted and pleased to assist nial of Hans Christian Andersen’s birth, the Museum is in bringing the Hans Christian Andersen Parade to the pleased to sponsor the U.S. tour of the well-known and U.S., and we are especially grateful to Dennis for his popular Hans Christian Andersen Parade from Odense, wonderful support assisting us in bringing the Parade Denmark. This is the company’s fi rst U.S. tour, which to this country,” said Dr. John Mark Nielsen, Execu- will take place from October 7-18, 2005 and include tive Director. “We saw a performance this summer performances from Boston and New York to Omaha, in Odense, and those who can see it here are in for a Des Moines, and Chicago. treat.” The cast of 25 actors, ranging in age from 10 to 19, Members of the Odense City Council and Cultural present scenes from such well-known tales as “The Ugly Department will be accompanying the Hans Christian Duckling,” “The Little Match Girl,” The Emperor’s New Andersen Parade, along with a journalist from the Clothes.” Led by actor/director Torben Iversen, the Parade newspaper, Fyens Stiftstidende. The Museum’s Director has performed for more than 15 years and given several of Development, Thomas Hansen, himself a native of thousand performances. Children and adults alike have Odense, will also be traveling with the group. been entertained by the storytelling, the music and the For more information about the Hans Christian elegant costumes. Andersen Parade’s U.S. Tour, please call the Museum Thanks to the generosity of former Museum Board at 1-800-759-9192. Staff members, Thomas Hansen, Member, Dennis Andersen of Atlanta, Georgia, the Mu- [email protected] or Terrri Johnson, dksec@metc. seum is able to be a national sponsor of this popular show net can assist with the group’s travel schedule, perfor- that has been seen by thousands of people in Denmark, mance places and times, and any other questions you Europe, China, and Japan. may have. Director’s Corner By John Mark Nielsen For the past matically different than it was when ues to unfold. We will be a Museum year, the Stra- Danes began to emigrate in large that celebrates the past and the pres- tegic Planning numbers during the last half of the ent, even as we look to the future; we Committee has Nineteenth Century. Telephones, will be a living Museum. been meeting computers and electronic sharing of Carrying out our mission takes re- to review the texts, photos, and even film clips, sources. I am thankful for the support Museum’s past, make staying in touch with family and generosity each of you provides. assess our present situation, and pre- and friends in Denmark and around I invite your continued support. As pare for important future actions. At the world easier. With the ease of air we look to the future and as you the June Board of Director’s meeting travel, many can return annually to learn more about our vision and our in Seattle, the committee presented visit loved ones. dreams, I invite you to consider mak- a number of important motions for A mission statement provides ing a significant investment, whether consideration by the full Board. important direction for collecting, this might be through gifts of cash, Among these was a motion to exhibiting, and narrating this evolv- securities, life insurance, or by pro- change the mission statement. While I ing story. If we are to document the viding for the Museum in your estate am skeptical whenever planning com- changing nature of the immigrant/ planning. I would be most grateful. mittees begin by focusing on revision global experience while celebrating of mission statements as somehow our Danish cultural heritage, the Stra- solving the problems of an organiza- tegic Planning Committee believed tion or institution, I believe there are we needed a statement that incor- Current Exhibits compelling reasons for revising the porated these goals. I am pleased to Museum’s mission statement. share with you the mission statement at the Museum: Following is the mission statement that was discussed and adopted. • Hans Hansen: A Study in that has directed the activities of our The Danish Immigrant Museum Danish American Ingenuity Museum: The Danish Immigrant shares the legacy and continuing in- (to February 2006) Museum will tell the story of the fluence of Danish culture as realized • Contemporary Illustrations Danish American experience and is in the experiences and contributions of Hans Christian Ander- organized to collect, preserve, study of Danish immigrants, their descen- and interpret artifacts and tradi- dents and Danes living in America. sen’s Fairy Tales (to De- tions, which express the experience We will continue “to collect, pre- cember 2005) of the Danes and their descendants serve and study the artifacts of the • Americans at Work and at in America. Danish American experience,” but Play: Danish Influences in Among the important consid- this statement summarizes what we Everyday Life (to October erations that shaped the Strategic are and what we wish to become. It 2005) Planning Committee’s discussion recognizes the important legacy of was the need to make our mission past generations while embracing the • Hans Christian Andersen statement active and forward looking. energy of today’s Danish Americans 2005 (traveling Odense Furthermore, patterns of immigra- and Danes living and working here City Museum exhibit – to tion have changed. There are fewer in the United States. October 2005) Danish citizens who are immigrating I am excited by this statement, but • Across Oceans, Across to the United States. As we evolve more importantly for the opportuni- Time®; weekly and semi- into a greater global economy, many ties to reach out to those who more Danes come to work and to live here recently have come to this country. weekly radio and print for a time, but they do not intend to The story of peoples on the move is programming. become American citizens. at once one of the oldest in the human The immigrant experience is dra- experience and yet this story contin- See you at Julefest (Nov. 25-27) 2 From A Curatorial Perspective . by Barbara Lund-Jones Maren and Marianne took the nearest cant objects that document these dramatic A recent gift to our collection dra- train, which let them out at Arlington in moments in Maren’s and Peter’s life. matically demonstrates the continuing Dakota Territory. From there, they had In 1990, a grandson gave us the home- allure and power of immigration stories to walk 14 miles across the prairie to stead paper signed by President Grover within family constellations. The full Peter’s homestead, carrying their trunk Cleveland that granted Peter Nielsen significance of this gift is best understood between them. The trunk contained all his 160 acres under the Homestead Act through the family’s immigration nar- of their clothing and Maren’s spinning of 1862. Later that same year, we were rative and through the artifacts in our wheel. given Maren’s spinning wheel by another collection, which allow us to share this In 1890, Maren’s brother, Jakob Græs- grandchild, the spinning wheel that had story. bøl, visited his sister and her husband been carried in a trunk 14 miles over on their homestead. Before returning to the Dakota prairies. During the 1930s Dakota Territory Denmark, Jakob made a wooden dresser the spinning wheel had fallen into dis- The story begins with the emigration which was presented to his sister as a repair, as it was used as a toy in outdoor of Peter O. Nielsen from Denmark in gift. The dresser was carefully crafted of sandboxes. One of Peter Nielsen’s sons 1878. Peter first settled in Chicago but wood pieces carved to fit together and salvaged its parts and had it restored. The later moved to the Dakota Territory. He secured primarily with the use of glue. son, in turn, passed it on to his daughter, established a homestead there and in One of the drawers was equipped with a who later gave it to the Museum. 1882 sent to Denmark for his fiancée, writing table and secret compartments. In 1991, the same grandson, who had Maren Kjestine Græsbøl. She was 21 at Over the years, this important piece of earlier given us the homestead paper, the time. Maren left Denmark accompa- furniture occupied a place of prominence gave to the Museum the chest of drawers nied by Peter’s sister, Marianne. Peter’s in the Nielsen’s homestead house. built by Maren’s brother, Jakob. And in homestead was near Lake Albert in the June of 2005, we received another piece Dakota Territory or just north of what is Homestead Paper of memorabilia relating to Maren and now known as Badger, South Dakota. We have in our collection the signifi- Peter Nielsen, rounding out and adding additional dimensions to their story. A grandson of Maren’s brother, Ja- kob, visited the Museum and brought with him a page from a Minneapolis newspaper dated November 26, 1897. It was a Norwegian language paper which also related Danish immigrant news. It contained a section on the Dakotas and Maren and Peter had sent it to family in Denmark so they would have an idea of what their life was like in America.

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