America Letter Summer 2011 Vol. XXIV, No. 2 Across Oceans, Across Time, Across Generations: Peder Hansen The Danish Immigrant Museum AN INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL CENTER Director’s Corner “The Danish Immigrant Museum celebrates Danish roots and American dreams.” Over the past year, the museum’s board of The stories of migration are dynamic narratives directors and staff have been working on a refl ecting a deep human instinct to improve strategic and operational plan that will guide individual and social conditions. us for the next fi ve years. (A summary of Elsewhere in the strategic plan is the goal to the strategic plan can be found on page 13.) partner with other Danish and Danish-American Among the goals discussed was articulating a organizations and institutions. Our new mission new mission statement. During the formulation statement challenges us to collaborate with of our plan, a number of mission statements all who work to “celebrate Danish roots and were discussed. American dreams.” Potentially, we can enhance At our June meeting in Denver, Henrik Fogh and strengthen each other by working together, Rasmussen, our youngest board member and even as we recognize that each organization has a recently naturalized American citizen, argued its own aspirations and dreams. persuasively that the statement should be short No organization or institution can thrive without and easily remembered. He, along with board fi nancial support. The Danish Immigrant Museum members Ane-Grethe Delaney and Kristi Planck depends on the generosity of its members. You, Johnson, proposed the above statement, which our members, have been loyal in renewing your was discussed and accepted with enthusiasm. museum membership. Typically, history and I am pleased. Embedded in this statement are culture museums have an average membership ideas that have guided The Danish Immigrant renewal rate of 40%. Over the past years, our Museum from its founding in 1983, but there average rate of renewal is 79%, almost twice is a freshness and a directness that will serve the national average! I thank all of you who help us well. “Danish roots” works for the immigrant make this possible. generation and those Danes who today are To assure that The Danish Immigrant Museum living and working in the United States or continues to grow in strength and achieve long- elsewhere in the Americas. It also works for term fi nancial sustainability, our most important those of us who are descendents of Danish goal is to increase our endowment. An important immigrants. The idea of American dreams way you may be able to support this goal is by (note that “dreams” is not capitalized and in providing for the museum in your estate. If you the plural case) captures the individual nature make the decision to do so, I ask you to share of the dreams that inspire and motivate your plans with us. This information is treated immigrant and descendant alike. with utmost confi dentiality, and we also recognize We “celebrate” all by collecting, preserving, that it is subject to change. Knowing, however, studying and interpreting the artifacts that the museum may be the benefi ciary of future of those who emigrated from Denmark, bequests does assist us as we plan for the future. those Danes who today work here, and The Danish Immigrant Museum’s strategic plan those of us who are the descendents of outlines our dreams for the future. These dreams Danish immigrants. In celebrating, we are rooted in a Danish heritage that provides are also commemorating, remembering richness and depth to our American experience. and honoring an important way in which the Americas have been continuously reshaped by waves of immigrants. John Mark Nielsen, Executive Director COVER PHOTO: Peder Hansen, who has been climbing wind turbines since age 11, stands atop a Zond 750 kilowatt wind turbine in Tehachapi, California in the 1990s. “Across Oceans, Across Time, Across Generations: Peder Hansen” begins on page 4. 2 • America Letter America Letter Museum Breaks Ground on First Phase Published three times annually by The Danish Immigrant Museum of Jens Jensen Prairie Landscape Park 2212 Washington Street Elk Horn, Iowa 51531 712-764-7001 800-759-9192 Commemorative bricks have been FAX 712-764-7002 During Elk Horn’s Tivoli Fest Eva Nielsen, editor celebration over Memorial Day sold for this new addition for the past www.danishmuseum.org several years and installation will email: [email protected] weekend, the museum began begin this summer. Features of the Board of Directors Phase I of the Jens Jensen courtyard are fl agpoles for the United President – Harriet Albertsen Spanel, Bellingham, WA Prairie Landscape Park by States, Danish and State of Iowa Vice President – Mark Nussle, Palos Park, IL Secretary – Dennis Andersen, Atlanta, GA holding a groundbreaking fl ags, benches and a circular courtyard Treasurer – Clark Mathisen, Omaha, NE ceremony for the new brick with a brick path leading north to the Jon Borgman, Harlan, IA Jens Jensen Landscape Park. Lone Christensen, Brown Deer, WI courtyard to be installed on the Ane-Grethe Delaney, Wayzata, MN / University Park, FL front east lawn of the museum. The museum has contracted with Mark Frederiksen, Falcon, CO internationally known Cardno JFNew Kurt Hansen, Rosemount, MN Kristi Johnson, Bethesda, MD and its Wisconsin offi ce for the Kenneth Larsen, Calistoga, CA / Harlan, IA landscape design. Jens Jensen, Steven Lund, Yuma, AZ Cynthia McKeen, St. Paul, MN the great-great-grandson of Jens Carol Jensen Mills, Dubuque, IA Jensen himself, is heading up the Kay Esbeck North, Ames, IA Benedikte Ehlers Olesen, Eugene, OR / project. Working with Jensen is Bryup, Denmark marian “mittie” Ostergaard, mission William Tishler, retired professor Viejo, CA of landscape architecture at the Henrik Fogh Rasmussen, Springfi eld, IL Consul Lynette Skow Rasmussen, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Johnston, IA a leading Jens Jensen expert. Tishler Flemming “Eric” Smitsdorff, racine, WI Mark Strandskov, Mt. Pleasant, MI provided the original master landscape Janet M. Thuesen, Sausalito, CA plan for the museum. Ex-Offi cio Marc Petersen, Omaha, NE Jensen’s goal is to restore the Kai Nyby, LaPorte, IN Vern Hunter, Fargo, ND grounds in a way that his great-great- Nils Jensen, Portland, OR Dennis Larson, Decorah, IA grandfather may have done. He also plans to highlight the ecological Staff and cultural signifi cance of Jensen’s Executive Director: Dr. John Mark Nielsen, designs and philosophies. [email protected] General Information, Group Tours, In early May Jensen and Tishler Volunteering Opportunities: visited the museum to conduct a site Terri Johnson, survey. Shortly thereafter, a local [email protected] Development Director: Bruce Bro, surveyor completed a topographical survey. Jensen and Tishler are [email protected] John Mark Nielsen, executive director, Wall of Honor, Donations, and Julie Andersen, Scan|Design intern developing a native plant restoration Memorial Gifts & Memberships: and planting proposal, which will be Debra Christensen Larsen, at the groundbreaking ceremony. [email protected] presented to the museum’s board Bookkeeping & Financial of directors at its October meeting. Inquiries: Jennifer Winters, Museum staff anticipates breaking [email protected] Exhibit Questions: Tova Brandt, ground for the park in Spring 2012. [email protected] Artifact Donations & Museum Loans: Angela Stanford, [email protected] If you would like to learn more about purchasing a Museum Shop: Joni Soe-Butts, [email protected] commemorative brick or giving opportunities for the Jens Donation of Books & Library Jensen Prairie Landscape Park, please contact the museum. Questions: Michele McNabb, [email protected] Genealogical & Translation Inquiries: [email protected] FHGC Data Entry: Wanda Sornson, [email protected] Custodian: Tim Fredericksen Weekend Staff: Beth Rasmussen America Letter • 3 Rodger Rasmussen Across Oceans, Across Time, Across Generations: Peder Hansen By Eva Nielsen Peder Hansen topped his first ending their workday in Hong wind turbine at age eleven. Kong. Why did he get to climb a wind turbine? Then, Hansen talks to folks “Because I begged,” laughs Hansen. around the globe – gathering wind data, discussing land This was the early 1980s in Hansen’s issues, evaluating wind hometown of Lem, Denmark, not far turbines, looking at his from Ringkøbing on Jutland’s west coast. spreadsheets. “As the time Hansen’s father, Finn, climbed with him zones roll across the world,” and so did another engineer from Vestas, Hansen says, “I follow a company that today is one of the world’s people’s schedules to get our leading wind turbine manufacturers – a questions answered and our company founded by the Hansen family. customers’ questions and That particular wind turbine, Hansen vendors’ questions answered points out, was an early model: the rotor and basically end up in the was a mere fifty feet in diameter and had mid-evening – 8 or 9 o’clock – a generator size of just fifty kilowatts of back on the phone with China electricity. Today’s giants, by comparison, to report what has happened have 328 feet diameter rotors and have during the day.” generator sizes of up to and above three Hansen is well qualified for this thousand kilowatts (three megawatts) of line of work: he is an engineer, electricity. a trained machinist, and a The wind industry has grown – is growing businessman. It also doesn’t – and Peder Hansen has grown up right hurt that he’s Danish. Denmark The first turbine Peder Han- along with it. In fact, he’s still climbing up is a world leader in wind power sen climbed, pictured here, on top of those turbines, now in places like generation. Twenty-four percent was near his hometown of China, Argentina, and in the United States of all power used in Denmark Lem, Denmark. where he makes his home. And these days is generated by wind turbines, Hansen doesn’t have to beg for permission, according to Hansen.