America Letter The Danish Immigrant Museum ® AN INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL CENTER Spring 2010 • Vol. XXIII, No. 1 2212 WASHINGTON STREET • ELK HORN, IOWA 51531 • 712-764-7001 • www.danishmuseum.org Across Oceans, Across Time, Across Generations: The Krogh Nielsen and Finsen Family Director’s Corner In the last America you can view elements of recognize that strategic Letter (Winter 2009, it online. After the exhibit planning needs to be XXII:3), I announced the opens in April we will add ongoing. Consequently, I pages to our website, am pleased that the board comprehensive campaign, so you can discover the of directors at the February Across Oceans, Across Time, unusual and downright 2010 board meeting in Across Generations, which we strange things we have in Tucson, Arizona, passed have been quietly working on our collection, no matter a motion to create a new for several years. To date, we where you live! strategic planning effort. have raised over $9 million on A major outreach from We are fortunate to have The Danish Immigrant staff and board members, the way to our $15 million goal. both past and present, who Many of the gifts are deferred Museum will occur from October through December are experienced in strategic and designated for endowment of this year. Our museum planning. These individuals growth; this has been the highest is the national sponsor will work to establish broad priority as we work to assure for the American portion goals as we look fi ve and ten years into the future. the museum has a fi rm fi nancial of the National Danish foundation. Performance Team’s world In closing, let me just tour in 2010 and 2011. This reiterate this. We at Another goal of the campaign is to is the gymnastics team of The Danish Immigrant expand the museum’s outreach through the Danish Gymnastics Museum often describe our website and traveling exhibits. The and Sports Association. this institution as “Your Victor Borge: A Smile Is the Shortest Beginning in Washington, museum in the heart of Distance traveling kiosk exhibit and our D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia, the continent.” We may be redesigned website are two examples of and crossing the country located in the small town our efforts to achieve this goal. to Portland, Oregon and of Elk Horn, Iowa, but as Already, you can go to our website and Los Angeles, California, Tova Brandt, curator of see a change. In the upper right-hand the team will perform in exhibitions, put it at the corner, you will fi nd the Facebook logo sixteen cities. The Danish recent board meeting, “We and an invitation to visit our Facebook Immigrant Museum is are not a small museum!” page. Please, do so! In fact, I invite creating a traveling exhibit Our efforts span the you to become a fan of the museum. that will accompany the continent. (Already, we have almost as many team on their U.S. tour. In This, of course, happens fans as the Danish Embassy in addition, we plan museum because we receive Washington, D.C.) You will be able to events in each of the support from you. Despite see pictures and read news of recent cities the team visits—an the economic downturn and and upcoming museum activities. exciting opportunity to because individuals have engage Danish-American Our next major exhibit is called made provisions for The organizations nationwide Sampling the Collection, A to Å. Danish Immigrant Museum and to share our work here Tova Brandt, our new curator of in their estate planning, we at The Danish Immigrant exhibitions, has designed an exhibit have been able to maintain Museum. that highlights artifacts from our a level of programming collection. There will be objects As we work toward the that is exceptional. I am representing each letter of the goals of the comprehensive grateful to each of you for alphabet, including the Danish campaign, Across your ongoing support of our letters, Ø, Æ, and Å. What’s Oceans, Across Time, museum. more, this exhibit is designed so Across Generations, we John Mark Nielsen Executive Director COVER PHOTO: A Danish pastor, Anne-Grethe Krogh Nielsen served The Danish Lutheran Church and Cultural Center of Southern California in Yorba Linda from 2004 to 2006. She and her husband, Søren Finsen, and their two boys decided to return to Yorba 2 • America Letter Linda in 2008. Their story of migrating between American and Danish culture begins on page 4. Museum Partners with Danish Gymnastics Team The NDPT, in collaboration with The Danish Immigrant Museum, will tour sixteen cities across the United States from October to December 2010. The National Danish sixteen cities across the details of the U.S. portion of American communities and Performance United States from October the tour. Also, the museum the larger U.S. community,” Team (NDPT), to December of this year, is creating a traveling says John Mark Nielsen, including Washington, exhibit about Danish executive director of The the gymnastics D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, gymnastics for display at Danish Immigrant Museum. team of the Danish Minneapolis, Omaha, each venue where the team The Danish gymnastics Gymnastics and Portland and Los Angeles. performs. Further, museum tradition is markedly Sports Association, is This will be one of the most staff members are planning different from that of partnering with The extensive U.S. tours in the outreach events in the American gymnastics. team’s history. sixteen communities on the The NDPT’s performance Danish Immigrant tour. Museum for the U.S. The Danish Immigrant includes a combination Museum is collaborating “This is an opportunity of modern rhythmic leg of their 2010-2011 with the NDPT in a number for the museum to be gymnastics, dance, cheer, world tour. of ways. First, the museum a facilitator of program artistic vaulting, tumbling The NDPT will perform in is handling the fi nancial outreach to Danish- and acrobatics. Kenneth Larsen, Calistoga, CA Development Director: Bruce Bro, America Letter Steven Lund, yuma, AZ [email protected] Published Three Times Annually By Cynthia McKeen, St. Paul, MN Wall of Honor, Donations, The Danish Immigrant Museum Carol Jensen Mills, Dubuque, IA Memorial Gifts & Memberships: 2212 Washington Street Kay Esbeck North, Ames, IA Debra Christensen Larsen, Benedikte Ehlers Olesen, Eugene, OR Elk Horn, Iowa 51531 [email protected] Consul Lynette Skow Rasmussen, Johnston, IA 712-764-7001 800-759-9192 Bookkeeping & Financial Consul Eva Robinson, Butler, PA Inquiries: Jennifer Winters, FAX 712-764-7002 Mark Strandskov, Mount Pleasant, MI Eva Nielsen, editor Janet M. Thuesen, Sausalito, CA [email protected] www.danishmuseum.org Ex-Offi cio Exhibit Questions: Tova Brandt email: [email protected] Marc Petersen, Omaha, NE [email protected] Kai Nyby, LaPorte, IN Artifact Donations & Museum Loans: Board of Directors Vern Hunter, Fargo, ND Angela Stanford, President – Harriet Albertsen Spanel, Nils Jensen, Portland, OR [email protected] Bellingham, WA Dennis Larson, Decorah, IA Museum Shop: Joni Soe-Butts, Vice President – Mark Nussle, Palos Park, IL [email protected] Secretary – Dennis Andersen, Atlanta, GA Staff Donation of Books & Library Treasurer – Clark Mathisen, Omaha, NE Executive Director: Questions: Michele McNabb, Carlo Christensen, Glendale, CA Dr. John Mark Nielsen, [email protected] Lone Christensen, Brown Deer, WI [email protected] Genealogical & Translation Inquiries: Ane-Grethe Delaney, Wayzata, MN General Information, Group Tours, [email protected] Mark Frederiksen, Falcon, CO Volunteering Opportunities: Custodian: Tim Fredericksen Kurt Hansen, Rosemount, MN Terri Johnson, Museum & FHGC Data Entry: Wanda Mia Hansen, Tucson, AZ [email protected] Vice Consul Anna Thomsen Holliday, Sornson, [email protected] Houston, TX Kristi Planck Johnson, Bethesda, MD America Letter • 3 Across Oceans, Across Time, Across Generations: the Krogh Nielsen and Finsen Family by Eva Nielsen In the age of plane trips, “We are residents. The last opportunity.” emails, work visas and green time we were just visitors.” The family moved to cards, when does the Dane in By “last time,” Pastor Anne- Yorba Linda, jumping right America become the Danish Grethe is talking about away into new jobs, new immigrant? her first two and a half routines. Søren started a year stint as pastor of The half-time position with the “I don’t think we are immigrants yet,” Danish Lutheran Church church, running a Danish says Pastor Anne-Grethe Krogh of Southern California from language school. Mads Nielsen. 2004 to 2006. The family went to morning pre- “Not yet,” says Søren Finsen, her went home to Denmark school and, Kristian, to husband. after that, but returned kindergarten. to Yorba Linda in 2008 For now, though, Pastor Anne-Grethe, Pastor Anne-Grethe where, this time, Pastor Søren, and their two boys, Kristian (12) remembers dropping Anne-Grethe is serving a and Mads (9) are at home in Yorba Kristian off on his first day, five-year contract with the Linda, California. There, Anne-Grethe a little Danish boy who church. serves as pastor at The Danish Lutheran didn’t speak English. “I Church and Cultural Center of Southern Living and working abroad drove away thinking, what California; Søren teaches language wasn’t part of the couple’s am I doing? What kind of classes; and the boys are going to master plan. Søren and mother am I?” school, playing soccer, riding bikes and, Pastor Anne-Grethe both Kristian recalls it this way well, growing up – Danish, certainly, and grew up on Funen, he in (without a trace of a Danish perhaps a little American too. Svendborg and she in accent): “It was kinda weird Vejle-Allested. The two met Immigrants, they are not. But in the past because everyone around in gymnasium (the Danish six years they have migrated between me was, like, talking to me equivalent of high school) Danish and American culture quite a bit.