DHA LXXXI
(9/16/2004)

Calendar

DHA Board meeting Wednesday, September 15, 6:30 p.m., museum.

Museum open Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also Fridays, 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.

Museum will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, September 24th during Homecoming activities.

Lester will also open museum on request, if available; call 605-563-2732; or by mail, address at top of DHA news.

Mange Tak

To all those that have visited the Museum, viewed the displays, delivered items, or made contributions. To John Ebbesen, who brought two more historical records, and happened to catch Lester leaving the building September 8 "Book" Review

"The Journal of Donald K. Jorgensen," covering parts of 1932 and 1933, proved to be very interesting. Well written. (He HAD two years of College!) Much descriptive insight into the lives of people in the Greater Daneville Area, in 1932 and 1933, mid the Great Depression--The Dirty Thirties--era. Mr. Jorgensen described their daily life on the farms, neighborhood and communities and Viborg. Though they drive cars, they still had a buggy to use when local dirt roads were too muddy for their cars. (This reviewer's memory starts about 1930, but he does not remember seeing a buggy used. But dirt driveways had deep (and crooked) ruts at times. Really shook things if driven too fast!)

He included life's pleasures and sorrows of the times. When his father was unable to afford further college for Donald, the diarist returned to the neighborhood, and began working as hired man for neighboring farmers when they needed and could afford to hire him. Even so, some of his wage payments were postponed out of the diary¹s period. His, his family's, neighbors' and community's activities are recorded clearly and interestingly.

This was at least the third or fourth attempt to keep a diary, and, in its last month or two, he again had a few lapses, which he called to the reader¹s attention; recording several days' activities under one date, with references to dates of occurrence.

(This "reviewer" had that problem with record keeping numerous times.)

Reading Mr. Jorgensen's Journal, maybe the first personal life story in the DHA museum, reminds readers of the importance for everyone to keep such records, for their own, and posterity¹s historical record. (Such records are an extensive subject matter for future development, when time and space permit.)

Mr. Jorgensen¹s Journal (Diary) provided interesting information of peoples' lives and activities during that period in Daneville Township, and some beyond. Donald K. Jorgensen's Journal was given to the DHA museum by his daughter, Patricia Palagi, Seattle, during Danish Days 2004. This illustrates the importance of people keeping, and providing to museums (and libraries) records such as diaries, scrapbooks, and albums with ID'ed photos, logs, journals, chronicles, etc. They can contain much priceless historical information not otherwise preserved.

Jorgensen¹s Journal mentioned a few items that seem unknown. If anyone can provide information to extend our knowledge to the following, please send to DHA News.

1) Where was the Grove Lutheran Church? (And, could it maybe be "Maple Grove Lutheran Church" listed with Bethany Lutheran, page 202 of Viborg's centennial history book?)

2) Where was the "museum out northwest of Center Point?" Could it be Freeman or Menno, 22 miles from Center Point? Or was there a museum out there some place then?

A couple of interesting items from Jorgensen¹s Journal from 1933, are somewhat contradictory: He told of using horses and a buggy (that late in history) when dirt roads were too muddy for cats, then on April 22, thought "Sure funny it can¹t rain!" (That must have been early in the "Dirty Thirties" though they apparently hadn¹t been so named yet. As the buggy was used, it must not have been yet put into storage or discarded in a grove to rot.)

In The Museum

DHA has established a small chapel, in the small room to the right (north) as people enter the museum building, just across the entrance corridor from the reception/office area.

Religious furnishings in the chapel were furnished by people in the churches in Viborg.

The pedal organ against the left wall came from the Ashworth descendants. Mrs. Ashworth was a Glood descendant. By good fortune, the chapel furnishings and the organ are a close match for the existing color in the small room. This pump organ is in working condition, except that one of the two pedal-straps is loose. This should be repairable. After having been in storage for some years, the organ had a mildew odor. A couple of days cleaning by Toots Peterson has virtually eliminated this odor.

The front view of the organ is from the right end of a photo, which came to DHA in a box of historical items, also from the Ashworth family. Likely, the photo was taken in the Ashworth's home. Reportedly, the Ashowrths purchased the organ at an auction in the Davis area. DHA would welcome any information on the organ's pre-Ashworth history.

DHA looks forward to the historic first small wedding in the chapel: engaged couple, pastor, pair of witnesses, and a couple of guests. (The reception area/office across the corridor could accommodate a few more guests.)