The Smoky Valley
of Kansas
by Tom Holmquist
In the center of Kansas, nestled among sandstone hills and covered by a
blue-gray haze, lies the Smoky Hill River Valley. Within the confines of this valley, one
can often hear a few words of the Swedish language mixed with the everyday English of the
valley's hearty farmers and shopkeepers. Place names such as Falun, New
Gotland, Smolan,
Salemsborg and Lindsborg also hint of the cultural background of the valley's people.
Steeples piercing the bright blue sky beckon the faithful to worship, and above all a
great white cross placed near the summit of the highest of the Smoky Hills, daily reminds
us all of our Swedish pioneer ancestors. Today we remember the struggles they overcame to
come to this place, establish a community, foster in their children a love of education,
music, art, and an abiding reverence for the mother country.
A Swede named Anders Carlgren first entered the valley of the Smoky Hill
in the year 1866. Two years later, during the summer of 1868 two separate colonization
companies were organized to promote Swedish settlements somewhere on the Great Plains. The
Swedes of Illinois were suffering greatly from poverty, unemployment, and lack of
available farmland. They wished to settle in groups where abundant land was available,
where they could practice their culture and worship freely.
The First Swedish Agricultural Company of McPherson County was organized
in Chicago with the intent of founding a colony along the northern border of McPherson
County, Kansas. This company petitioned Pastor Olof Olsson of Sunnemo Parish in
Värmland,
Sweden to lead this colony and establish a Lutheran church in this new parish on the
western frontier. Pastor Olsson arrived with a sizable portion of his Swedish congregation
and soon established the Bethany Lutheran Church. Through his outstanding leadership the
town of Lindsborg was also founded.
Concurrently that same summer, the hardships the Swedes endured in western
Illinois inspired the establishment of the Galesburg Colonization Company. Made up mostly
of Swedish immigrants from Småland, the group organized through the Swedish Lutheran
Churches in Galesburg and Andover, Illinois. Led by the indomitable spirit of Pastor
A.W. Dahlsten, then Pastor of First Lutheran in Galesburg, this company sent a committee, lead
by Dahlsten, to the plains to find a suitable location for a large colony of Swedish
immigrants. This group also found its way to the Smoky Valley and bought a considerable
tract of land in southern Saline County and western McPherson County. Soon a few migrants
from Illinois and then a flood of Swedish immigrants made their way to the Smoky Valley of
Kansas. Those pioneers founded both the Freemount and Salemsborg Lutheran Churches in 1869
and eventually the towns of Assaria, Smolan, and Marquette sprang from this colony.
Other smaller colonization groups soon joined the major colonies in
populating the Smoky Valley. Falun, New Gotland and a sizable Swedish population in Salina
were the result of this second wave of Swedish immigration to Kansas. Before long, the
Swedish language was as commonly heard in central Kansas as was English.
Olof Olsson stayed but a few years in the Smoky Valley but his
contributions proved to be of great significance. He was succeeded at Bethany Lutheran
Church by Pastor Carl Aaron Swensson. Swensson was a renowned orator, politically active,
and possessed of great energy. He soon found a need among the Swedes for an institution of
higher learning. Through his efforts, the Bethany Academy was founded in 1881. The academy
flourished and evolved into Bethany College. Bethany became, and remains to this day, the
heart and soul of the Lindsborg community and long ago developed as the cultural center of
the community. The college is well known for its music, art, and teacher education
programs and a nationally ranked N.A.I.A. football program. The "Terrible
Swedes" tradition of producing winners dates back to the last century.
On a visit back to Augustana College Pastor Swensson heard the Messiah
sung and determined that Lindsborg should perform Handel's Messiah on Easter
Sunday. Pastor Swensson's wife, Alma, readily agreed and undertook the enormous task of
organizing the Bethany Oratorio Society. For months, local farmers, housewives, and
shopkeepers rehearsed Handel's massive and moving spiritual masterpiece. Finally the first
performance was held on March 28, 1882. From those humble beginnings in the little church
has grown the Bethany Oratorio Society that acknowledges worldwide acclaim, and continues
to perform both Handel's Messiah and J. S. Bach's Passion According to St.
Matthew during Holy Week each year.
World renowned performing artists also often find their way to Lindsborg.
Many years ago Lindsborg audiences were treated with concerts by such great artists as
Pablo Casals, Jussi Bjorling, Madam Schumann-Heink, and numerous others. In recent years
such varied concerts have included the Vienna Boys Choir, the Strategic Air Command Band,
and jazz artist Wynton Marsalis. Often national tours of performing artists include stops
in New York, Los Angeles and Lindsborg.
The Lindsborg community and the Smoky Valley grew uniquely on the Great
Plains as a center for music, art, and education. The Swedish communities of the Smoky
Valley have contributed many church leaders, performing musicians, writers, artists,
scholars, and political leaders and contributors in countless other fields. The poor
Swedes who were forced to leave their beloved Sweden only needed the rich virgin soil of
this valley to grow, flourish, and bloom into the rich cultural center of today.
As you visit this lovely valley, pause occasionally and listen for a
violin, a voice or piano. A child will be diligently mastering a classical phrase. Pass a
studio and notice the deft fingers of a local artist bringing beauty to an empty canvas or
a bit of wood. Visit a classroom and observe the children learning about their heritage.
Better yet, visit a secluded spot overlooking the valley, gaze quietly across the
bounteous fields, and perhaps you too will hear, just audibly above the wind, the
whispered strains of a hymn, sung in Swedish, and reminding us of the blessings we share
in the Smoky Valley of Kansas.
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