|
Almost all of the students who performed in The Word had Danish ancestry. Most of them were second or third generation. The director, Professor Paul Nyholm, was the only one born in Denmark. The students came to Dana College and Trinity Seminary from the Midwest as well as from states farther away and from Canada. After their time at Dana, many of them continued their involvement with Danish American education, church and culture.
|
Paul Nyholm, directorProfessor Rev. Paul C. Nyholm (1895-1977), born in Hjørring, Denmark, was the director of The Word and organized the tour. Nyholm came to Dana College from Denmark in 1922 as a professor of Danish and Greek. He later became the professor of church history. In 1942, Nyholm led the Danish program at Dana College and Trinity Seminary.
Born in Denmark and the son of the first Danish missionary to China, Nyholm was a graduate of the University of Copenhagen's Divinity School and received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago in 1943. In addition to his work at Trinity and Dana and other seminaries, he served as minister for a number of congregations in the United States and Canada. Nyholm also wrote many articles for books, newspapers, magazines and journals, was the editor of numerous periodicals, and wrote and published the book The Americanization of the Danish Lutheran Churches in America. During WWII, Nyholm was active in the Danish American movement to support Denmark, often as a speaker at Danish American events. From 1943, he was the pastor of Our Savior's United Lutheran Church in Chicago. The church's previous minister had left to serve as a field chaplain. In Chicago, Nyholm reached out and supported the young people of his congregation serving in the military. In the September 1944 issue of Our Savior's G.I.s, Donald "Buddy" Nielsen, a water tender on the U.S.S Wiseman, wrote about Nyholm: "I wonder if you know what a fine job our Pastor is doing besides the G.I. news. I have received several booklets and letters from him. As I sit here now, I wonder if we will ever be able to repay him for all his has done and that goes for all of you at home." After the war, Nyholm received the Danish Medal of Freedom and was later named a Knight of Dannebrog. |
Picture of Professor Paul Nyholm from Dana College's 1942 yearbook. The yearbook states that "From his store of
experiences among the congregations, he presents practical problems and suggestions to the would-be-minister."
Paul Nyholm was very active in the Danish American movement to assist Denmark which was occupied by Nazi-Germany from 1940-1945. This newspaper clipping shows him signing the "roll call" book of the National America Denmark Association. The roll call book was a way to display and promote public support for Denmark.
|
Norman BansenNorman Bansen (1920-2004) played Mikkel Borgen, the eldest son on the farm. Norman grew up in Ferndale in California. His parents owned a dairy farm. His father, Peter, immigrated from Denmark in 1913, and his mother, Anne, was born in Germany. During his time at Dana College, Norman was an editor of the student newspaper.
Just two months after participating in The Word, Norman enlisted in the army. His vivid letters from his time in India as a lieutenant at a station hospital are captured in his book Passages from India: Letters, Essays and Poems 1940-1946 (Lur Publications, 1999). After completing an M.A.-degree at the University of Minnesota, Norman returned to Dana College where he worked for many years as a professor of English. He was also very involved in creating the Museum of Danish America (formerly the Danish Immigrant Museum). In 1970, Norman Bansen was named a Knight of Dannebrog. The Danish American Archive and Library has an extensive collection of Norman Bansen's papers. |
Picture of Norman Bansen from the Dana College yearbook 1942.
Picture of Norman Bansen from the tour. The young woman in the photo is most likely Florence D. Hanson.
|
The interaction between Mikkel Borgen (played by Norman Bansen) and Inger (Edna Bondo) was gentle and delicate. Yes, their Danish language is learned but they were both so into their roles than instead of criticizing them we should compliment them for their efforts to speak fluent Danish; their only error was the pronunciation being a little too literal. But their play was Danish married life. |
|
A. L. B., Dannevirke, May 27, 1942.
|
edna bondoEdna Bondo (1908-1998) played Mikkel Borgen's wife Inger who dies and is resurrected. Edna was a third-generation Danish American and grew up in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa as the daughter of a Lutheran church minister. After completing a teacher's training program at Dana and teaching for a few years, Edna went into nursing. She graduated as a nurse from Fairview Hospital in Minneapolis before returning to Dana College to study for a bachelor's degree. At Dana, she also worked as the college nurse. After college, Edna worked for many years as a school nurse in Iowa and Colorado. In 1953, she married Nathaniel Horace Nance. The Danish American Archive and Library has a collection about the extended Bondo family.
   Edna Bondo wrote to The Word's round-robin about returning to Farmington, Minnesota. She keeps busy with Luther League activities and visiting family until she starts a job in Minneapolis.
|
Picture of Edna Bondo from Dana College's 1942 yearbook. Bondo was active in many student organizations, including the drama club and the American-Scandinavian Foundation.
|
edward HansenEdward Hansen (1917-2009) played Old Mikkel Borgen, the farmer. Edward, also known as Ed, was a third-generation Danish American. He came from Harlan, Iowa, and was a student at Trinity Seminary. Ed became a Lutheran pastor serving parishes in Minnesota and teaching in Minnesota and New Jersey. He was bishop of the Southwestern Minnesota District of the American Lutheran Church from 1960-1978. The Danish American Archive and Library has a sizable collection of Ed Hansen's documents.
In 2004, Edward Hansen published an article about the Danish Lutheran Churches in America in which he also writes about the 1942 The Word tour, studying at Trinity Seminary and his first years as a pastor during WWII.
|
Picture of Edward Hansen from the Dana College/Trinity Seminary 1942 yearbook.
Ed Hansen and his many activities are featured in the student newspaper "Hermes" in 1941.
|
Ronald JEnsenRonald Jensen (1923-2013?) played Johannes Borgen, the theology student. Born in New Denmark, Canada, Ronald was the son of editor and pastor John Jensen from Spencer, Iowa, and his wife Ragnhild – both born in Denmark. Ronald became a pastor and obtained a Ph.D. In a newspaper article in Den Danske Pioneer in 2010, Ronald refers to the drama troupe tour as "my most treasured memory of my years at Dana College."  
|
Picture of Ronald Jensen from the tour.
|
Hans CarlsenHans Carlsen played Pastor Bandbul, the parish pastor in The Word, and later became a minister himself, beginning with a post in Canada. Hans Carlsen came from Berkeley, California.
|
Picture of Hans Carlsen from the Dana College 1942 yearbook.
Picture of Hans Carlsen from the tour.
|
Pastor Bundbul was played with great understanding by Hans Carlsen, from Berkeley, Calif.; he did well, as a Danish-American priest very well, as a newly-minted Danish theological candidate a bit less impressive, a little too rustic, too nonacademic, but perhaps as such he would have seemed too strange for most of the audience. |
|
A. L. B., Dannevirke, May 27, 1942.
|
Einar OlsenEinar Olsen (1914-2007) played Doctor Houen. Einar came from Culbertson, Montana. His parents, Martin and Anna, immigrated from Denmark in the 1910s and became farmers in Dane Valley, Montana. Einar was a student at Trinity Seminary and president of the local chapter of the Luther League. He became a pastor and served in South Dakota, in Iowa, and in Alberta, Canada.
|
Picture of Einar Olsen from Dana College's 1942 yearbook.
|
Archie MoRCkArchie Morck (1910-1976) played Anders Borgen, the farmer's youngest son who is in love with Inger. Archie's parents, Christian and Christine, immigrated from Denmark in 1906 and became farmers in Canada. While Paul Nyholm was a pastor in Dickson, Alberta, the Morck family were members of his congregation. Archie, like two of his brothers, became a minister.
|
Picture of Archie Morck from the Dana College 1942 yearbook.
|
Katherine LarsenKatherine Larsen (1917-1983) played the maid Kathinka in the original performance at Dana College but did not go on tour with the other students. Katherine came from Laurel, Nebraska. Her parents Knud and Otthere had immigrated from Denmark in 1915 with five children, and they later had five additional children in the United States – one of them Katherine. Katherine's father, Knud, was a minister in the Lutheran church. Katherine married Verlen Petersen, who's father had also been born in Denmark.
|
Picture of Kathryn Larsen (most likely the same as Katherine Larsen) from Dana College's 1942 yearbook.
|
Florence D. HansonFlorence D. Hanson played the servant Kathinka on the tour. Florence came from Chicago, Illinois. Among her activities at Dana College was directing the Pep Band. In 1944, Florence married Clifford Hanson. Florence served as pastoral assistant at First Lutheran Church in Blair for a number of years and also served on multiple committees. The Danish American Archive has a large collection about the Hanson family.
|
Picture of D. Florence Hansen (most likely the same as Florence D. Hanson) from the Dana College 1942 yearbook.
|
Carl WildrickCarl Wildrick (1917-1985) was the stage manager. It's uncertain if he went on tour with the troupe or was only involved with the initial productions. He came from Des Moises, Iowa. His parents, Christian, a cabinet maker, and Anna, immigrated from Denmark in 1907. Carl Wildrick was studying at Trinity Seminary and became a minister, serving in Iowa, California and Wisconsin. In 1977, Carl went to the Dana College homecoming reunion in Blair with his wife Rhoda, who was likewise a second-generation Danish American and a Dana College graduate.
|
Picture of Carl Wildrick from the 1942 yearbook. Wildrick was a seminary student.
|
