SPREADING "THE WORD"
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Dana students enjoy a picnic, on tour in 1942

the people

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, director

Professor 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.  
Paul Nyholm
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 signs the Danish-American WWII roll call
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 Bansen

Norman 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.
Norman Bansen as a student
Picture of Norman Bansen from the Dana College yearbook 1942.
Norman Bansen in front on a car, 1942
Picture of Norman Bansen from the tour. The young woman in the photo is most likely Florence D. Hanson.
Two letters from Norman Bansen: In September 1942, Bansen wrote a letter from Camp Barkeley in Texas to his The Word tour friends ​as part of a round-robin chain of letters. In the letter, he describes the military training and how he tries to keep his personality alive on the inside.
​In 1943, after hearing rumors that Dana College may close, Bansen wrote to the Dana College student newspaper about his fond memories of Dana and why he feels Dana College must go on.
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 bondo

Edna 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.  
Student picture of Edna Bondo wearing a nurse's cap, 1942.
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 Hansen

Edward 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.
It [Old Mikkel Borgen] was a character that Edward Hansen mastered down to the smallest detail and we enjoyed his Danish, free-flowing, natural and correct. 
A. L. B., Dannevirke, May 27, 1942.
Edward Hansen as a student at Dana College in 1942
Picture of Edward Hansen from the Dana College/Trinity Seminary 1942 yearbook.
Newspaper cutting about Edward Hansen's activities at Dana College
Ed Hansen and his many activities are featured in the student newspaper "Hermes" in 1941.

Ronald JEnsen

Ronald 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."
Ronald Jensen's letter to Nyholm includes a description of how he didn't get a promised job as a newspaper reporter because he was too late due to participating in the The Word tour: "Nevertheless I say it was a very pleasant way of losing a job." On the right: a description of Ronald Jensen from the student newspaper Hermes in October 1943.
Ronald Jensen, 1942
Picture of Ronald Jensen from the tour.
Ronald Jensen ... had been given the play's most difficult role, the insane Johannes, and he managed it, he led it through the play from the beginning to the end; what especially helped him was his beautiful Danish language ...
A. L. B., Dannevirke, May 27, 1942.

Hans Carlsen

Hans 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
Hans Carlsen wrote this article about doing what one is called to do in the student newspaper "Hermes" in October 1943.
Hans Carlsen as a student at Trinity Seminary, 1942.
Picture of Hans Carlsen from the Dana College 1942 yearbook.
Hans Carlsen on the Dana College theater troupe tour, 1942.
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 Olsen

Einar 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. 
Einar Olsen and Ed Hansen were roommates at Trinity Seminary. After Einar Olsen passed away in 2007, his daughter received this letter from Ed Hansen in which he fondly remembers their time at Trinity College and the The Word tour.  
Einar Olsen as a student at Trinity Seminary in 1942
Picture of Einar Olsen from Dana College's 1942 yearbook.

Archie MoRCk

Archie 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. 
Yearbook photo of Archie Morck, Dana College, 1942.
Picture of Archie Morck from the Dana College 1942 yearbook.

Katherine Larsen

Katherine 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.
Yearbook photo of Kathryn Larsen
Picture of Kathryn Larsen (most likely the same as Katherine Larsen) from Dana College's 1942 yearbook.

Florence D. Hanson

Florence 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.
Florence D. Hanson, Chicago, was quick and helpful in her role as a servant girl, and nobody could hear that she was Norwegian ...
A. L. B., Dannevirke, May 27, 1942.
1942 yearbook photo of D. Florence Hansen from Dana College
Picture of D. Florence Hansen (most likely the same as Florence D. Hanson) from the Dana College 1942 yearbook.

Carl Wildrick

Carl 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.  
Yearbook photo of Carl Wildrick, Dana College, 1942
Picture of Carl Wildrick from the 1942 yearbook. Wildrick was a seminary student.

Local girls played young maren

The role of Lille Maren, the daughter of Inger, was played by young girls from the towns that the students visited. It appears it was the local organizer's task to find a 9-10-year-old girl who could quickly learn the Danish lines. Two of the girls performed in multiple locations. Other local girls may also have played the role but are not mentioned in the documents.  

Edna Mae Christoffersen

Edna Mae Christoffersen was the daughter of Nels and Caroline Christoffersen from Kimballton, Iowa. She played the role of Lille Maren in Kimballton, Minneapolis, Askov, Racine, Chicago and Hampton. Edna Mae is mentioned in the "Ordet Odyssey": "Her smooth Danish, her remarkable memory astounded even collegiate players." After the play, Edna May continued exchanging letters with Edna Bondo.​ Edna Mae, a third-generation Danish American, married Arild Christensen, who was also born in Kimballton. 

Natalie Handrup

Natalie Handrup from Cedar Falls was praised in the Dannevirke newspaper as being a natural for the part. Natalie's father Wilhelm was a carpenter born in Denmark. Her mother Elsie was born in South America of Danish-born parents. Natalie visited Denmark in 1953. A year later, she married Rex Rothe Morgan whose career in the U.S. Coast Guard appears to have led them to live in a number of countries, including Denmark. 

Norma Knudsen

Norma Knudsen, the daughter of Rev. Harold Knudsen who was a coach and dean at Grand View College at the time, played the role of Lille Maren in Des Moines. Norma was a third-generation Danish American. 

Sonja Knudsen

Sonja Knudsen played the role of Lille Maren in Racine. Her parents, Andrew and Anna, were both born in Denmark. In a newspaper review in Den Danske Pioneer, the local correspondent from Racine writes that Sonja played like a little angel. Sonja later married Leo Haarstick and lived and worked in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Sylvia Siersbeck

Sylvia Siersbeck from Blair, Nebraska, played the role of Lille Maren in the original performance at Dana College and in Omaha. Her father, Lawrence, was born in Denmark and was the president of Dana College from 1938-1944. Sylvia later attended Dana College as a student. She married Walter Larsen and worked most of her life for the Kenosha school system in Wisconsin. 
In Cedar Falls, editor August Bang located a girl (Natalie Handrup) to play Lille Maren. He describes her as a quick learner who has acted before and promises that he'll practice the lines with her himself. In Racine, Kjær reports back to Nyholm that he has also identified a girl to play Lille Maren (Sonja Knudsen). He doesn't know yet if she can learn it all, but she will try.  

Next Section: Dana College during WWII
© The Danish American Archive and Library, 2021. 
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