MUSEUM OF DANISH AMERICA

(1919-2006)

Sigrid was one of seven Bro siblings, children of immigrants Niels Christian Bro and Laura Birgitte Bork, who served in the military in the mid-20th century. A senior nursing student in college in Omaha, Sigrid was studying in the nurses’ residence when the news about Pearl Harbor came over the radio. Shortly thereafter her then boyfriend was shipped out to the Philippines and they corresponded frequently, making plans about their future life together. The dream ended when she received word that he had died on the Bataan Death March. 

Following graduation in 1942 Sigrid and a close friend decided to volunteer their services to the war effort, joined the Army Nurse Corps, and were sent to Ft. Warren in Cheyenne, Wyoming. After ten months there, she was sent to a Texas hospital where returning South Pacific veterans were recovering from malaria. From there she went overseas with the 40th General Group on board the Queen Elizabeth, which had been converted into a troop carrier. 

Her first European station was a Quonset hut hospital in Cirencester, England. After D-Day she was transferred to France, where a converted hospital outside Paris became her workplace and the nearby city was available for exploration and recreation. Then Sigrid’s father became ill, necessitating an early discharge and a return home. Following his funeral, Sigrid joined up again and served in San Antonio, Texas, until V-J Day. Later she married her wartime sweetheart, Ed Crovo.

(1904-1998)

Garnet was the youngest child of first-generation Americans Lewis C. and Mary Ann (Nielsen) Larson of Franklin County, Nebraska. All three children in this farm family received university degrees, but Garnet, born on All Saints’ Day in 1904, became a life-long learner and teacher. Graduating from high school in 1923, she followed the path of many young women of her era by teaching both elementary and high school. At the same time she took university classes, which led to a Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1929, followed by a Master of Arts in English in 1930. During the Depression she was fortunate to find a position as English instructor at the University of Kansas-Lawrence. This was followed by a Ph. D. in English in 1935, and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh in 1944. 

In the immediate post-War years Garnet Larsen worked for the North Dakota State Welfare Board before beginning a 25-year career with the School of Social Work at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Actively opposed to the death penalty, and a vocal advocate for the poor, Larson spent much of her time and expertise trying to better the lot of the less fortunate residents of her native state. She was an active member of the Nebraska Civil Liberties Union, the Nebraska Youth Committee, and the Nebraska Advisory Committee to the U.S. Committee on Civil Rights. She worked with Native Americans, tutored inmates on death row, and served as adviser to prisoners’ rights organizations. 

She received a number of awards for her efforts, including being named Social Worker of the Year in 1971. Through the years Larson’s philosophies and personality left lasting marks on those who studied under or worked with her, many of whom felt that she truly was a saint. Larson continued to give of herself even after her death in 1998 at the age of 93. The bulk of her estate was left to the Garnet Larson Charitable Trust to aid students and in support of her favorite charities.

(1907-2004) 

 Karen Friedmann first came to the United States to attend Grand View College (now Grand View University) in Des Moines. On returning to Denmark, she achieved an advanced degree in economics from the University of Copenhagen. Karen came back to the U.S. in 1936 on a research grant to study New Deal policies at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C.  During this time she met and married Herbert Friedmann, an American scientist and scholar.  

Karen Friedmann worked as Assistant Branch Chief, European Division, at the Department of Agriculture for approximately 20 years.  When her husband accepted a job in Los Angeles, California, she worked for the Stanford University Food Research Institute, commuting to Palo Alto from Los Angeles.  After retirement she continued to publish articles related to international agricultural research.  

Karen loved mid-century Danish design and filled her home with Danish furniture, textiles, ceramics, silver, and other objects.  She also wove ryas (a traditional Scandinavian technique for rugs and wall hangings), did cross stitch, and crocheted.  During World War II, she knit sweaters for servicemen as well as her young daughter.  

The Odense City Museums in Denmark are organizing an exhibit that will be on view at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York from October to January, and MoDA is loaning 41 pieces from the permanent collection. 

To ensure they ship safely, each piece is packed carefully using custom-cut archival foam inside of acid-free boxes.  These boxes are then packed into a crate. 

Medals:  These pieces sit down into recesses that were cut into a thick foam plank.  Muslin then covers the foam to prevent scratching.  A piece of thin, flexible foam is attached to a small square of blueboard (acid free cardboard) to hold the small medals in place.  Then, pieces of thick foam keeps everything from shifting inside the box.

Paper:  Numerous documents and photos are held safely inside acid-free folders, books and rolled certificates are wrapped in tissue, and pieces of thick foam hold them in place.

Communion set lid:  A six-piece communion set is housed in this case.  The small plate fits very loosely inside a satin flap on the inside of the lid.  To prevent it from falling out when the case lid is opened, twill tape is tied around the lid.  Because the surface of the satin is very torn from years of contact with the metal fastener sliding over it, a polyester sleeve was placed against the satin to prevent further damage when the fastener slides to open the flap.

1. His face is on our top 14 list of Famous Danes.

They’re not ranked in order of awesomeness, so no hard feelings?

2. We’re a whole institution about the Danish-American experience.

We’re dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing stories like his and thousands of other Danish Americans. People tell us we’re pretty good at it.

3. We’re friends with his dad, 

the super cool and talented Torben Ulrich. (Side note: Rasmus also met Lars at an art gallery in November and says he was a total dork about it. He wants a redo.)

Photo evidence of Rasmus hanging out with Torben & Molly in *sunny* California last August.

4. Wife Jessica would love it. 

We’re all about the hygge, and if there’s any place that understands the craziness of marrying into the Danish world, it’s here. 

If worse comes to worse, the shopping isn’t half bad, and there’s an…

5. Akvavit freezer and booze fridge. 🤷

See you soon! 

These snap cufflinks by Lavico (circa 1920s) belonged to P.S. Munk Pedersen.

Peder Sørensen (P.S.) Munk Pedersen was born on a farm in Svejstrup, near Skanderborg, Jylland, Denmark on January 24, 1882. Before immigrating to the U.S. in 1904, he completed four years as a carpenter's apprentice and served in the Danish Army as an Engineer Corps. He became a naturalized citizen on March 7, 1910 in Polk County, Iowa. In Des Moines, Iowa, P.S. worked on various construction projects in the Midwest. He also attended Grand View College (now University) and completed an International Correspondence School course in Building Construction. In 1913 P.S. married Wilhelmine Anderson. Their marriage lasted until her death in 1918. They had five children together: Frederik, Elsa, Karen, Ingrid and Arne. After Wilhelmine's death P.S. married Marianne Maigaard in 1920. In 1933 he joined the U.S. National Park Service. P.S. served as division chief of both the Biological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service until the early 1950s. Then he was assigned the task of liquidating the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1946 P.S. was transferred to the Army Service Forces, Office of the Quartermaster General and managed the construction of national cemeteries on the East coast. He maintained this job even after retirement age. He died in Washington, D.C. in 1963 at the age of 81.

...it’s DONE!

In the fall of 2006, staff, interns, and volunteers started a complete inventory and cataloging project for our three-dimensional object collection.  This includes pieces like clothing, tools, porcelains, furniture, and more.  Along the way, we have recorded detailed descriptions of what every single piece looks like, dimensions, accurate home locations, condition reports that note all damages like scratches and stains, and the history of each piece – who owned and used it, where, and when.  Every object has been photographed from multiple angles and all of the data and photos have been entered into our collections database. 

Today, August 30, 2017, the final piece of our more than 15,000-piece 3D collection was inventoried and put away!  

The honor went to a fly net. This fly net was donated in 1994 by Alice Jane Clemsen of Harlan, Iowa.  Fly nets were draped over the backs of horses, and the grid-like pattern of woven leather helped keep flies from biting. 

Over the next few years, the paper collections – including photographs, documents, and publications – will be inventoried in the same way.  All of these records are available to museum members at the $100+ levels through View Our Collection!

*By the way, we can confidently tell you that our collection includes 228 forks.

Dust and debris were carefully removed from the fly net using an adjustable speed Nilfisk GM80 vacuum set to low suction.  (Nilfisk is a Danish company and actually donated the vacuum to us several years ago!)

While it’s nice to think about all the happy-go-lucky history of Danish Americans and Danes in the US, it’s the perfect time of year to delve into the darker side.

Peter Kenneth Bostrøm Lundin murdered four people in the US and Denmark in 1991 and 2000. He was born in Solrød Strand, Denmark in 1971 to Ole Bostrøm Lundin and Anna (née Schaftner). His family immigrated to the United States when he was seven years old.

In April 1991 Lundin strangled his mother to death in North Carolina and, with the help of his father, he buried her body on a beach where it was found eight months later. In 1992, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder. His father, Ole, was sentenced to two years as an accomplice. In 1999 Lundin was released from prison for capacity reasons and deported to Denmark.

After returning to Denmark, Lundin moved in with his wife, but she kicked him out because he was violent with her. He met a woman called Marianne Pedersen, who worked in a brothel. Pedersen and her two sons, who were living near Copenhagen, were declared missing on July 3, 2000, and Lundin initially claimed that they had left on vacation and he had agreed to paint their house. After several story changes, he admitted months later to killing Pedersen because she had been “talking sweetly” to a man on the phone, then killing her sons. All three died of broken necks, and Lundin dismembered the bodies. The bodies have never been found.

In 2001, Lundin was sentenced to life in prison. Lundin's father, Ole, was sentenced to four months in prison for theft of items owned by Pedersen. He is currently located at a prison near Horsens. While incarcerated in Denmark, Lundin changed his name to Bjarne Skounborg. He has received much attention in the Danish public.

Part 2

Includes plaques by Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borglum! 

While it’s nice to think about all the happy-go-lucky history of Danish Americans and Danes in the US, it’s the perfect time of year to delve into the darker side.

Thor Nis Christiansen’s string of murders in 1976-1977 instilled an atmosphere of fear that is said to have effectively brought an end to the 1960's era in Isla Vista, CA. 

Born in Denmark in 1957, Christiansen immigrated with his family to Inglewood, CA when he was 5 years old. His father ran a restaurant in Solvang, CA. Christiansen moved out of his parents’ house and dropped out of high school to become a gas station attendant. 

In 1976, Christiansen killed his first three victims at the age of 19. His victims were noted for their similar appearances. He picked them up while they were presumed to be hitchhiking or at bus stops, shot them in the head, and then engaged in necrophilia, which had become an obsession of his. He was investigated as one of 100 suspects in 1977, and his pistol was confiscated. 

He moved to Oregon then back to Santa Barbara County where he finished his high school degree. In 1979 he killed another woman, and a fifth intended victim escaped with a bullet in her head. A few months later she identified him in a Los Angeles bar and notified authorities. 

He was sentenced to life in prison in 1980 and was stabbed to death in Folsom State Prison in 1981.

Christiansen’s murders led to large demonstrations opposing violence on women and in favor of better transportation for the young people residing in Isla Vista.

More information on “Murderpedia”

Part 1