SWEDISH-AMERICAN PATRIOTIC LEAGUE
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Centennial History: Text and Speeches
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| Midsummer 1894-1994 Program Notes: "100 Years of Midsummer Memories" | ||||||||||
| Midsummer 1994 Speech "Midsummers Past" | ||||||||||
| Program Notes on the Anniversary of the League "A Historical Perspective on the Swedish American Patriotic League on the occasion of its Centennial Anniversary" | ||||||||||
| Anniversary Dinner Speech "A Historical Perspective on the 100th Anniversary" | ||||||||||
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100 Years of Midsummer Memories This summary is based upon a draft of a chapter in Muriel Nelson Beroza’s forthcoming second edition of her book Sveadal. It appeared in the souvenir program published for the centennial midsummer. Edited by Ted Olsson |
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| The idea for a San Francisco Midwinter Fair was Michael H. De Young’s, editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, who had attended Chicago’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 as a member of the California delegation. He conceived the idea for San Francisco to stage a similar sized event the following year as a way to overcome the current recession in the City and State. He intended to draw visitors to San Francisco and to promote the advantages of California’s climate and products. Like a world’s fair, which this was not authorized to be, our fair would feature “national days” to emphasize the melting pot nature of the United States by drawing upon the enthusiasm and native pride of the San Francisco Bay Area’s ethnic communities. Special local industry days and exhibits from other states and countries, but especially exhibits from the counties of California, would demonstrate that California had more than one pot of gold. The site of the fair, a vacant wilderness spot in Golden Gate Park dedicated as a Concert Valley — now memorialized by the Bandshell and sunken amphitheatre, flanked by the DeYoung Art Museum and the California Academy of Sciences — was then strongly objected to by the Park’s chief designer and guiding spirit, John McLaren. He felt that such a commercial enterprise as this fair would compromise the natural beauty and serenity of the park. The miracle of the fair was not merely the exhibits and the enthusiastic attendees but the fact that the fair’s marvelous exhibitions and pavilions materialized in this wilderness within seven months. Exotic buildings from Egypt, China, Japan, as well as many European nations, shouldered next to those of California counties. The only remnant of the fair today is the enduringly lovely Japanese Tea Garden. In September 1893, a committee of prominent Swedish residents organized to respond to the invitation from the Midwinter Fair committee to produce a Sweden Day at the fair. At the time the local Swedish community was served by a number of very active clubs, but no central group coordinated their efforts. Dr. Frederick Westerberg, a local Swedish physician, was selected as the chairman of the committee to raise the money necessary to produce this collective effort. Since Sweden Day, designated to be Monday, May 14, 1894, was close enough to midsummer day (in Sweden traditionally celebrated on June 24th), they chose to use their cherished native holiday as the theme for the day. Like the fair in miniature, their exhibit hall would emphasize the foods and manufactured goods of the motherland. A Swedish midsummer, even then, was a time to escape with friends and family to nature, to throw off the cares of the world, and to enjoy the longest day of the year, when, at least at home, the sun never sets. The raising of a festive maypole, aromas of traditional dishes from informal picnics, and the sounds of music from songs and dances made this one of the most memorable days in the Swedish calendar. The products for this day came from a handicraft school in Connecticut; the hall’s materials, from the recent Chicago exposition. All produced a formidable showing of pride in Swedish culture and products. That first Svenskarnas Dag began with a morning parade from Van Ness and Golden Gate Avenues to the site of the Midwinter Fair. The Knights of the Golden Banner on foot and horseback, men and women in national costumes, units representing each of the active Swedish clubs in the Bay Area, singing societies, groups of folk dancers, and several floats paraded to the Fair. The members’ pride in Sweden’s contribution to saving the Union but a generation earlier was manifest in the float showing a replica of John Ericsson’s Monitor. Another float was even more emblematic of their pride in both their native land and their adopted country: it featured two young Swedish ladies, Miss Jennie Hedberg as “Columbia” and Miss Hammar as “Svea”. This is the only mention of a role for Columbia and Svea that day; there was no Queen. Two programs were held at Festival Hall that day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The programs featured Swedish music and songs, speeches by Professor Gustaf Eisen, Curator of the California Science Museum, and by the Fair’s General Director, M.H. DeYoung. The folk dances, the recitation of Swedish poetry, and musical solos was a bargain at twenty-five cents. Prominent Swedes — A.O. Lundström, Hjalmar Brunnel, and K.E. Hanson — were parade marshalls. Swedish Consul Henry Lund’s remarks were delivered by Dr. Westerberg. Professor C.M. Esbjörn and Mr. Samuel, Swedish Commissioner to the Fair, addressed all. Later that evening Charles Johnson’s orchestra played dance music into the night. The irony of the day was that the traditional sunny midsummer being celebrated actually was a rainy and cold day, but that didn’t keep 8,000 people (more than 6,000 estimated to be Swedes) from attending. It proved to be the most popular weekday for the entire Fair. In January 1895, as an outgrowth of the previous year’s activities, the Swedish American Patriotic League was founded as a congress of local Swedish organizations to continue the cooperation and coordination of activities and specifically to annually produce a midsummer celebration for the local Swedes. The League was to consist of representatives from all interested Swedish organizations in the Bay Area. Dr. Westerberg was elected president. These early celebrations were called Svenskarnas Dag and held in June on Midsummer Day. They were held in parks and, like the traditional Swedish midsummer, consisted principally of many family picnics. Blue and gold bunting, raising the Maypole bedecked with flowers and flags, folk dancing by couples in Swedish provincial costumes, games and races for children, and always the song and dancing were staples of these earliest gatherings. The programs featured speeches and poems, songs and folk dancing. Always traditional Swedish foods and beverages were served. The second Svenskarnas Dag was held at Harbor View Park on Monday, June 24, 1895 and even then was touted to be the largest Midsummer festival west of Minneapolis. A program later in the evening at Metropolitan Temple was attended by 2,000 people. The third and fourth year’s Svenskarnas Dag were held at Shell Mound Park in Berkeley (now Emeryville). In 1898 the format returned to that of the first Midsummer, with a parade including a float, produced by the Knights of the Golden Banner, featuring the reappearance of Columbia and Svea, represented respectively by the Herlin sisters, Therese and Ebba. Interesting additional passengers on the float were Mr Nordenfelt as Uncle Sam, Mrs Augusta Olsson as Cuba, Miss Anderson as Manilla, and little Carl Johnson as Hawaii. The new Swedish Americans demonstrated their patriotic fervor as the United States victoriously concluded the Spanish American War by liberating Cuba from Spain, extending dominion over the Phillipines, and annexing Hawaii. But by 1899 the informal picnic format returned to the celebration at Shell Mound Park. We have already seen that the Swedes who created that first Midsummer celebration for the Fair demonstrated to others a pride in their dual heritage by incorporating the symbols of Svea and Columbia. With the turn of the century in 1900 creating new beginnings, they added to this local heritage by creating a third, reigning figure in the pageant, a Queen to rule for the day over the Midsummer festivities. Of course the idea for having a Queen is strictly an American innovation. There is no queen in a traditional Swedish midsummer celebration. The closest that Swedes at midsummer come to such a reigning personality is the custom of couples getting married at Swedish midsummers, where the bride (and groom) may be the focus of attention. Americans, however, delight in choosing a young lady to represent all sorts of occasions from football and homecoming festivities to product promotions and sales campaigns. Examples of this passion are the various beauty contests. Be that as it may, the minutes of a League meeting in 1900 states that a Majdrottning (Midsummer Queen) would be chosen to preside over that year’s midsummer celebration. So, another feature developed in the pattern of our Midsummers: the maiden receiving the largest number of votes became Queen; second place became Svea; third, Columbia. That year Midsummer was again held on June 24th at Shell Mound Park. The first Midsummer Queen whose identity is certain is Vega Dyberg in 1901; the identities of Svea and Columbia then are unknown. That year 4,000 people attended the celebration at Shell Mound Park. By 1902 the pattern evolves with a court of young ladies complementing the Queen, Svea, and Columbia. However, the election was still conducted by voting for one among all and there was no attempt to get candidates from every lodge nor to rotate the honor of selection among the lodges. The attendance that year approached 5,000. The annual celebrations continued at Shell Mound Park, always on June 24th. By the tenth anniversary the main speech by Dr. E. Nelander of the English Lutheran Church was already being delivered in English. Up until now all of the ladies who portrayed Queen, Svea, or Columbia had been born in Sweden. By 1905, however, the Queen was Swedish, Columbia was born in Sonoma, and Svea in Kansas! The festival, like the immigrants themselves, was beginning to become more American. By now another pattern had been established. Candidates for the principal roles were presented to the League and elections were held then or shortly after. The competition was lively and though the lodges recommended candidates, the candidates did not represent the lodges. On April 18, 1906 the earthquake and subsequent fire destroyed San Francisco but did not deter the annual midsummer festival. The April 26th edition (the first since the quake) of Vestkusten , the local Swedish newspaper, with the banner headline “San Francisco i ruiner” also carried an advertisement for the Swedish National Fest Day at Shell Mound Park on June 13th. Ironically that year the date changed amidst all the turmoil following the disaster. However, that year’s midsummer became more important than ever, for it provided a place for all local Swedes to meet and find survivors as well as to update their address books. There was no Queen that year, but Svea and Columbia jointly ruled the day. Swedish Pastor Phillip Andreen spoke in English; Vestkusten’s editor, Alexander Olsson, addressed the crowd in Swedish. The following year had a Queen, though there is no record of Columbia and Svea. By 1908 the pattern further evolved with the candidates actually sponsored by a particular League constituent organization. That year’s participants shows the extent and interests of the local clubs: Queen was Blenda Östgren (Swedish American Political Club); Svea was Alice Anderson (Swedish Dramatic Club), and Columbia was Emma Anderson (Swedish Ladies Society). New this year was the Queen’s Court of Brudtärnorna (Maids of Honor), each now representing the various lodges, as well as various attendants and crown bearers. The court as a whole began to reflect the beauty and diversity of local Swedish interests and organizations. The ceremony was establishing the new traditions that descendants of these immigrants would fondly cherish and pass down to us today. By 1909 rather substantial committees were being formed to handle the various details of the day: the program, the elaborate decorations, building and decorating the stage, bedecking and raising the maypole, organizing the races and games for children, preparing and serving food, providing the music and dancing, and of course, the all-important financial committee. The costs of producing the event can be imagined from the profits: $815.50 in 1908; $596.32 in 1924. Considering the cost of living in those days, the admission of 25¢ was substantial; however, the sole purpose obviously was not financial gain. The hundreds of hours of volunteer labor, then as now, testify to the true significance of this day for Swedes and Swedish Americans of the San Francisco Bay Area: fellowship in shared traditions. In 1912 Ida Olsson (Hanson, Malmquist) proposed and the League adopted that separate elections be held sequentially for Queen, Svea, and Columbia, with all remaining candidates eligible. That year for the first time the Queen, Ellen Peterson for the Swedish Society, was not born in Sweden but was a native San Franciscan. Five years later, with the creation of the League’s Oakland branch, the rules for selecting the three principals had to be amended, with Oakland getting to choose one and the other two coming from the San Francisco organization, and each lodge in the San Francisco and Oakland leagues being represented by a Maid of Honor. It was also stipulated that the principals be unmarried (i.e., never married) and at least 18 years old. By 1925 the pattern was made yet more equitable when it was determined that each lodge would have a chance by the luck of the draw to choose the Queen before any lodge got another turn. In 1940 an exception was made to this rule to coincide with the San Francisco World’s Fair at Treasure Island. For that year it was decided that an impartial committee would be formed to choose the principals, without their representing any particular lodges. From 1896 through 1924, the annual midsummer celebrations were held at Shell Mound Park and were essentially a collection of picnics with a maypole and official program. Occasionally there were parades, and gradually, as we have seen, the traditional shape of the program and the Court were determined. The 1925 celebration was held at California Park in San Rafael when Columbia was renamed Eureka in honor of California’s Diamond Jubilee (75th year of statehood). It stayed at this location for three years and then moved to Neptune Beach, in Alameda in 1929, where it remained until 1939. On June 22, 1940 the ceremony was held on the grounds of the San Francisco World’s Fair at Treasure Island and the following year it moved to Sigmund Stern Grove in San Francisco. For forty-seven years it had been held outdoors, like a traditional Swedish midsummer, but in 1941 the event moved indoors to the Scottish Rite Auditorium at Sutter and VanNess in San Francisco, where instead of a picnic it evolved into an evening program and ball. By 1967, however, the auditorium was about to be converted into a cineplex, so once again the event had to shift locale. In that year it was decided to test a new pattern by holding the traditional evening ceremony at the auditorium and repeating the ceremony a week later at the League’s own resort, Sveadal. In the 1940s Sveadal, with very limited facilities, was a couple of hours away from San Francisco over very dusty roads. By the late 1960s, however, it was almost a suburb of San Jose with good facilities. The Swedish population was now evenly distributed throughout the Bay Area but the national and state development of roads, made it a pleasant ride and easy to reach. The setting proved so appropriate to this celebration of nature, that it was unanimously agreed to keep it in Sveadal. A similar dual midsummer occurred in 1988 when the Bay Area celebrated New Sweden ‘88 honoring the 350th anniversary of the founding of Sweden’s colony in North America, which ultimately became Delaware. During this year, the New Sweden’88 Committee produced a more typical Swedish midsummer celebration in a glen of Golden Gate Park, without any Queen, Columbia, Svea, or Maids of Honor. However, there was a formal program of speeches and the day concluded with the wedding of a Swedish couple who rode off in a horse and carriage. One week later the League once again produced its own traditional midsummer. With the exception of 1977, when an extreme fire danger prevented the event from being held in Sveadal and shifted it to the San Mateo Fair Grounds, the annual midsummer has now been celebrated at Sveadal for over a quarter of a century. This year, 1994, then, marks the hundredth anniversary of this annual midsummer celebration, the oldest continuously celebrated midsummer celebration outside of Sweden itself. Often the three principals and Maids of Honor are children of parents active in the Leagues’ member lodges. Given the rules that evolved for their selection, there is obviously a degree of luck as to whether a girl is fortunate to have her sponsoring organization have the opportunity to pick a principal. Many women have graciously participated as Maids of Honor in the Queen’s Court for years without being chosen a principal, thereby extending our tradition to this day. Some of the principals and Maids, without a drop of Swedish blood, have become “honorary Swedes,” who like their parents have adopted our midsummer traditions and participated in the activities of the League and its member organizations. Muriel Nelson Beroza has laboriously documented the names of past principals (see list elsewhere in this program); the Maids are legion. Certain features have become staples in the midsummers of the recent past. For many years, especially in the forties and fifties, the Swedish Singers, a male chorus of five or six dozen, would sing in harmony beloved Swedish songs to the audience and salute the Queen in song upon her coronation. More recently the Zaida Singers have serenaded audiences for almost two decades. Programs from the twenties through the fifties always featured Swedish folk dances performed in costume, usually by the Vasa Folk Dancers. More recently while occasional visiting folk dance troupes from Sweden have performed, the Ensemble Internationale, directed by Ned and Marian Gault, have kept our dances alive for us. The programs have always had the local Consul General of Sweden bring us greetings from Sweden and often other dignitaries have greeted us. But through all the years there has been food, fellowship, and music. By now the music is so traditional, that the tunes are hummed by many non-Swedes and even to those who cannot speak Swedish, know just enough to sincerely wish all “Glad Midsommar!” |
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Midsummers Past Remarks by Ted Olsson Past President, SAPL |
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| Before I begin I would like to recognize Muriel Nelson Beroza, whose book Sveadal chronicles much of the history and collected memories which most of us draw upon today. The second, extended edition of her book will be out next year but I want to thank her for allowing me to edit a draft of her Midsummer chapter for the history in the souvenir program, the highlights of which I will summarize now. There seem to be at least two reasons to remember the past: to appreciate the heritage given to us, and to pass it on to succeeding generations. As I recount the history of this festival, notice threads as they become part of fabric of our own tradition. This centennial Midsummer was born at the San Francisco Exposition of 1894 in Golden Gate Park. After visiting the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, the Chronicle’s editor, Michael DeYoung, returned home with the idea for a fair to raise the City and State from recession by promoting San Francisco and California. To encourage attendance and since America was a land of immigrants, there developed the idea for International Days, where each ethnic community would have its day at the Fair and, for its own pride, encourage countrymen to attend in great numbers. That first Svenskarnas Dag (Monday, May 14, 1894), though rainy and cold, had the greatest weekday attendance for the entire fair, some 8,000 people (of which more than 6,000 were estimated to be Swedes). Though there were many Swedes in the Bay Area then and many Swedish organizations, there was no central, coordinating organization, so the Committee to produce that first event was a sampling from all the clubs. They decided to share their beloved Midsummer tradition with other local immigrants and citizens. Befitting the special nature of that event, that day featured a parade from Civic Center, the program at the fairgrounds, and an evening dance at a nearby hall. The parade included floats, one of which bore Svea and Columbia, proclaiming the pride in their dual heritage. Therein were sown the seeds of today’s Midsummer, combining the Maypole of a Swedish Midsummer with two emblematic figures; and having a formal program as well as dancing long into the night. Because the day was so successful, the Swedish American Patriotic League was founded the next year as a congress of local Swedish organizations in order to coordinate the activities of its constituents and particularly to produce a midsummer festival annually. In fact that is the only explicit responsibility of the President of the League. For the first half century the festival was held in the East Bay on June 24th or the weekend closest to it. From 1896 until 1924 it was at Shell Mound Park in Alameda. Even when earthquake and fire destroyed San Francisco in the spring of 1906, the next edition of Vestkusten, while describing the ruin, advertised that Midsummer would be held that year as always. To celebrate the Diamond Jubillee (75th anniversary) of California’s statehood, that year’s Midsummer was held in California Park in San Rafael, where it remained for several years. Thereafter it played for the decade 1929-1939 at Neptune Beach in Alameda. Then for more than a quarter of a century the midsummers moved to San Francisco. When San Francisco hosted the World’s Fair at Treasure Island in 1940, Midsummer was once again at the Fair. The next year the festival was held in Sigmund Stern Grove. From 1942 until 1967 the Midsummer Festival was held indoors at the Scottish Rite Auditorium on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. During this period the festival became more of a pageant-filled program followed by a gala ball. In 1968, the League placed the Midsummer Festival in a natural setting in the League’s own beautiful wooded retreat of Sveadal. Here it has remained with the single exception of 1977 when extreme fire danger forced the festival to be held at the San Mateo Fair Grounds.. Recent immigrants are sometimes puzzled by some of the traditions of this midsummer. Those with historical perspective understand that many of our own distinctive traditions are the results of decisions of earlier immigrants. Each of these threads makes our festival unique. We’ve already seen how Svea and Columbia, representing the original immigrants’ pride in their dual heritage, took their places in our program. The Queen (or Majdrottning) appears in 1900, befitting the auspicious beginnings for a new century of midsummers. For the first decade or more these three principals alternatively ruled the pageant. Gradually all three assumed their permanent roles and with them a court of Maids of Honor, each representing a club in the League, and reflecting the immigrants’ pride in their local organizations as well as delight in American beauty pageants. Americans disdain kings but are fascinated by royal pomp. Gradually the trappings of royalty were added to the pageant such as crown bearers, train bearers, flower girls, flag guards, and other attendants. Over the years as the Swedish immigrants and their families became more Americanized, the language in the program shifted from Swedish to English, just as the girls’ own birthplaces shifted from Sweden to America. By 1905 the Queen was Swedish, Columbia was born in Sonoma, and Svea in Kansas! By 1912 the Queen was born in San Francisco. By now distance from Sweden and the lack of easy, modern transportation made the separation more complete and allowed this local institution to develop its own traditions. The immigrants’ own children had become Americans to whom this midsummer festival would be the memorable tradition rather than a dimly remembered one from a distant motherland. My personal memories of half a century of midsummers are divided into two parts: the indoor (Scottish Rite) and the outdoor (Sveadal) ones. As a small boy I was ring bearer and even Uncle Sam when I was five years old to my cousin’s Columbia. To me the huge stage and immense audience were riveting. Later as kids in junior high school many of my Sveadal friends and I learned folk dances and performed before the Midsummer Queen in Swedish costumes. About then the boys began noticing how beautiful all of the girls in the court were. We could not imagine that friends our age could ever grow up to be that beautiful. By high school the Midsummer festivals were like another prom, as you escorted these same girlfriends who had miraculously been transformed into the beautiful Maids of Honor. But for me one picture in the family album tells it all. It is one of my sister with her Midsummer Queen’s crown beside my proud father. When I saw her picture on posters, in the program and in the Vestkusten article, I realized how beautiful and regal was the girl I had grown up with. In later midsummers I was honored to follow in the footsteps of my father and grandfather as Master of Ceremonies. This year Kurt Talbot, great grandson of one of the founders of the League, continues our tradition in his own person as President of the League and Master of Ceremonies. The Scottish Rite Auditorium was huge with a warren of rooms and stairways throughout the three floors that were open to the festival. For my father, preparations on that day always began early, first at the print shop, picking up the programs and any final posters and then bringing everything over to the Auditorium. We usually parked in the alley off Sutter Street, going in through the fire door behind the stage. Already there would be a bustle of activity on the full sized stage. Light levels for Klieg lights and footlights all were being set as were the spotlights manned from the balcony. The multiple backdrops were hauled up into the fly and the perennial birch forest background was lowered as the backdrop behind the Queen and Court. The stage was so big that it held the entire court with room for a grand piano which Mom often played, off to stage right, the speaker and soloists off to the left, with room still in the center for a dozen dancers from the Vasa Dance troupe. In those days the Swedish Singers were a chorus of four or five dozen men. All the songs were sung in Swedish and they were rousing. When they hailed the Queen, Columbia, or Svea in song, it was as stirring as a trumpet fanfare. The program has not changed much in all these years, though some of the songs have. There were musical and dance selections, the Consul General always addressed the community, the Queen and full Court were introduced. Following the program the chairs were quickly folded from the main hall as the dance band took up their positions and the Maypole was erected. And then the dance lasted til midnight and beyond. As impressive as the evening’s program and dance always were, what I particularly remember is the now anonymous workers who spent the entire day at the auditorium in order to transform it for the evening and then to clean it all up. I still see their gentle faces and remember cherished names. And I recognize their gift to all of us was bringing us to this day, just as we ourselves will anonymously transmit this tradition to future generations, even as we continue to transmute it into our very own. The ladies would work away in the downstairs kitchen making all the open faced sandwiches. And all the workers would gather downstairs for lunch with warm coffee cake, pungent coffee, and animated chatter weaving between English and Swedish. Rows of tables had to be set, garlands and posters to be hung, chairs to be hauled and set before the afternoon was over. And for a young boy there was always the errands to do for one staffer or another, running up and down the black wrought iron fire stairs behind the scenes or the more ornate marble ones up front. I was away during the year of transition from the Auditorium to Sveadal, so when I returned the next year, the new tradition of the outdoor Midsummer had already been tested and refined. How absolutely appropriate it seemed here in this paradise. The new location allowed many of the people who now carried the burdens of the various committees to come down to their cabins the night before, meet at the old clubhouse bar, set their plans, and be at their appointed places early the next morning; finally, they could rest in their cabins before cleanup on Sunday. On midsummer morning, one crew began building the stage, another decorating the maypole, others preparing the smörgåsbord, decorating the stage, and preparing the Queen and Court. Gradually the location allowed the festival to gain even more traditions: in 1984 we added the Marknad (Vendors Village), with a tremendous turnout of craftspeople and boutiques as well as Swedish delicacies such as Jörtrand ice cream and reindeer sandwiches; the next year with a visiting folk dance troupe from Sweden, we had them perform and then after the program teach the children the Swedish folk dances; the parade grew in pageantry; and the day extended itself. Others further modified this with their personal traditions: where they would lunch or rest; the Swedish Club always has its festive potluck smörgåsbord for members in the upper picnic grounds; some would come in campers or pitch tents and spend the night. Lately with the maypole moved to the Sports Lawn and last year with the Childrens Art Table and exhibition new traditions were started. This year you’ll see the free standing Maypole, the new stage, the troubadors with song sheets, the lunch and dinner refreshments, as well as the Sunday morning pancake breakfast. The tradition has not lost its vitality. Throughout all the years the music at the height of summer has always characterized Midsummer for me. So, I would like to conclude my remarks with a tune that has stuck in my head for more than thirty years since Ragnar Hasselgren, an early troubador, first sang it and later, Carl Svenson. I have rewritten the words for this occasion and I dedicate it to all the musicians and performers over the years. return to top |
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A Historical Perspective on the Swedish American Patriotic League on the occasion of its Centennial Anniversary From the 101st Midsummer and 100th Anniversary Dinner Programs by Ted Olsson |
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| The Swedish-American Patriotic League evolved from the efforts of the local Swedish community, which produced the highly successful Sweden Day at San Francisco’s Midwinter Fair on Monday, May 14, 1894 held in Golden Gate Park. The combined efforts of all local Swedish organizations fostered such comraderie and sense of pride that they decided to remain together as a congress of clubs to promote the individual and organizational welfare of each other and specifically to produce an annual Midsummer festival to remind them of “the old country” by celebrating their happiest holiday in this new land. It has fulfilled this last mandate faithfully, producing its centennial Midsummer last year, the oldest continuously celebrated Midsummer festival outside of Sweden. The Swedish-American Patriotic League was formed here in San Francisco one hundred years ago today, on January 28, 1895, and was later incorporated in California on June 30, 1911. The initial League of 1895 consisted of 26 delegates representing 10 organizations: The Swedish Society (6); Knights of the Golden Banner (3); The Swedish Relief Society (3); The Republican Club of San Francisco (3); The Political Club in Oakland (3); Logen Valkyria [Ladies of the Knights of the Golden Banner] (2); The Lutheran Young People’s Society (2); Freja Lodge in Oakland [Sw Ladies Relief] (2); The Swedish Singers (1); and Templet Svanen [a temperance club] (1). Of these The Swedish Society, proprietor of the Swedish-American Hall in San Francisco, was the oldest and largest organization, and remains the oldest today. In 1915 SAPL repeated its Midsummer triumph at the World’s Fair, as they did again for the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in 1940. In 1917, there being no bridges, attending SAPL meetings in the City was too arduous, so in that year the lodges in the East Bay formed a separate League, affiliating with the original one as SAPL--Oakland, Branch #1. In addition to their own activities, they participate fully in those of the joint leagues. In 1925 SAPL entered a float in the Portola Festival celebrating California’s Jubilee. A year later they purchased Sveadal and that year hosted their Royal Highnesses, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolph and Princess Louise, when they dedicated the grounds. Through the years the League has hosted royalty, dignitaries, and performing artists. In 1964 they received Prince Bertil, participating in Sweden Week in San Francisco. During the 60’s the royal naval vessel Alvsnaben visited San Francisco several times, once with today’s King aboard, then Crown Prince undergoing obligatory military service. During this time the Prince made his first official speech at the Oakland League’s reception. Princess Christina was received by SAPL in the 60s in San Francisco and again in 1988 where, as part of New Sweden ‘88, she rededicated Sveadal. Later SAPL hosted the Swedish troupe, which produced Värmlänningarna in Sveadal. Today SAPL continues to promote and perpetuate Swedish traditions in the San Francisco Bay Area, in order to pass them onto future generations. |
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A Historical Perspective on the 100th Anniversary Speech given by Ted Olsson |
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| Even a brief chronology of the League would be inappropriate tonight. I have summarized that in the printed program. So, tonight instead let’s focus on the founding of the League. Muriel Beroza, our historian, has again graced me with facts; Gunilla Ramell has kindly translated Swedish for me. We all look forward to Muriel’s forthcoming history of the League, none moreso than I. In studying this history, several themes stood out: 1) the sense of communal effort to produce an annual midsummer; 2) Midsummer’s symbolic bond for immigrants far from home; 3) our history up til now and the legacy we pass on. I would like to touch on these topics briefly tonight. The League was formed to contine the efforts of the committee which produced a Swedish midsummer at the Midwinter Fair held in Golden Gate Park on Monday, May 14, 1894. Each of us here tonight who had a part in New Sweden ‘88 knows exactly how a common purpose can create new friendships and strengthen alliances. As a congress of organizations, the League was formed to annually produce Midsummer, to represent Swede’s interests here, to provide mutual aid for needy fellow Swedes, to recieve visiting dignitaries and celebrities, and to erect a meeting hall. For a century it has fulfilled this mission, last year celebrating its centennial Midsummer. In place of its Scandia Hall, burned down during the 1906 earthquake, it has maintained Sveadal. The initial League of 1895 consisted of 26 delegates representing 10 organizations, which I have listed in this evening’s program. Of these The Swedish Society was the oldest and largest organization, and remains the oldest to this day. Peering into the lives of these people a century ago, I saw a vibrant Swedish community here. Before the birth of the League, there were numerous Swedish clubs. At the time these clubs were merely the Swedish contingent among many Scandinavian clubs flourishing in the Bay Area. At the turn of the century a directory of Scandinavians in San Francisco and Alameda counties, reveals them to be enterprising professionals and tradesmen. At the time of the League’s birth, the largest organization was the Scandinavian Society of San Francisco, a social and benevolent association, organized in 1859. With 300 members in 1900 and weekly meetings, it was the oldest Scandinavian organization and the one from which most of the national clubs had sprung. It kept a library with books and newspapers in the several languages and held numerous dinner dances. By the time of the League’s first Midsummer, called “The Day of the Swedes, the Scandinavian Society was already celebrating its 35th Midsummer. The League’s uniquely Swedish Midsummer was celebrated outdoors as a traditional picnic with contests and children’s games. For example, it was reported that at the next Midsummer there would be a tug of war to determine whether Oakland or San Francisco had the most “pull”. From the beginning the League’s proceedings were known to all through Vestkusten, which exhorted readers to support this second midsummer and complained that some of the League meetings were poorly attended. In retrospect it is amusing to see the dynamic and fervent arguments battling for the soul of the Midsummer celebration and of the League itself. P.M.Paulson of the Swan temperance society, in an article to a Chicago Swedish newspaper, attacked the idea of the League’s self-proclaimed dual patriotism. But in particular he railed against dancing and drinking at midsummer. This would lower us to the level of the Germans, French, or even Irish, which would jeopardize our chances to rise as stalwart Americans. Thereafter every issue of Vestkusten labored to assure all that the League would be neither a political nor moral force, but would leave those matters to individual choice. Instead it would work for harmony in the community, reproducing a Swedish midsummer as remembered fondly by all immigrants, thereby giving their children a heritage to cherish. In reading my grandfather’s speech for the second Midsummer, I feel the significance of those century old arguments as well as the passion of new immigrants attending our Midsummer today. In his time, Alexander Olsson cherished the memory of a Swedish Midsummer: a carefree, sunlit day and night, with friends and family picnicing, dancing, and singing. All those who heard him would immediately picture loved ones, symbolically reunited on this national day though separated by great distance, who they never expected to be able to see again. Even the speeches in their native tongue were a respite from their chosen American destiny. As immigrants, they nurtured these roots. In composing these thoughts tonight I am acutely aware of how much history we don’t know. So, I am particularly grateful that through new and old institutions we are attempting to preserve our history and heritage. The young Swedish Cultural Events Committee together with the venerable Swedish Society, have begun a museum at its Swedish-American Hall to archive our local history. I encourage all of you to consider donating family mementoes to this endeavor. The 110 year young Vestkusten provides fresh perspectives on the changes in our local community and those in Sweden. Just this month two articles showed the further evolution of our community. One indicated that two Vasa lodges merged due to dwindling membership. The other indicated that the Swedish government again has had to reduce its consular presence in our community. These signs of the times signal us to consider how our community will look one hundred years from tonight, a quarter century from now, next decade. Many things have changed in the intervening century. So, tonight we celebrate how the efforts of individuals, such as all of you here tonight as well as all of our predecessors, whether anonymous or remembered, have kept alive this League. For this Swedish-American Patriotic League has been true to its founders’ vision: to produce an annual midsummer festival for local Swedes to fondly remember their heritage; to help member organizations collaborate and cooperate; and later, to maintain Sveadal as a unique Swedish-American retreat. What of this heritage will we be able to pass onto our children? How strong will be the link with modern Sweden as it changes with Europe? How much historical sense or even curiosity for the past will our children have? Just as we look upon old pictures and recognize no one, what will they remember of our time and efforts, when they don’t know any individuals? Even with continuing immigration, the ties must attenuate as succeeding generations become more American and less Swedish. So, our challenge now is how we can perpetuate this legacy that we celebrate here tonight. Since a speech should be like a lady’s evening dress: long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting, I conclude by wishing us all well as we consider our own role in furthering the Swedish-American Patriotic League. Would you please stand and join me in a typically Swedish four-fold hurrah for the League. To the Swedish-American Patriotic League, for what it has been and what, we pledge, it is to be: Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! |
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created 1/21/00 |
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