college bulletin 1937 january-march
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Pacific Lutheran College Bulletin Published quarterly by Pacific Lutheran C",l(l'ge at TJcoma and Parkland, \'(/a�hington. Enteccd as s(>cond class In:tttrr, April 26, 1927, at the posrofficc .. It Tacom:'l, \Y/ashington under the Act of August 24, I912.
VOL. XVI January. FEBRUARY. March. 1937 No.4
HISTORICAL SOCIETY M ETS APRIL 16
Call for {he First Annual Meeting of the Pacific Historical Society of
the Baltic Peoples
At 7:30. April 16. 1937. the Pacific Historical Society of the
Baltic Peoples will hold its first annual meeting at Pacific Lutheran
Collcge. Parkland. \Vashington. for the purpose of hearing reports.
electing officers. and transacting snch other busincss as may properly
come before it.
This call is extended. not only to those who were present at the
organization meeting August 18. 1936. and to such others as have
joined it since. but also to any member of the nine Baltic racial groups
on the Pacific Coast. They are the Danes. Esthonians, Finns. Germans.
Latvians. Lithuanians. Norwegians and Swedes.
Briefly, the Society aims to establish and maintain historical col
lections illustrative of the life and contributions of the above groups:
to gather first-hand statistical. biographical and historical information
about them; to commemorate historical events pertaining to them: and
to publish reports. from time to time. showing the results of researches
or investigations that have been carried on.
To this end the Society invites your cooperation and support and.
above all. your presence at the annual meeting April 16.
The membership fees are as follows: Voting members. $2.00 a
year: associate members. $1.00 a year: life members. $50.00. All
members joining before the annu�1l meeting April 16, will be listed as
charter members. Contributions should be sent to the Society's treasur
er, Mr. Eino S. Randall. Suite 960. Stuart building. Seatrle, \Vashing
ton.
Those who desire a fuller explanation of the scope. aims and methods of the Society should read Dr. O. �. Norlie's address. delivered
at its organization meeting. August 18, 1936.
Respectful! y. N. J. HONG. President. E. R. PFLUEGER. Secretary .
.\'OTE: Sketch of the new Lit rary Building will be found 011 pages 6 alld 7.
'I Ht PACIFIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY 01-' THE ilALT[ I'E PLES
Address deliuer"d ut I hI' orgunizal ion meet iny, Auyust II:\. 1 936.
The movement to organiz e a hislOrical society in connection with Pacific Lutheran
College W,1S first projected by Dr. O. A. Tingelstad. President of the Col lege. On
his recommendation the Board of Trustees of the College called 0, .M. Norlie t
m.lke a preliminary survey of the field and to nuke recommendations with respect to procedure. Me I orlie reponed first to the Board at its meeting on June 2+.
1936. On the basis of this report the Board passed this resolution:
. Resolued. thar the Board of Truslees encourage the formation or a
hislUricu{ society. and name a commillee to assist Dr. Norlie in whinel the
inilwl steps tOUhJ(c! stIch an orqanization.·
The committee named consisted of: Carl J. Renhard. E. R. Pflueger, f\. O. Swinehart. Alired Tunem, George Finke. P . .I, Bardon. N. J. Hong, J. U. Xavier.
O. A. Tingelstad, and M. A. Christensen.
This committee never met as a whole. A preliminary meeting was he ld shortly
afterward, with Hong, Xavier. and rJ orlie present. On July 27th the whole COI11-
millee was called in, but only Hong. Xavier. Bardon . E. R. Pflueger. Tingelstad, and
Christensen camc. [n place of Swi nehart. J. P. Pflueger. at Swinehart 's request. was �ubstituted. Mrs. M. 1\. Christenscn was also present at tbe banquet which followed
upon the afternoon 's prolonged session, As a resul t of this meeting a letter of invitation
was sent out [0 nearly 900 people. representative of the Ba[tic peoples on the Pacific
Coast. in which they were .1sked to be present at the convention today. The invita
tion was signed by:
Joergen Nielsen (Dane): Karl P. Heideman (finn); J. p, Pflueger (German);
John Arnason Johnson ([celander); N. J. Hong ( Norwegian ) ; E. Arthur Larson
(Swede); and O. M. Norlie,
On August 4th Me Norlie reported aga in to the Bo.ud oi Trustees and the
Board then resolved:
"To oUer /0 [he proposed Pucdie Historicul Society the Library of Pucific Lutheran Collcye as the depositon; ior historical maleri"I.··
History is a record of what man has done. It is one of the most important.
if not the most important . of the soc ial sciences, ft has found a pernl.lnent place in
every school s)'stem. It is one of the ten chief divisions in the Dewe)' Librar)· Classi
fiCJtion of books and one of the ten subdivisions in each minor group, [t gives
perspective and meaning to life. [t is the root and the soil out of which one generation
a fter "not her springs up and shoots upward, As in the days of Moses . so we should
remember "the days of old and consider the years of many generations." (Deut. 33 :7). t\s in the time of Christ. it is stil[ true that "\Vhosoever bath. to him shall b� given ,
and he shall have more abundance. " (wtHt. 13: 12).
" 1'0 him who IJJlh"-this applies also to Our historical heritage. Those who
have a rich historical past have a more abundant future. There were many nations
in Biblical times. but the Jews had the best histor ical record. Most oi the n ations
without a record have passed awa)' and are no marc. The Jews have J fixed place i n the world. for historic.11 .1S well a s for theo[ogical rCaSOns. The glory that WaS Greece
and Rome in times past is still of help to the Greeks and the Romans (Italians).
Africa is much over 200 times as large as Greece, and yet Greece has no doubt had
much over 200 times as much influence on the world as Africa. Greece has made and
written history, has wrillen and made history. This applies with equal force to us
in America. All the pioneer groups in me rica have m,lde history, but those who have
wrillcn their history have had the most influence,
This is especially true of the New Englanders. The), have chronicled their ex
ploits and taught them to their children. and this fact has in turn given them a morc
.1bundant life and living. They h.1Vc in consequence h,ld greater opportunities and
wider influence and prestige. far out o f proportion to their number., and their ,lChieve
ments. rrom their stoc" have come nearly ever)' president of the United States. nearly
every first-class writer or celebrity in the H.lll of Fame. Our children know their
names: in fact we all know their n,lmes. better than the gre,,, names of our own group.
It has been said-.lnd truly-that if a town has bur one New Englander. be will
eventually become the mayor of the town and in fluential in business, education. church,
society and other walks of life. I.ikely, too. th,1[ he will run for congress or the
governorship of the st,1[e. Every child in school not only knows the proud history
of his forebears. but actually gives him credit for practically all that Americ.l is and
hopes to he.
On the other hand. every school histor), i, silent about the other peoples who
have done their share to the making of this country. including the peoples from the
I"nds o f the Baltic. It is the aim of this Historic.l1 Society to wrire down the record
of thi Baltic group (or rather. these Baltic groups). \Vc arc convinced that the Baltic
peoples also have a proud record, both in their home lands and in their new homes on
J\meric,ln soil. and that this record should be made a pJrt of American history for Lhe
benefit of every school child and every Jdull. No people who has come to Amnic.l
has corne empty-handed. ThC), have brought with them brain as well .1S brawn. culture
.1S well as cash. and their historical past will help to make their present and future the
hrighter. "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have morc
.1bu ndance."
History. as it bas heen written. neglects vast arcas o f interest and. like tbe news
papers. emphasizes disproportionatel)' certJin peoples Jnd individuals and certain
e\'ents ,1nd phases of life. General history deals m,'inly with what h�s happened
Jlong ,1 line from Athens to Rome. from Rome to PMis. from Paris to l.ondon. from
I.ondon to Boston. from Boston to New York. \Var has been the chief event. king'
,lfld popes the chief heroes. And yet. other regions of the euth arc also full of im
portant history. and the accomplishments of peace arc more important than those of
war. The Baltic lands have enacted some of the most noteworthy history in the
world and their representatives in America have acquitted themselves most nobly in
their new-found land. I\mong the common people are mJny of the finest heroes.
The average Amerir.ln history h,)$ nothing to sa)' .1bout these races or about the
common man.
The Baltic element in the United States is not inconsiderable in point of numbers
either. The Germans. for example. are a Baltic race. About one-fourth of the present
popularion in the United States has German blood in their vein.'. And if we take ,111 the Baltic peoples-Norwegians. Swedes. Finns. Russians. Estonians. Latvians.
Lithuanians. Poles. Jews. Germans. Danes and Icelanders (a part of Denmark). the
sum total will make quite a respectable figure. It should be remembered thJt the census
tai-.ers do not go into racial origins far enough. The\, reckon only with the foreign
born and their children of the first generation born here. The actual number from
any country is therefore mnch larger than the government statistics allow.
If we take just the \Vest Coast. as later defined i'n the Proposed Constitution.
Jnd limit ourselves to the Baltic people on the West Coast. we shall find that the
U. S. Census for 1930 and the Canadian Census for I q � I report the following figures:
Norwegians-23 6. 3 60: Swedes-2 9'.4 76: Finns-14 3.400: Estonians-2 ,48 R; Latvians-5. 718; Lithllanians-14. I 58: Germans-I. 238.024: Danes-I 5 2. 2 � S :
Icdanders--I,5')I; LOlal-2,OYO,410. Also .1 lOlal of 1.388,516 for the Russian,
Polish and Jewish groups. Since lhese figures include only the immigrants and their
children born here, lhey can be doubled and, for some races lhat have been here longer.
even trebled. If we double the total, after excluding for the time being Russians. Poles
and Jews, we shall h,we the sum of 4,180,820 wilhin the 12 states and provinces that
we recommend as the field of the Pacific Historical Society.
The record of these Baltic peoples has not been written. The many historical
societies on this field have so fJr not been even slightly aware of the fact that the
Baltic peoples live in their midst and are making history. History. as it has been
written so far, has neglected the Baltic peoples on the \Vcst COilst as it has ignored
their presence in other parlS of Ame rica . For this reason there is room for a hislorical
society thal will try to record and interpret the contributions of these groups.
A Proposed Constitution has been drawn up to indicate what sort of a societ),
might be organized for the Baltic peoples on the Paci fic Coast, and to save time at
the organization meeting of same. This Constitution was published in the "Western
Viking" for August 14th, 1936, and prn'iousl)' also sent LO the people invited to
attend this organization convention. This Propos"d Constitlltion can be accepted as
it stanJs, but no duubt it will be subjected to modification during the process of
adoption. In the "\Vestern Viking" and in the pamphlet reprint the Constitution was
accompanied by a map of the home lands around the Baltic Sea and the present home
of the Baltic immigrants Jnd lheir descendants along the Pacific Coast. There is also
a graphic illustration in which the Pacific Hisrorical Society of the Baltic Peoples is
represented as J tree with many branches, large and small. The soil is the Pacific
Coast. The roots arc the various racial stocks-Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish. Estonian.
Latvian (Lettish), Lithuanian, German, Danish and Icelandic. The large branches on
the tree He the Blain departmenls of work that the Society should maintain. The
smaller branches are divisions of these Jepartments. The lower branches are such
l.lSks as Blust be done first. The top branch-Publications-is the final effort of the
SocielY. A lree naturally grows bigger with age and puts on added branches. maybe.
rom lime to time . So will this Society, if organized, presumably grow.
Note the provisions of the Constitution. There are seven sections designateJ by
Roman captions: I. Name; II. Aim, III. Location, IV. Membership; V. Management:
VI. Meetings ; and VII. Amendment.
As to Seclion 1. Name, it may be said. The name Pacific Historical Society has
nut, as far as we know, yet been taken by any of the historical associations now on
the field. and the addition�of the Baltic Peoples-suggested by Karl P. Heideman,
is no doubt quite unique in the historical field. The proposed name-Pacific Historical
Society of the Baltic Peoples-is \'ery descriptive, is sufficiently brief, and can be
abbreviated when necessar)'.
As to Section II .. }\im, note: The general aim is Hislory (historical interests),
but it i.� limited geographically and racially. Geographically. it is limited to the Pacific
Coast from Alaska to Californ ia. with some of the nearest adjoining states additional.
Racially. it is limited to the peoples from the Baltic states and their descendants-Nor
wegians, Swedes. Finns. Estonians, Latvians (Letts), Lithuanians, Germans , Danes
and Iceland�rs (being part of the Danish realm), with Russians, Poles and Jews at
present not included. \Vith regard to the geographical area it should be noted further
Utah and Montana He included. Utah and Western Montan:! really belong to the
strip of land west of the Rockies set off for th is historicdl field. With regard to the
racial units it should be nuted further that while Poland Jnd Russia do touch th
['..lI[i(, [ile Poles Jnd Russians ,llul �Iso [he Jews .He vcry l.Hge groups ,1IlJ IUllC), diffHcn[ from [he other Baltic peoples, su fur the time being they will be umined.
The idea \V,lS J[ iirst to t.1ke alung only the synodical groups th,ll compose the
I\merican l.u[hcr.1n Conference. This is [he organization that .It present is backing
[)Jeific Ll Hheran College. This church federation includes Germans, Danes , Norwegians
and Swedes. But since [he proposed historical society was to be in no sense a religious
society, it was easy to think of extending the Society to al l the Germans, Danes. Nor
wegians and Swedes, irrespective of synodical conn ection and irrespec tive of religion.
The Icelanders have been so closely connected with Norway and Denmark that they
were added to the fold. The Finns and Estonians have been so closely connected with
Sweden that they, too. were included. The Latvians and Lithuanians. at the sug
y,estiun of Mr. Heideman, were included. The Latvians are mainly Luther.1n in their
up-bringing, the Lithuanians mainly Roman C.ltholic, but they are closely reb ted in
blood Jnd LlIlguage and are close neighbors over there in their homelands, though few
and far between bere in their new-found land, The Russians and Poles occupy such
" tin}' part of the Baltic. shores and are so numerous over there and here that they
('1n more easil y look after their own histo rical interests, and the Jews. whose chief
home is in the Poland -Russia territory to the south and south-east of the Baltic, arc
historicall}'-minded and will look after their own history .
As to Section Ill., Location : For legal reasons it is necessary to have ., permanent
headquarters , and it is important for practical reasons to have the Society connected
with a living institution such as Pacific Lutheran College at Parkl and, 'Nash .. the
onl)' educational institution conducted by the American Lutheran Conference on the
Pacific Coas t. If the Societ}' he.ldquarters be permanently located at Parkland, surely
Pacific Lutheran College will derive advantages from such a connection. But, on the
other h and , the Society will prof it .lS well. The College will have the benefit of the
collections of the Society, but the Society will h.lYe the free use of the College buildings.
The collections will have to be J ccessioned , classified and catalogued, stored and
exhibited, cared for and made availab k tor study and research by students at school and investigators from outside, as well as the general public. Much of this work will
be done no doubt by the College personnel and, at first, at the expense of the College.
The influence on the College youth can not be overestimated. The)' will be led, like
Moses. up on some Mount Nebo to look into Promised Lands of hist orical magnifi
cence, so vast that not any of them can crOSS over and take possess ion of them .111.
['ark land is the geographic center of the field marked out for the Pacific Historical
Society. Pacific Lutheran College is a Lutheran College. and it is of importance to note
that the Lutheran Church is strongest in the Baltic lands and practically all the Bal tic
nations are predominatingl), Lutheran in their religious connections, both in their
home lands and in their emigrant offspring. The religious character of the College
will not in any way hinder the non-religious character of the Pacific H istorical Society .
The College administration has felt that as ,1n educational institution Pacific Lutheran
College owes it to its const ituency to preserve and forthtell the history of the pioneers
from rhe Baltic lands who built the College and in other ways contributed largely to
the making of the Pacitic West and the rest of the United States and Canada.
S to Section lV .. Membership: It seems wise to have several kinds of membership. The Founders of the Society will be a fixed group, It is suggested that those present at the Organization meeting shall as Founders pay $ 1 0.00 each , and also that those who join within a year shall be privileged to come in as Founders if they pa), that same fec. The Active membership fce o f $2.00 a year shall be paid by the Founders who continue .1$ members of the Societ), and ,111 others who wish to become
THE NEW UBRARY-CLASSROOAI BUILL
Associate Architects E. J. Bresemann and Heath, Goue 8' Be
Altfil!r'sch, of Decorah. Iowa. haue designed this beautiful hw1din
The estimated ultimate cost is $104,000; minimum cost for imme
the first story walls and the two floors), $15.000.
This is the fireproof building that has been designated as th
t orical Societ y of thf! Baltic Peoples.
Ground -breaking ceremonies are scheduled for the (lFternoc
all, in part icular to t he donors, whose generosit y made this build
--Courtesy Tacoma l.edger
NG AT PACfFJC LUTHERAN COLLEGE
r. of Tacoma. \Vashington. in consultation with Architect Charles
, which will be the gift of Tacoma and Pierce County citizens.
liMe usc. $7,9,000; estimated cost of the hrst unit (consisting of
depository for historical materials gathered by the Pacific His-
, of Friday. April 30. [937. A cordial invitation is extended to
')9 possible.
A tiv� I11t'IUbcL'S. Such pl'fSon .... bCCOI1H' t\clivl' members upon p,1ynH'llt of lhl' fl'l' uf
$2.00. This Anive membership can and should be made brgc .lnd influential. ,\sso
(iat" members, at $1.00 per head, will presunLlbly be a large group. Life member
ship, at $50.00 payable at one time or within a year. should make .lll appeal tll man)'.
Some few might want to become Patron members. wbo through their larger donations
might endow the Society and extend its usefulness in some direction or other. The
orresponding members should not pay any fees. They would acquaint this Society
with the work of other similar organizations .1I1d help bring about better understanding
and division of labor among the societies. Honorary memberships should be granted
only to those whose records warrant it. It is sincerely (0 be hoped th.ll every member
will, like Andrew and Philip, bring a brother or a friend .110ng to sec wh.1t the Societ y
IS and can do. It is also to be desired that every member become a colkctor, J re
sCHcher . . 1 supporter and a publicity booster for the Society.
As (0 Section V .. Management, note: The Officers of tbe Society with their
dmies are the usual ones. The chief exception is the Vice Presidency. Provision IS
made for mOre than one Vice President and for double duty in that office. There IS
to be one Vice President for each State or Province of the field and one Vice President
for each Racial Group in the Society. The Vice President representing \Vashington
shall be First Vice President and shall become the successor of the President in case of
\,ac.lncy In that office between Annual Meetings. The extra duty of the Vice Presi
dents shall be that of superintending the work in tbe particuiJr State or Pro\'ince or
.1I11Ong the particular Racial Groups they represent. Thus, the Vice President from
Alaska shall direct the historical collecting and researching in Alaska, shall nuke a
bibliography of material on Alaska (possibly), and shall keep the Committees in
formed on men and problems touching t\laska. He will be interested in all the Baltic
peoples in Alaska. On the other hand, the Vice President representing the Germans.
for example, will be interested in the Germans in Alaska and in all the rest of the
field. British Columbia, \Vashington, Oregon, California. etc. He will not be limited
to the State in which he happens to live. He is to direct the collecting and re
searching among the Germans. possibly make a bibliography of material about this
group, and keep the Committee informed about Germans and their problems. Each
Vice President should prepare an r\nnual Report to be sent to the President of the
Society. The Board of Directors, consisting of the President, Secretary and T-reasurer
of the Society, together with three additional members elected by the Society. wonld
have the usual duties of taking care of the lllanagement of the Society between Annu.rl
Meetings, acting as Trustees of its properties. making necessary appointments, filling
vacancies and the like. A Standing Committee of three for each Special Department
of work--Sources, Research. Support, Publicity, Incentives, Memorials and Publica
tions-will add much to the working eificiency of the Society. The membersbip of the
Committees should be chosen as far as possible with regard to special aptitude and
interests. The idea is also to distribute the offices with regard to geographical and
racial interests so th t the Socicry may trul), represent the Slates and Provinces in
question and the Racial Groups throughout the field. Each Committee will eventuall),
need expert help. to be appointed by the Board of Trustees upon their recommendation.
As to Section VI. Meetings. three classes are provided for: One Annual ;'vIeeting.
to be held in February of each year; Special ivleetings, as man)' as are needed or
warranted; Local l\1eetiogs of social and historical character, in many places and fre
quently. The purpose of the Local programs shall be to create local understanding
and support, thar of the other Meetings is to review the work and to direct it into the
right channels.
As (0 e(liOIl VII. I\menomcllls: Provisiun is mao. (or ch.lI1gill� lb< unl(ilu·
(ion in 3 cMeful and proper manner. if found necessary.
i\ few comments rna)' be added on the Proposed Dep.Htments uf \Vork: A.
Sources: B. Research : C. Support : D. Publicity: E. Incenrives : F. MemoriJls : G. Pub·
I ic.ltion.
As to 1\. Sources : Collections should be made of all sorts of material illustr"tivc
of the life of these groups. This material CJn be convenienrly grouped into (our
classes: LibrJry. Archives. Art Callery Jnd Museum. Each member of the Society
should Jt once oonate something to each of these four Source Departments. Jnd each
one should also start to collect such source material and send it to the I.ibrari,\n·
urator at PJcific Lutheran College. assuming that such a one will be duly JPpointed.
What sort of library material is wanted I Anything and everything. The Bibles and
other devotional books that the immigrants brought with them when they came. for
example. Their school books and other books. The school books they nsed here in
the early days and since. The papers they kept. County and state histories are important books to gather. City and telephone directories. old and new. Books of
every sort. Especially unbound books. pamphlets . tracts . catalogs , programs. an
nouncements , reports. These are very ephemeral and fugitive and hard to secure.
Annual reports of churches. institutions. counties . societies. almanacs of every de
scription. soon get lost, btl[ many an "ttic if se:ltched may give yield to some of them,
doubly precious because of age and scarcity. All these should be sent to the L ibrary .
And papers-secular. religious. reform, cultural. polit ical. etc.-. and annuals. quar
terlies. weeklies. dailies-. all such Jre excellent sources and should be gathered. Time
alone can estimate their importance. The)' should be properl y recorded . classified.
cJlalogued and placed in the Library. Each racial group should have its own collections
in a separate place. >nd it remains then to be seen which group is most productive and
lIlost active in building up these collections.
In (h,' same way the Archives should be built up. They should cumain letters.
deeds and other legal documents. record books and minutes of congregations, societies.
institutions and business firms. and other items depicting in handwriting and original
entry the life of tbese peoples.
The Art Gallery should contain the works of art which these people have owned
and made and enjoyed. These would include the pictures. drawings, p"intings.
sculpture. decoration. design. eng raving. pen art . art needlework. a nistic designs. musical
instrumelHs, art in useful arts. equipment for amusements such as dramatic art. photo
graphy. movie, games of skill and chance, games of sport , gy mnastics. athletics. etc .
The Photograph collection should have pictures of C I'erybody within the group. each
picture being properly named. dated and located. with number on the back to corre
spond to card index and classification. filed .1 way for use.
The Museum should contain specimens, properly classified and L\beled. of c\'ery
rluse oi life-in the home. on the farm. in the mine and the II1Mt, in the factory,
in the school, church, on land and on sea. Each one should begin right now to send
in such articles. There is no lurm in getting duplicates of historical material. As
time goes on, the staff un pl.ln what to get and go out and get it at "n I' price. but
until thac happy day the thing to do is to get each one to be J collector. and to
receive with tha nks whatevcr is offered. That it is possible to get much valuable
1II.Heridl just for the asking was shown this summer when Mr. Theodore Nelsson and
I made a trip covering 720 miles. 'J..!e made ten stops. We asked for things for the
PJcific Historical Society that was to be. \Vc got a rcady response. The auto w;\s
loaded w i t h books a n d papers of g reat v a l u e . loaded to capac i t )· , on our ret u rn , No
o n ,· refused to g i v e , when asked. [ ,'cry o n e was e n t h u siastic abo u t the idea of h a v i n g
a ce n t r; li collec t i o n .
As to B . Resea rch : Before Histor)" c a n b e p roperl)' w r i n e n a g r e a t d e a l of material
should be gat herrd in the form of Stat ist ic s a n d B i o g ra p h y . o t herwise t he History m a y
J a c k t he proper fact u : 1i bac kgro u n d . A m o n g t h e statist ical rcsruches-to m e n t ion
o n l )' a few t h at should he and co ul d be un derta ken-.He : I . I m m igrat io n : 2 . Distr i h u
t i on : 3 . I :a m i l y L i fe : 4. Homes : 5 . Occupa t ions : 6 . L a n g u age : 7 . R e l i g io n : 8 . E d
ucation : 9 . Charit ies : 1 0 . M i ss io ns : I I . Cit izens hip : 1 2 . Po l i t i cs : 1 3 . \Var : 1 4 .
C ri m e : 1 5 . Pauperism : 1 6 . I n ven t ion s ; 1 7 . Sc i e nce : 1 8 . A rt : 1 9 , P.lpers : 2 0 . Boo k s :
2 1 . A m usemen t s : 2 2 . Soc iet i es : 2 3 . \Vea l t h ; 2 4 . Dates : 2 5 . Places : etc. These
p o i n t ., should be st udied for each racial group and for each st a t e or province . ;\ Iso
for each ye,H and decade and period. I\ l so from other points o f view. Of c o u rse .
each of these o n be m u c h s u bd i vided , a n d many m i n or problems can be i n v est igated
t at ist ica l l y a n d ot herw ise. Then. as to B iographical reseMches. a n u m h er o f herculean
t asks " w a i t the Soc ie t y . As, for in sta nce : I . Na m e l is t s from phone books, city di rec
t o ries, c h u rch registers, school e n ro l m ents, soci e t y membersh i p s , census e n u merat i o n s ,
t ,l X l i s t s , p i oneer h is t o r ies , state histories, c o u n t y h istor ies, t o w n h isto ries, congrega
t i onal h istories. court di rectories. c h u rc h an n u a l reports. n e wspaper files, obit u a ries,
fa m i l y h istories, fa m i l )' t rees. n a t u ra l ization records, army and navy l is t s . passenger
l i sts , land o f fices, homestead gr,l n t s , records of ma r ri ages , births. dea t h s , b u r ia ls , i n
heritance t,lX l is ts , p robate court , a u t o l icenses, cou n t y records. d i rectories o f teachers.
preachers. l a w y e rs , doctors, et c . . hospital ,l n d asyl u m records. poor house records,
c l i n ic.)1 l i st s . college a l u m n i l i s ts . m i nisterial b o o k s , cemetery hooks , gravestones. mon
u m e n t s , genealogical wciet ies. h i storical societies. persu n a l biographies, e t c . : 2 . Di,1[ i (' s : ) . Note Books : 4 . Acco u n t: B o o k s : 5 . Sc r,lp Books : 6 . Me m o ra b i l i a : 7 . M e m o irs : 8 . Travels : 2. /\ dven t u res ; 1 0 , A u tobiogra phy : I I . B iogra ph y : 1 2 . Gen
ealogy : 1 3 . C r i t iq u es : 1 4 . Let ters : 1 5 . Photos : 1 6 . Pai n t i ngs : 1 7. O b i t ll,Hies ; 1 8 . M e m o rial Addresses : 1 9 . B i o g r a p h ies in Papers : 2 0 . Biographies in Histo ries : 2 1 . Biograph ies i n Who' s Whos : 2 2 . B iogr,l phies i n Cyclopedias ; 2 3 . A n a lyses o f Who ' ,
\Vhos : 2 4 . Dates ; 2 5 . Celebrit ies ; etc . Each of t hese i tems should b e stu died fro m
several ,l ng les. as : The angle of race. or state or province, year or period, occ u p a t ion o r
s o m e o t h e r feature. I n fo r m a t ion should b e gat hered h y i n form a t io n blan ks, h y p e r
son a l vis i tat ions , and b y a utowri t i n g , a s w e l l as by sear c h i n g through the prin ted
records. Obitua ries , for e x a m p l e , should be g a t hered from every ne wspaper and sho u l d
h e c a r d catalogued. It w o u l d be a f ine t h i n g i f every obi·ttlary co u ld be cl ipped o r
copied ,w d pasted on ,1 c a r d a n d fi led a w a y . The i n for m a t io n in .111 the \V ho's \V hos
., hun dred sorts of t hem-sho u l d be gathered i n one place. B u t each one should send
i n his own biog raphy and photo a t once a n d gather biographica l m a terial o f h i s
f a m i l y a s fa r b,lck and ," f a r out a s poss i ble . Ha ving done t h i s , h e could hel p a l o n g
w i t h t h a t of his n e i g hbors o r some g r o u p in w h i c h he is spec i a l l y in terested. \Ve should make spec i a l \V ho's Whos for each group in the Soci ety . for each state , each
occupa t i o n , each race . and so on. with many m o re e x tended biograph ies about cert.l i n
persons a n d m a n y a u t obiographies a n d reco l l e c t i o n s . \\le should bu ild up fa m il y
t rees J n d secure j ud i c i o u s c r i t iques. There should he photos a n d p i c t u res of c.Jcb
p e r.so n , pla ce. house, fa m i l y , i n s t i t u t io n , even t , i n connection with the biograph ical
i n io r m a t i o n . With regard to History i t se l f , which is t he story of men wor k i n g t o
gether. t h a t . too, h a s m a n )' chapters. each o f which h ,lS Jlla n y d i visions. A m o n g t h e
Hi.sto ried topics t h a t should he i n l'est i ga t ed are : I . I m m i g rati on : 2 . Settlemen ts : 3 . Pioneer L i fe : 4 . Con tacts w i t h t h e NaL ives : 5 . Contacts with t he Neighhors : 6 .
i\ mnicani'l.lt ion : 7. Occu pations : 8 . Churc hes : 9 . S<l1001s : 1 0 . Charit ies : 1 1 . Mis
s ions : 1 2 . Polit ics : 1 3 . \Va r ; 1 -\ . Crime : 1 5 . Invent ions ; 1 6 . Science ; 1 7 . Art ; 1 8 . L itera t u re ; 1 9 . The \Ves t ; 20 . Historical Cyc lopedia ; 2 1 . Historical Fiction ; 2 2 . E p i c Poetry ; 2 3 . True Stories ; 2 4 . Historical Dramas ; 2 5 . Historical Odes ; etc. Each of these topics can be s ubdivided. Thus : Occupations. as class ified by the U. S .
Census , fal ls into ten major classes and these again into m.1ny smal ler classes ; 1 . Agric u l
t u re ; 2 . r:orestry and Fishing ; 3 . M i n in g ; 4 . Transportation and Communication ;
5 . Man ufact ur ing and Mechanical Pursui ts ; 6. B u siness and Banking ; 7. Pu blic
Serv ice ; 8. Professional Service ; <,). Domestic Service ; 1 0 . Clerical Service. Profes
sional Service is subd i v ided into the Ministry, Law, Medicine , Teaching . Engineerin g ,
a nd m a n y others. Ali these historical studies should be written from v a r i o u s points
of view. such as ; Race. State or Province. Period, etc . They sho uld al l be based on
fact ua l backgrounds, and so facts have to be gathered first . f oacts have to be gathered.
t'1bula ted, analyzed. compa red , graphed, mapped. a rranged in chronological and geo
graphic.al order and explained before they can properl y become part and parcel of the
H istory of t he B a l t ic Peoples of the Paci fic Coast. Colorado is said to have 26 mounta in peaks h igher than Pike 's Pea k . but they arc un known to the average man.
Among the Baltic peoples there arc perhaps 2 6 Pea ks higher than some Pike 's Peak
now fea t u red. Let us find the facts f irs t . even though now t h e y may be u n known
n ' e n to the American historians themsdves.
As to C. S upport : The Com mittee in charge sho u ld secure advantageo us co
operat ion with the other historical societies, the historical departments a t schools and
elsewhere, and individual historians, and sho u l d gain necessary financial support from
wealthy friends o f the cause and from endowment agencies. Here also the average
member of the Society can be of service.
t\s to D. P ublicity : It should be possible for the P u b l icit y Committee to organ i7.e
smaller u n its and to p u t on historical programs in many places and not too infrequent ly .
M a n y a l it t le ma kes a mickle. Small notices in the papers and over rad io and i n
announcements here and there will make the best sort o f advertis ing f o r the Societ y .
As to E. I ncen t ives : T h e idea i s , that t here shall b e an annual historical scholar
ship, s.), of $ 1 0 0 . 0 0 , to be ,l\vardcd to some student a t Pacific Lutheran College.
This wil l be an investment that i n the f u t u re may bring heavy ret u rns. Furthermore.
the Society should award pr izes for the best researches carried through during the year
by mem bers of the Societ y . Say , a $ 5 0 . 0 0 first prize ; a $ 3 5 . 0 0 second pri7.e, awarded
annual ly . Perhaps, in t ime. the Society can think of other prizes. as to high school
5 t udents . . 1Ild other incen tives, such as, st ipends.
As t o F. Memorials : It will be necessary to catalog (nnts as to t ime :\1ld place.
and to sdeet the most memorable ones and secure means for preserving and marking
them. There are places that sho uld have wide recognition. that should h.we mon uments
and markers erected over them. There are anniversaries that should have wide cel e ·
brat ion. T h e obituary records of departed members o f t he Society a n d o f historical
celebrities in this field must be kept track of by this Committee.
As t o G. Publ icat ion : The Publ icat ion Committee wil l issu e an Annual Report ,
at least that m uch each year. This Report should contain the M i n u tes and at least
a digest of the Reports of the Officers, Directors and Committees and Appointees. A lso
a Roster of the Members . It ma)' contain other material , at the discretion of the
Publ icat ion Committee or by vote o f the Societ y . As soon as possible the Committee
should publ ish an official Magazine. From t i m e to t ime, it should also p u blish
Prints and Reprints of historical material w ithin its domain . and notJble s l udies from
the hands of the researchers, deal ing w i t h l i m ited fields or with the West as a whole.
The Board of D i rectors would be a check financial ly on every p u bl ica t ion Hnlurc .
A s t o other c o m m i ttees that m i g h t be elected from time to t i me , their n u mber IS
legion. Mention here may be m ade, by way of i l l ustration, o f a Com m i t tee on
M embership . I n ever)' project ment ioned it is poss ible for t he individual me mber to
hel p or to h i nder the work of the Societ),. So each om m u st consider h i m sel f J Co m
m i ttee of one t o help . T h e Society i s p l a n ned i n such a wa)' t h a t every member c a n
a n d should do something a l l t h e t i m e a n d every m e m ber c a n a n d s h o u l d get some
re t u rn s a l l the t i me , i f he wants t o . Here is hoping that he w i l l w a n t to .
Societ ies , such as this, a rc voluntary assoc iat ions . They a rc helping agene ie.,.
M uch of t h e progress of the worl d . in every d i rect ion, is due to t h e m . From 1 4 5 6
to 1 7 1 0 , a period of 2 5 4 ),ears , there was a great int erest i n Bible transla t i n g , and
the B i ble , in whole o r i n part , was t ransbted i n t o 6 4 la ngua ges , that is, one new
translat ion for every e ight years. S ince 1 7 1 0 ( 2 2 6 years) , there has been Jess i n terest
in B i b l e tran sla t i n g , but the Bible has been translated. in w hole or in part . into a
thousand lan guages, at least four a year. More than ten new t ra nslat ions appe a r ' every
yea r now. Before 1 7 1 Q there were no Bible societies. In 1 7 1 0 the Canstc in B i ble
Institute was organized and, somewhat later, several Bible societ ies . I t i s the B i ble
societ ies t h a t have promoted t he transl a t i n g o f the Bible into the tongues o f the e a rt h .
I n t h e s a m e w a y H istory h a s been p ro mo ted by H istorical soc iet ies . A l l beg i n n i n gs
a re s m a l l and d i fficll i t . The United States a t first had a t i n y beg i n n i n g . The m i ghty
oak started fro m a small acorn. The Pacific H istorical Society o f t he Baltic Peoples.
fro m the h u m ble sUrt today , should grow u p to be somet h ing big and b l essed. Mal'
it enrich the l ives of t he B " l t i c peoples " n d e n rich t he c u l t u re a n d happiness of their
neigh bors as wel l . \Ve believe t ha t i t is w i se to " reme mber the days of old. t o co n
sider t h e yea rs o f miln)' generat ions. "
O . M . NORI . I E .
T H E NORTH PACIFIC D I STRICT L UTHER L EAGUE ONV E NT I ON
The L uther League of the local congregation a t Parkland. Trini ty L u t h e ra n
Church, w i l l be h o s t this s p r i n g to the N o r t h Pac.ific District Young P e o p l e s L u ther
League Convent i o n , N. L. C. A . Dates definite l ), set for the conve ntio n will be April
} Q , Ma y I . 2. The theme will be. " C hrist Ollr L i fe , " John 1 4 : 6 .
The speakers for t he convention will be ,
u t he r Theologica l Seminary, St. Pa u l . Mi nnesota ;
Secretary of the Yo ung People's L u th e r L eagues.
i n g wch' a ble speakers.
D r . T . F. G u l l i xson . President of
"nd Dr. N . M . Y l v i )J ker , Execll t ive
\Ve fee l i n deed fo rtll n a t e i n obta i n -
I n connec t i o n w i t h t h i s conve n t i o n a Choral Union Concert w i l l b e g i v e n . con ·
s ist ing of nll mbcrs by several s ingl e and joint choirs w i thin the Dist rict . as well a s
n u m bers by the combined D i s t r i c t C h o r a l Union under the d i rect ion of Prof. Joseph
Ed wards o f Pacific L ut heran Col lege.
\Ve cord i a l l y i n v i t e a l l Young Peop le ' s or a n iza l ions within our District to send
represen t a t ives t o this convent ion . We feel that it is not only an excellent opport u n it y
to attend a great conven tion, but also a n opport unity to become bet ter acq u a i nt ed
with your Pac ific Lutheran College. which has pro mi sed us such loya l coopera t ion a nd
help. Pray for God's blessing upon ollr D i s t r i c t Conve n r i o n .
S i ncerel y YOllrs .
AL V I G . L E W I S .