SANGERFEST AT ALBION

aka Woodstock West

(Reprinted in Mindeblade from The Saint James Journal, June 1904)

The Samhold Norwegian Lutheran Singers' Union held its annual meeting at Hans Shellum's beautiful grove on Sunday, June 26, as announced in the last issue of the St. James Journal. Many anxious hearts there were in the neighborhood on Saturday forenoon, on account of the drizzling rain from daybreak till 9 o'clock a. m.

It seemed then that all preparations had been in vain. The roads were muddy, the skies clouded and hopes were ebbing low. The outlook was very discouraging. Towards noon, however, it cleared up somewhat, and every singer and all the singers' friends began to take heart, saying, "Perhaps we shall succeed at last, anyway."

And success the Samhold had as it never had in all its existence before. A more ideal day for such a gathering could never be expected. There was no dust and no mud, no wind or threatening clouds. The weather could not have been more favorable. The morning dawned as bright as a polished kettle in a well kept kitchen, and the whole day continued to be as serene as a June day among the mountains of Norway. And when evening came the moon "unveiled her peerless light and o'er the dark her silver mantle threw," in order that those who had come from a distance of fifteen or twenty miles might return home in safety.

At ten o'clock in the forenoon teams from St. James, Long Lake, Odin, Butterfield,, Madelia, Lake Hanska, Rosendale and other neighborhoods began to pour thick and fast into Mr. Shellum's yard. The number of. rigs was estimated at three hundred and fifty or four hundred, and nearly 2,000 people were in attendance.

The Albion people had spared no pains to have everything in readiness for the accommodation of the singers and guests, and when the Albion people undertake a thing, they do it thoroughly. A part of the pasture and the adjoining woods was reserved for the purpose of putting the horses in the shade, and chains were extended for forty rods in order to facilitate the hitching. Mr. Mork was selected as superintendent of the "proper installment of the host of horses," and he had a busy time of it.

A raised platform had been erected in the middle of the grove for the singers, and a smaller platform in front of it to accommodate the speakers and the single choirs when they rendered anything separately. Benches with a total seating capacity of seven hundred and fifty were put up in a half-circle about the two platforms. Mr. A. A. Shellum (oldest brother of Hans Shellum), lately back from the Pacific coast, had spent more than a week at this work, and many of the boys helped him to put the grounds in grand shape, and every one who saw it praised the excellence of the work.

Members of the congregation furnished dinner and refreshments for all the singers and their friends, as well as lodgings for all those who wished to stay till the next day.

          Saturday afternoon ten teams met singers at St. James and Sleepy Eye and took them out to their respective lodging places. The singers at the Sunday gathering numbered about one hundred and sixty.

The religious singing festival was opened with prayer by Rev. J. Mathieson, of St. James, and a speech by Rev. 0. C. Myhre, of Windom. The speaker chose for his theme Psalm 45:18, and in a scholarly and eloquent manner he explained the reasons why we should praise the name of the Lord, and the different manners in which we can do this. But the most appropriate way is to sing the praises of the Lord, for that is even the manner of the angels and the heavenly hosts.This was the devotional part of the program.

Rev. L. P. Thorkveen, president of the Samholds Union and minister of the Albion church, spoke a few words of welcome on behalf of his congregation, and mentioned how the invitation to this musical festival was brought about. After a service in the church he asked if the congregation would invite Samhold to come here in June. Scarcely had the sound died from his lips before it was moved and unanimously carried that the choir should send an invitation and the whole congregation would stand solidly for the entertainment. This, the pastor said, proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that the church choirs and singers there assembled were welcome even before they put in their appearance, and now that they actually had put in an appearance they were certainly all the. more welcome.

The church choir, consisting of thirty-three voices, sang an appropriate song of welcome written especially for the occasion by Pastor Thorkveen, and neatly printed in souvenir form by the artists and linguists of the St. James Journal staff. The leaflet on which the songs were printed was prettily ornamented with hand-made decorations, and were distributed among the singers as tokens of remembrance from the Albion church choir. The words of the song are as follows:

  Velkomstsang.

   Velkommen til vort Stevne

I Nabo-Sangerkor!

    Vi gjerne efter Evne

I Handling som i Ord

    Vil vise at vi skatter

Det som en Høitidsfest,

    Naar nu vor Samhold atter

Her være vil vor Gjæst,

    Cho.-Velkommen til vort Stevne

    I Nabo-Sangerkor

    Nu syng med Lyst

    Fra glade Bryst

    Om Herrens Naade stor.

    Det er et ædelt Virke

Blandt Kristenhedens Folk

    I Hjem saavelsom Kirke.

At bruge Sang som Tolk

    For Troen, som vi haver,

For Haabet, som vi bær',

    For Naadens store Gaver,

Som vi blir skjænket her.

Som Søskendlag vi møder

Med fælles Sangerarv,

   Og af Begeistring gløder,

Fordi det blev vor Tarv

   Igjennem Livets Yrke

At kunne nytte ud

   Det Vælde Sjælestyrke

   Som Sangen sender ud.

   En Velkomstkrans skal flettes

   For denne Sammenkomst,

   Og i den bør der sættes

   En liden. Mindeblomst

   Om Stiftelsen, som sked

   Her hin Septemberdag,

   Da Samholds Ungdomskjæde

   Først heiste Sangerflag.

Rev. G. 0. Skaret, of Lake Hanska, responded to the speech and song of welcome in an appropriate manner. He said that the fine weather and the beauties of nature around us, and last, but not least, the hearty word of welcome, had cheered up every one and created a festive spirit in the minds of all in the great assemblage.

The Windom choir then sang a fine selection, and showed that it contained some splendid voices and that all had prepared carefully for the occasion.

The president, Rev. L. P. Thorkveen, then read his message, in which he emphasized the fact that the Lutheran church has in its solemn hymns and sacred songs an indispensable treasure, and that we are in duty bound to take care of and preserve this inestimable heritage.

After the reading the St. James male octette sang a song of praise in a masterly manner, and as the notes died away the dinner recess was announced.

That a great many well-filled baskets were in evidence can be easily understood when we say that eight boilers of coffee had to be cooked in order to quench the thirst of the multitude at the impromptu dinner, at which time tables were spread in the shade on the grass.

After dinner, song after song in succession. The grand chorus consisting of all the choirs, about 160 voices, sang seven selections in grand volume and delightful harmony.

At the close, the director complimented the singers highly on the patience and enthusiasm displayed by all in working to make the Sangerfest a success, and in conclusion said that never had the grand chorus of Samhold sung better or been in better voice than on this occasion, and that the other choirs were entitled to similar commendation. All had selected beautiful songs, and rendered them faultlessly.

The program comprised: St. James church choir, two songs; St. James male octette, three; Windom choir, one; Windom and Madelia choirs jointly, one; Rosendale choir, two; Lake Hanska choir, two; St. Olaf, Odin, choir, two; Long Lake choir, one; Albion, three; Albion, Lake Hanska and St. Olaf, one song.

The treasurer reported that he had in cash $159.53, after having paid out $50.00 for music gotten up and printed expressly for the occasion. No collection was taken up to swell this surplus, as it was thought fit to be more than sufficient for a good while yet.

The following executive committee was elected:

President, Rev. L. P. Thorkveen; vice president, Geo. F. Lee; secretary, Rev. 0. C. Myhre; treasurer, Louis Olson; musical director, L. P. Thorkveen; musical committee, Revs. Jens Mathieson, and L. P. Thorkveen and Mr. H. 0. Moen.

One of the remarkable prairie preachers of his day, the Rev. Lars P. Thorkveen was a driving force in his community and a close friend of the Shellum family. Born in Lom, Thorkveen emigrated in 1880,  graduated from Luther College in 1885, and accepted five pastorates in Watonwan and Brown counties in 1888. From his home in St. James, he typically rode his horse-drawn buggy to the Shellum homestead on Saturdays, stayed overnight, then preached the next morning at Albion Lutheran Church across the road. A founder of the first club for descendants of Norwegian immigrants, the Gudbrandsdalslaget, he was knighted by Norway's King Haakon VII in 1912. On the day of his funeral the city of  St. James all but shut down to pay its respects. This monument stands in front of the Albion church.

Historical records show that the Shellums and other pioneer settlers began talking about building a church in 1871, but that the grasshopper plague put those plans on the shelf.  The first church finally was built in 1885, but burned when struck  by lightning on May 20, 1908. The second church, shown at the left, was built in its place. The photo below shows the church as it is today, flanked on three sides by the graves of Norwegian immigrants and their descendants. There are, of course, non-Norwegians buried there as well. According to church records, there were 152 members in the first congregation, four of whom were Swedes. By 1914, the congregation had grown to 579 members, three of  whom were Swedes.

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