St Olaf College - Viking Yearbook (Northfield, MN)

Page 28 text:

bY QYCY . wh. hu' xii WY' . ld. - ' . - , Xglvx O . XX O 'Qi bxxurg Q NSYE' sm iiwsmw- Tins. Hmm xkr- A L amine ' ' 'QQ Llen' A . r. Umm' xir Y.nsfUOm.'. Ultima D Q' X-1, -Q tYQw.- BAJXX TUX Yfon MUSIC DEPARTMENT Atwavs REvE.sL1xo the same maiestic unhurriedness so characteristic of really great men. r. E. Melius Christiansen liv ed in his dailv. ordinarv world but not of it! Most of the t d s u ents saw little of him. except during church. or chapel. or coffee-hour. and perhaps during a trembling try-out or two. He spent most of his spare time at his home, com- posing anthems. Brimful of life and energy. Prof. Oscar Overby directed the St. Olaf Church Choir and a childrens choir at St. Iohn's Church. taught several classes in the music depart- ment. and served as pianist very often at the daily chapel services. sometimes directing the group in song services. His big joy this year was the completion of his new modernistic home, built on the eastern edge of Norwav Valley. Students enjoyed working under Mrs. Esther Erhardt XVoll. a sympathetic teacher of piano. She laughingly said that she had realized the ambition of her childhood: to be a 'big' woman. and own a black velv t ff ' d ' ' ' plume. e gown an a merry widow hat with a large white Mr. Carl Abrahamson taught piano and was especially interested in developing the organ department. He does painting and drawing as a hobby. I. Arndt Bergh had little spare time this year as he conducted the band. taught theory. gave private instrument lessons. directed the Northfield Male Chorus and worked on his MA. degree at the University of Minnesota. Miss Beatrice Lien. recognized as a real friend by her students. directed the St. Olaf Orchestra again this year. At the age of nineteen. she went impulsively to Leipzig, alone. to study violin. Her hobby. she said. was cats. or anything with four legs! XVith her rich personality and voice. Miss Ella Hiertaas continued to encourage her students to greater efforts. Her great delight was her new home. with its beautiful setting and unique wood carvings on the exterior. Of special interest was a chair which she called Platinum. made of soft wool from a sheep raised on a farm in Xorway. Mrs. Overby's beautiful and tender love for people showed itself as well in her teaching as in her rendition of Beautiful Saviour and The Cradle Song. Her motherly radiance was a part of her. since besides her teaching. she managed a family of four. Gentleminlv Mr Xdolph Engstrom show d k dl . 1 - .. - g 'e a 'in y and friendly interest in his students. as he quietly but thoroughly gave them vocal instructions. Though instructing for only part of the week. Miss Skurdalsvold used her rich con- tralto voice to good advantage in diligently training her students.

Page 27 text:

V i v l l 1 L X ff! ' I 'ff , J affix , eeee 4 c Reign mom S d f! ,fd W Qiff Sac' rfv is ' r ' ?n9' A l TIJE sr. OLAF FACULTY, sixty-Hve distinct personalities, fully yi . 'ustihed the classical advice to freshmen, Choose the Q - acher, not the subject! Their very presence at this church any s ool indicated a desire to serve motivated by something 4' fa greater than earthly recompenseg and besides imparting l n ledge and training, many won students to Christ by t eir positive, practical witnessing. Living ordinary, great li es, heir contribution to the family was as invaluable in xt -curricular activities as in their regular instructing utr sg nd it is this seldom-publicized side of their per- s na 'ties thatyis emphasized in these sketches.

Page 29 text:

Mr . Lfikenswtll -Ns Jfd , Ur P1 ' Sul. . son. A'11.x.x Solum D , r. Spohn i Mfg A A' 1C'Ver ENGLISH DEPARTMENT PROFESSOR GEORGE WEIDA SPOHN, head of the English department and better known as Pop,' Spohn, conducted his classes affectionately, called his students children and addressed them by their first names. Eager to share his ideas, he led classroom discussions on many thought problems. He has a hobby of having hobbies, owning collections of pipes and lead pencils and possessing a large library. This year his greatest interest has been in taking care of his twin grandsons, George and Iohn. Familiar to the students, too, are his beautiful cocker spaniels, Buff, Rummy, Tony and Tally. One of his favorite pastimes was writing poetry, and he set aside every Saturday night and any other night after twelve o'clock for this purpose. Mrs. Marie Meyer won respect by treating her students as intellectual equals, and with her excellent sense of humor, put sparkle into the deadest English prose. Extremely versatile in interests and talents, she is a lane example of a real Nordic arts person. Besides doing line sewing and embroidery, she became known to many in the northwest as Marie Rasmusdatterf the radio-sharer of excellent recipes. A consistent worker, she spends even her summers teaching. Possessing a culture that is genuine because it is a part of her whole personality, Miss Nora Solum conducted a teaching experiment with her freshman class, to show them how to earn their heritage of culture. Doing all her work conscientiously and pains- takingly, she had published an exquisite translation of O. E. Rolvaag's S'Boat of Longingf' and was co-author with Prof. Iorgenson of Rolvaag's biography. Pickled peppers are her specialty for guests, and capers are always to be found on her kitchen shelf. Dr. Arthur Paulson, associate professor, was always willing to learn from the students, and by appearing radical, shocked them into some real thinking. He became a man of property recently and started the building of a new home. Having the courage to carry out original ideas, he enjoyed life immensely. Last fall, Mr. Hjalmar Lokensgaard and his bride moved into a little third-story apartment which they named Attica and have since shown St. Olaf people the real delight of simple living. He is interested in philology and phonetics and plans to start such a course next year. His students were stimulated especially by his class in World Literature. Miss Mary Aasgaard and Miss Stielow each taught a class in Freshman English and challenged their students to mature thinking.