|
On Thursday the planning committee met and started to partition tasks and things we need to do leading up to the tour. Later in August, we'll also be posting "volunteer opportunities" for those who would like to help on the day of the tour. We will need docents, greeters, people to setup and take down chairs in the cemetery, help with the light lunch etc. After Labor day we'll be taking reservations for the flights.
We are having a "fireman's" night, Wednesday August 21st at 6:30 in the church. If you have stories, pictures or information on the early Scandia fire department (or Floyd Sandgren or Harry Onsager specifically) please come and share your information! One thing we can really use are pictures of the saints... As kids, at play, family, adult, working etc. We'd prefer digital pictures but if you want to drop some off in the "saints" filebox in the church office, we'll either use them in the fellowship hall display on the day of the tour or scan them and print them out. Please put your name, contact info etc on the back so we can get them back to you. We've been working throughout the summer arranging actors to portray the saints... Here's the final list
Saint Lived Portrayed by Wayne Erickson 1937 - 1992 Dan Schuldt AB Walfrid 19?? - 1977 Jim Walfrid Floyd Sandgren 1910 - 1992 Don Sandgren Harry Onsager 1907 - 1974 Dean Sjoquist Selma Lindgren 1902 - 1988 Suzanne Lindgren Nathan Lindgren 1898 - 1998 Matt Damman Doris Booren 1915 - 1985 Carissa Brown Jean Miller 1929 - 2016 Kathy Korus Peter Magnus Nelson 1834 - 1924 Jim Norman Isaac Nelson* 1889 - 1918 yet to be named... *We may just have his father (Peter above) tell about his life. Now we're turning our attention towards preparing for the tour day on September 15th. The tour will have ten flights of visitors. The first flight will depart around 11:00. There will be approximately 15 visitors in each flight. We will open reservations on September 3rd. Information on making reservations will be posted here. You can also call the church office (651 433-2723) for more information on how to register. Flights will depart from the fellowship hall. As visitors wait or return from their flight a light lunch served from 11:00 to 2:30. There will also be a display of photos and memorabilia featuring the saints. There will be a host of volunteer opportunities! Sign up sheets will be posted at church after Labor Day. You can also contact Scott Walcker at 651 592-3349 or send an email to elimcemetery@gmail.com if you're interested in volunteering. We need you! It's been a busy Spring at Elim. We've been battling several leaks in both the North & South Cemeteries. Along the way, we've been seeking actors to portray the saints.. Here's who we have so far:
Saint Lived Portrayed by Wayne Erickson 1937 - 1992 Dan Schuldt AB Walfrid 19?? - 1977 Jim Walfrid Floyd Sandgren* 1910 - 1992 Don Sandgren Still looking for another fireman... Perhaps a descendant of Harry Onsager Selma Lindgren 1902 - 1988 Suzanne Lindgren Nathan Lindgren 1898 - 1998 Matt Damman Doris Booren 1915 - 1985 Carissa Brown Jean Miller yet to be named... probably a relative 1929 - 2016 Peter Magnus Nelson yet to be named... 1834 - 1924? Isaac Nelson yet to be named... 1889 - 1918 So, we're still seeking actors to fill the father / son team of Peter & Isaac Nelson. If you're interested or can suggest a father & son who might like portraying them, please contact Scott Walcker (see sidebar). The congregation has voted, the planning committee has met and gone through the arduous task of deciding who we'll feature on the tour this year. We have decided on ten actors to portray the saints below at seven stops.
All of the saints suggested were wonderful candidates. This group seems to work well an be relatively balanced. Several saints were have chosen for the 2019 tour have been on the 'potential' list for years. We will keep all of the suggested saints for the next tour.
Our next step is to recruit the actors to portray each saint. If you have the name suggestions, contact Scott Walcker 651-592-3349 or elimscemetery@gmail.com As we find actors to fill the saints roles, we need YOU to step forward and provide pictures, tell us stories, remembrances, etc., of the saints. This is one of the best parts of the tour... hearing the stories and finding out more about the saints lives! Happy Easter! God bless the saints that have given us such a rich history! Next Sunday, April 14th the congregation will vote on possible saints to feature on this year's tour. The planning committee will make the final selection over Holy Week and hopefully we'll reveal the saints for this tour on Easter Sunday. We're looking forward to the vote from the congregation, there are so may great possibilities!
Lynne Moratzka is the coordinator for the saint selection. We've had numerous submissions and will continue to collect recommendations from the public. There will be a vote on Palm Sunday after church to give the planning committee and idea of public interest. Final selection will be made by the planning committee and be partially based on church preferences. We will also consider if we can find descendants or others to give us information and potential actors to portray the saints.
Here are the submissions so far... Not in any particular order. Selma & Nathan Lindgren ? we'd like some more background on them... AB Walfrid Pastor 1940 - 1946 Scandia and served during the WWII years as Pastor and hired his cousin Esther Carlson Morrison as organist. Was the pastor when Ingrid Bergman came trio visit in 1943..big write up in LOOK Magazine..a REALLLLY big event in Scandia. He began other innovations at Elim... I think he started the Elim Messenger and printed worship bulletins. Muriel Benson Teacher at Goose Lake School. Wendell & Louella Johnson Edsel Johnson Wayne Erickson Scandia Men's softball Norman Ostrand Faithful servant of Elim as Sunday School superintendant, Property Chair, and numerous other jobs. John Franklin Nordin Farmer from Big Lake Floyd Sandgren Fireman Harry Onsager Fireman Floyd Simonson Fireman Ruth Arkman Johan Bengtson an early settler who has MANY MANY descendants in Scandia. Doris Booren known for her welcoming of all and singing with her sisters as the Lindberg Trio Peter Magnus Nelson Early settler in Scandia Jean Miller lived at Bone Lake, teacher?, was a consecrated Deaconess; got a mortgage as a single woman ( one of the first in Minnesota!). It was also suggested we consider people memorialized in the stained glass windows in the church. I think these windows were all added after the 1930 fire that destroyed the church. We need to find out more about their backgrounds and lives to add them to our list of possible saints. Charles & ?? Benson Mr. & Mrs. Henry A Johnson - Henry was already a saint on the 2015 tour. Mr. & Mrs. Solomon Swenson Mr. & Mrs. August Nelson Mr. & Mrs. Elias Shoquist Mrs. Matilda Grandstrand Mr. & Mrs. John P Bloomquist Mr. & Mrs. August Peterson Sabina M Bloomquist If you have suggestions for other saints, please contact Lynne Mortazka (gammelgardenlynne@frontiernet.net ) or click here to use our online saint submission form. Potential LCT 2019 Timeline Tentative Tour Date 9/15/19
This is the approximate timeline for Elim’s 2019 Living Cemetery Tour. As dates get fixed, this page will be updated. When items added or changed, they will be in purple ink. Late Feb/early March Advertise Planning Meeting for LCT 3/10/19
Planning Meeting 3/10/19
Saint Selection - CONGREGATION WILL VOTE FOR SAINTS IN FELLOWSHIP HALL ON AFTER CHURCH ON PALM SUNDAY 3/17 or 3/24 Bulletin update on Tour -
Actor Recruitment - Month of April Actor Meeting late April???? Script Writing - May - Sept. Something around Memorial day where people can submit memories of a saint???? Publicity Actors Meet the Press mid-August Articles to various organizations…. In past just Country Messenger and Church Monthly Messenger. Food - Catering Light Lunch Start working mid August Final Approach Late August / Early Sept Dress Rehearsal 9/8/2019
Food - Catering Light Lunch Start working mid August Tour Day 9/15/19 Displays during tour in Fellowship Hall Myron - consulting historian After talking with various people interested in producing a tour in 2019, we have decided to go ahead. These people have volunteered to be coordinators for the tour!
You can see a list of the possible saints suggested so far by clicking here . In late March or early April the congregation will vote on who they'd like to see after church in the fellowship hall. We will post that date here. We are also forming the planning committee. It will include the coordinators listed above plus several other interested people. If you are interested in being on the planning committee contact Scott Walcker (see info below) If you’d like to volunteer, and get future emails click on my email below and send me a brief message. If you have suggestions for saints or can’t make the meeting, please feel free to contact; After a one year hiatus, the congregation is thinking about producing another tour this year. The cemetery tour features actors who perform stories about several “saints” who are buried in our cemetery. For each tour, we take suggestions for interesting Scandia members to feature. Many of the “saints” are portrayed by family members. It’s an interesting event that helps us understand people and events that shaped our community and church. In the past, this event has been attended by 100’s each year and enjoyed by all.
There will be an Exploratory Planning Meeting on March 10th at 10:45 in the small chapel* to see if we can enlist enough people to bring another tour to fruition. To produce a tour, we are looking for people to commit to coordinating the parts of the tour;
If we get commitments for these coordinators we will start the production of a 2019 tour and keep the community updated on our progress. As we move through the summer, we will be soliciting more volunteers to help with various aspects of the production. We hope to fill out the coordinators positions on the 10th. In the meantime, start to think about who we could feature as “saints” on the tour. We’ve had community and church leaders, children, significant events like the 1930 church fire featured on past tours. If you’d like to volunteer, have suggestions for saints or can’t make the meeting, please feel free to contact; Scott Walcker 651 592-3349 Email: elimcemetery@gmail.com |
Scott WalckerLiving Cemetery Director & Cemetery Committee Chair Archives
August 2019
Categories |
RSS Feed