Portrait of Rabbi Albert G. Minda, rabbi of Temple Israel Synagogue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was a president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and a spiritual leader of Minneapolis Jews from 1922-1963. Additionally, he was co-founder of the Minneapolis Urban League and Round Table Conference of Christians and Jews.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Photograph showing the young men of the Minneapolis Talmud Torah Bar Mitzvah class. Bar Mitzvahs celebrate the coming of age at 13 of Jewish boys. At this age, young men become obligated to observe scripture. They may also lead prayer services and count towards a minyan. No service is required: however, it is customary to mark the occasion with a service and celebration. In the 20th century, young women were also welcomed into the adult community with a bat mitzvah. Both bar and bat mitzvahs participate in several years of Hebrew and religious study before the public occasion.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Salem Covenant Church Confirmands pose with Reverend Erik Dahlhielm on Confirmation Sunday. Front Row (left to right): Marlene Olson Smouse, Joyce Carlson Bankson, Bernice Anderson. Back Row (left to right): Gene Danielson, Thomas Donahue, ReV. Erik Dahlhielm, Albert Christianson, Allen Anderson.
Salem Covenant Church Confirmands pose with Reverend Raymond A. Johnson on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Lucile Hall, Clifford Johnson, Doris Larson Malmquist, Lloyd Nelson, Lois Nelson Rudd, Einar Strom, Eleanor Anderson
Salem Covenant Church Confirmands pose with Reverend Raymond A. Johnson on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Elaine Anderson Nelson, Milton Anderson, Donald Beutner, Betty Dahlgren Rule, Rodney Hietala, May Hultman Graves, Ruth Nelson Anderson, Joyce Shannon Kahn, Corrine Sundstrom Youngkrantz, Helen Wahlberg Wasserburger, Robert Wedan.
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend Raymond A. Johnson on Confirmation Sunday. First Row (left to right): Lloyd Shannon, Betty Westlund Hietala, ReV. Raymond Johnson, Elaine Boberg, Hugh Shannon. Second Row (left to right): Dorothy Samuelson, Eunice Johnson Gustafson, Donald Lauer, Doris Anderson Hollerud. Third Row (left to right): Vincent Highmark, Joyce McKaige, John Thorene, Shirley Gagne Weiland.
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend E.O. Franklin on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Lorraine Anderson, Alice Haglund Potts, DeWayne Olson, Margaret Hultman Halvorson, Ronald Wesley Anderson, Richard Osborn Erickson, Elvera Strom Olson, Dorothy Edwardson Wilson, Barbara Downs Stauber, Grace Larson Anderson, Harlan Sundstrom, Corrine Franklin, Ruby Nelson Hall.
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend E. O. Franklin on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Donald Anderson, Dewey Downs, Russel Ide, Helen Lindberg, Mildred Anderson.
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend E.O. Franklin on Confirmation Sunday. First Row (left to right): Dorothy Anderson Erickson, Lorraine Williams, E.O. Franklin, Shirley Mellin, Betty Nelson Ursin. Second Row (left to right): Robert Westlund, Kathryn Johnson Carlson, David Bjorne, Wesley Westerlund, Harvey Olson, Edward Johnson. Third Row (left to right): Kenneth Erickson, Dorothy Johnson Erickson, Lois Johnson.
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend E.O. Franklin on Confirmation Sunday. First Row (left to right): Ruby Larson Schaeffer, Thor Strom, E.O. Franklin, Wesley Allan, Eva Dahlgren Fontaine. Second Row (left to right): Lorraine Beutner Widell, Richard Peterson, Lucille Wahlberg Nelson, Ralph Bredlund, Alice Carlson Aebischer, Russel Hendrickson. Third Row (left to right): Alice Anderson Highmark, Henning Soderberg, June Ide Schmidt.
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend E.O. Franklin on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Tom Bell, Elmer Carlson, Raymond Peterson, Walter Carlson, Warren Dahl, Gladys Young Nelson, Ethel Erickson, Evelyn Larson, Dorothy Lindgren Bordeau, Mildred Miller, Nellie Nelson Towers, Leroy Mattson, Glen Miller, Roy Sundquist.
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend E.O. Franklin on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Edith Erickson Griffin, Harriet Huseby Dennis, Beverly Mellin Nedrud, Billy Molyneaux, George Olson, Ingrid Strom Pleska, Eleanor Franklin Linder, Crystal Johnson Anderson, Bernice Kampenen Larson, Myrtle Olsen Edwards, Roy Peterson, Edna Thorene Fretheim, Ellen Haglund Ward, Betty Johnson Grobe, Robert Larson, Ralph Olsen, Willard Peterson, Irvin Sundquist, John Highmark, Eldo Ide, Thomas Miller, Sigward Nelson, Russell Staberg, Gilbert Thorberg
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V. Anderson on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Earl Allen, Marie Peterson Krause, Robert Matheson, Kenneth Westling, Margaret Anderson Olson, Mabel Johnson Erickson, Clerry Wahlberg Halvorson, Sherrell Westlund, John Boberg, Norman Pearson, Eleanor Williams Maske, Bernice Johnson, Judith Lindberg Gilbert, Genevieve Lindstrom Laughner.
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V. Anderson on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Dorothy Bjorkhohm Johnson, Woodrow Erickson, Eleanor Haglund Laycock, Lucille Heacock Scheider, Elwin Edwardson, Martha Erickson, Angeline Olson, Grace Erickson, Helmer Larson, Carol Olson, Joe Erickson, Margaret Lowmiller, Leroy Olson.
Catechism class of Cherry Grove Evangelical Church, with Rev. Max Wordelman presiding. The cornerstone was laid May 17, 1925. Rev. H. E. Reike deposited these items in the cornerstone, "a new Bible, Song Book , local papers, list of members, Historical sketch, and one newest coined dollar". The church was dedicated October 18, 1925.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Annual Conference United Methodist Church
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V. Anderson on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Ruby Anderson Engstrom, Beatrice Forsell Erickson, Emily Gulbranson Wall, Ethel Henning Johnson, Elna Johnson Colomb, Alice Nordlund Rajala, Alden Olson, Dorothy Dahl Kreager, Helen Fors Telega, Ruth Gustafson, Lillian Henning Wick, Eris Lindberg Morris, Herman Lundberg, Roy Allen, Paul Forsell, David Halvorson, Louis Highmark, Earl Johnson, Melvin Lundberg, Bertil Erickson, Gilbert Gulbranson, Amelia Henning, Helmer Jacobson, Albin Johnson, Fred Nelson.
Confirmants dressed in white and arranged in two rows sit and stand with Rabbi Aronson seated in the middle. Rabbi Aronson came to Beth El in 1924, and served the congregation for 35 years. Beth El, at the time the photo was taken, was on the North Side of Minneapolis. The congregation is now in St. Louis Park .
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V. Anderson on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Arnold Anderson, David Erickson, Carl Pearson, Norman Anderson, Russell Jacobson, Rudolph Peterson, Thorwald Backlund, Raynold Larson, Lawrence Soderberg, Arnold Bowers, Arthur Moberg, Gordon Sundstrom.
Salem Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V. Anderson on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Ralph Carlson, Everett Haglund, Caroline Williams Braden, Ernest Edwardson, Harold Hedman, Elsie Lindgren Kratz, Raymond Thorberg, Florence Nordlin, Norton Johnson.
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V. Anderson on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Vivian Danielson Willett, Bernice Erickson, Astrid Carlson Rollins, Alice Sundeen, Irving Wennerlund, Ellen Edwardson Wilmot, Wilfred Highmark, Ruth Mattson Krippen, Eva Sundeen, Einar Edwardson, Evelyn Johnson, Donald Olson, Eldon Thorson, Marion Ek, Myrtle Johnson, Harry Skarman, Ruth Wickstrom.
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V. Anderson on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Alvin Anderson, Dorothy Erickson Moran, Clarence Lindberg, Alice Thorberg Hallgren, Clarence Anderson, Stanley Erickson, Wallace Nordvall, Esther Wickstrom, Lloyd Anderson, Arthur Moberg, Kermit Nelson, Frederick Williams, Evelyn Bjorkbohm Kenniger, Margaret Haglund Carlson, Esther Moberg Erickson, Phillemon Willet.
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V. Anderson on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Ruby Allen Eckholm, Amy Dahl Olsen, Lloyd Johnson, Rosa Erickson Gronseth, Walter Skarman, Herbert Anderson, Floyd Danielson, Ruth Johnson, Ellen Nelson Johnson, Raymond Andrews, Clarence Jacobson, Viola Larson Hagen, Emily Nelson Smith, Arthur Bowers, Elmer Johnson, Conrad Nelson, Adeline Nordeen.
Confirmed students and a Lutheran pastor are assembled for a portrait. A paper attached to the back of the photo reads: "In remembrance of day of Confirmation" and "Charles Arthur Arneson, born June 17, 1906 and confirmed May 17, 1922 in Ephphatha Lutheran Church for the Deaf." The man sitting in the middle of the front row is Pastor Henry O. Bjorlie. The student standing in the back row on the right end is Charles Arthur Arneson.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf Alumni Association Museum
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend Axel E. Smedberg on Confirmation Sunday. First Row (left to right): Signe Erickson, Judith Danielson Schreiber, Ray Peterson. Second Row (left to right): Hilding Rodenius, unknown boy, Signe Olson, Reverend Smedberg, Florence Jacobson, Ernest Walborg, Ernest Sundquist. Third Row (left to right): Evelyn Anderson Johnson, Jeanette Mattson, Esther Nordlund Hietala, Gladys Nelson, Edna Mattonson, Nellie Dahl, Myrtle Peterson Anderson, Elsie Highmark, George Forsell. Fourth row: Lester Nystrom, Carl Davidson, George Nordin, Joe Davidson, Erwin Nelson, Frank Mattson, Roy Anderson, unknown boy.
Standing for a picture are Reverend Bahr of the New Grove Evangelical United Brethren church. Reverend Ekse of First Lutheran Church and Reverend Erickson of Calvary Lutheran Church.
Rabbi Alfred H. Khan, a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary, is shown here with his students. Confirmation is a coming-of-age practice for post Bar- and Bat Mitzvahs. between age 15 and 18. It was originally developed by the Reform Movement to follow bar- and bat mitzvahs in the belief that thirteen year olds were not yet ready to be considered adult and should continue on in their religious education. Temple of Aaron was founded as an orthodox congregation but switched affiliation to Conservative several years after founding.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend Axel E. Smedberg on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Helen Erickson Allison, Esther Davidson Leavitt, Linnea Anderson Johnson, Mabel Carlson Fromnes, Carl Peterson, Helmer Sundstrom, Almon Osborne, Florence Erickson, Purdy Forsell Elowson, Edna Carlson Scott, Lillian Swanson Johnson, Eldon Forsell, Henry Sundin, Gertrude Wallin, Anna Larson Sauter, Lillian Nystrom Bush, Kenneth Wallin, Ruth Olson Lindholm, Raymond Anderson, Ellen Mattson Millik, George Lindstrom, Anton Nordeen.
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend Axel E. Smedberg on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Edna Anderson Nichols, Clarence Dahlquist, Euna Erickson Barkley, Ellen Laaksonen, Ingrid Lindstrom Nelson, Esther Anderson, Helen Els Letne, Alfred Johnson, Inez Rodenius Halvorson, Dagmar Armstrong, Elsie Erickson Peterson, Gordon Johnson, Louise Nordin Markham, Robert Brath, Hazel Hiner, Paul Johnson.
Wedding portrait of Ella Opeim and Edward T. Erickson Both bride and groom are seated with the wedding party, Lena Julia Christianson and Art Kolstad, standing behind them.
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend Axel E. Smedberg on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Ed Anderson, Amy Lindskog Nelson, Linnea Wahlberg Lauer, Mildred Nystrom Gabrielson, Ruth Davidson Eklund, Anna Lindstrom Stone, Ellen Sundstrom Johnson, Mabel Peterson Munnins, Leonard Hendrickson, Martha Nordeen Bentz, Esther Ramsey Eklund, Edith Nystrom Ostlund, Walter Hiner, Rose Stahl, Arnold Peterson.
First 50 years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). Sister Dominica Borgerding was appointed the directress of the academy in 1909. When the college was established in 1913, she served as directress for both the academy and the college until 1918. Hers was an ample, progressive, hearty soul. Weeping girls were swept to her bosom, given a huge apple, and made to feel that all was right with the world. She is best known for her amazing gift for dramatics (Gable, OSB).
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V.S. Engstrom on Confirmation Sunday. First Row (left to right): Arnold Carlson, Edwin Johnson, Reverend Engstrom, Alex Westerlund, Oscar Lindstrom. Second Row (left to right): Raymond S. Erickson, Teckla Danielson, Harold Laaksonen, Emma Hedin Shannon. Third Row (left to right): Verna Erickson Hutchinson, Ida Swanson Olson, Leah Osborne Highmark, Pauline Nordeen Nygaard
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V.S. Engstrom on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown) Agnes Anderson Almquist, Myrtle Anderson Swanson, John Jacobson, Lillian Johnson Clement, Henry Lindskog, Esther Lindstrom Anderson, Ruth Moline, Emma Nordeen Smeland, Oscar Nelson, Walter Nystrom, Esther Paulson, Esther Rodenius Bergquist, Agnes Stahl Bell, Edith Sundstrom Beutner, Mary Wahlberg McKaige
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend C.V.S. Engstrom on Confirmation Sunday. Front Row (left to right): Lillian Johnson Soderberg, unknown girl, Reverend C.V.S. Engstrom, Edith Nystrom Johnson, Esther Giliuson. Back Row (left to right): Arvid Peterson, Gunnard Hedin, Rudolph Peterson, Elmer Olson, Axel Stahl, Oscar Lindberg, Clarence Erickson.
Group portrait of the 8th Grade Graduates of St. Mary's School in St. Cloud, Minnesota with Reverend Werner Schneppenheim, Order of Saint Benedict (OSB).
A portrait photograph of Rabbi Solomon Silber. Rabbi Silber served as Kenesseth Israel's rabbi from 1902 to 1925. He, and members of his congregation, were instrumental in funding and building the Jewish Family Welfare Board and the Jewish Sheltering Home.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Andreas Helland (1870-1951) was a professor at Augsburg Seminary from 1905 to 1940. He was the author of an early definitive history of Augsburg Seminary titled ""Augsburg seminar: gjennem femti aar 1869-1919."" He also edited George Sverdrup's collected works and in 1947 wrote a biography of Sverdrup titled ""Georg Sverdrup: The Man and His Message."" Helland was very mission-minded and served the Lutheran Board of Missions as secretary (1907-1919), treasurer (1925-1929), and secretary-treasurer (1933-1946). Front of photograph reads: Prof. Andreas Helland, L.B.M. Mission Secretary.
These five sisters and four lay nurses formed the first group to be trained by Ms. Wilma Johnson, a superintendent of nurses from Chicago engaged by the School of Nursing. Fom left to right seated: Sisters Julitta Hoope, Leobina Gliszhenski, Standing: Sisters Natalia Schmidtbauer, Cunigund Kuefler, Salome Amschler (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, page 258).
Portraits of Pastor Theodore Fossum, confirmation class members, and an inset photograph of the Twenty-fifth Avenue West and Third Street church building's exterior and interior, are grouped in this photograph.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend Fred Bloom on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown) Sam Aldrin, Fred Anderson, Anna Berggren, Hedwig Einolander Nelson, Samuel Gilinson, Clarence Lindskog, Ellen Lindstrom Wester, Lydia Moline, Hilma Olin, Arthur Sundstrom.
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend K. E. Forsell on Confirmation Sunday. Group includes (order unknown): Hjalmar Einolander, Anna Nelson Peterson, Mabel Nystrom Olson, Herbert Erickson, Elmer Nelson, Theodore Stahl, Joseph Highmark, Richard Wahlberg, Carl Johnson, Florence Johnson Wadley.
Music was always an important part of church life among the Norwegian-American Lutherans. Pictured here is the 1905(?) Glee Club of Luther Seminary. Many of these men went on to hold positions of prominence in the church. Seated, left to right: Thaddaeus Franke Gullixson (1882-1969) served as president of Luther Theological Seminary, 1930-1954, and as president of the American Lutheran Conference, 1944-1955; Johan Carl Keyser Preus (1881- ); Nils Martin Ylvisaker (1882- ); Henry Ingrebritsen (1876- ); Axel Bergh (1873- ). Standing, left to right: Sigurd Christian Ylvisaker (1884-1959) served as president of Bethany College, Mankato, MN 1930-1950; Nils Stockfleth Magelssen (1880- ); Professor John Dahle (1853-1930) was an accomplished composer and arranger of hymns and choral music and served as one of the editors of the Lutheran Hymnary (1913), which was one of the first English-language hymnals used by Norwegian-American Lutherans; Hartwick Carinius Smeby (1879-1945); Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt (1882- ); Back of photograph reads: Luther Seminary Glee Club, Norw. Synod R62A.
Swedish Christian Mission Church Confirmands pose with Reverend K. E. Forsell on Confirmation Sunday. First Row (left to right): Swan Einolander. Second Row (left to right): Ruth Nystrom Mellin, Hilma (Annie) Peterson, ReV. K. E. Forsell, Matilda Lindstrom Larson, Lydia Swanson Einolander. Third Row (left to right): Alma Westerlund, Beda Bergren Schlack, Melvin Olson, Nan Wedan Carlson, George Highmark, Simon Giliuson.
Confirmed students and a Catholic priest are assembled for a portrait. In the front row, from left to right, are Ida King Swee, Mary Hoff, Father Slevin, Ada Fallow, and Emil Rishavy. In the back row, from left to right, are unknown, John Rishavy, unknown, and Anthony (Tony) Garbarino.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf Alumni Association Museum
Reverend Albert Johanson, pastor of the West End Mission Church (now First Covenant Church, Duluth, Minnesota), filled Swedish Christian Mission Church's pulpit from time to time. This portrait was taken on his wedding day.
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). Mother Cecilia (Mary) Kapsner born in Prussia in 1859, came to America at age 15 with her family who settled in Pierz. Two years later, Mary entered St. Benedict's Convent and professed vows in 1878. In 1901 she was elected to serve as prioress, a position she held for three consecutive terms. Mother Cecilia was the first prioress whose background was similar to the majority of the members of St. Benedict's Convent as well as the people in the St. Joseph area. With keen perception and ready judgment she led the community through considerable building expansion. Especially noteworthy is the construction of the Sacred Heart Chapel and the Teresa Hall addition to the college, both having been in the planning stages as early as 1909 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909). St. Bernard's Grade School had many activities, such as a Drama Club, much like a high school would have. For a period of time the curriculum also included a 2-year commercial school program (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
A wedding party of six. The women are all dressed in long white dresses while the men halve on dark suits and ties. The people are identified as C.B. Christianson, Mrs. Pete Ramlo, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Christianson, Anne A. Landmark, Mons Singsaas.
Mr. and Mrs. John P. Heksum. With John Setering, Beret Ronning, Gallug Setering and Gustav Johnson. The bride and groom are seated with the wedding party standing behind them.
A Confirmation class of Storden Norwegian Methodist Church. Back row: Anna Hofstad, Gudrun Hofstad. Front row: Petra Hofstad, Rev. Schollert, Hans Mork.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Annual Conference United Methodist Church
Shown here are the six members of the Red Wing Seminary class of 1898 and their two professors. Top left: Professors Hans Hanson Bergsland (1858-1907) and Martin Gustav Hanson (1859-1915). Top right: Johan Johannesen Dahle (1867-1950) and Ole Jakobsen Malkewick (1865-1932). Bottom row: Mons Olson Wee (1871-1942), H. O. Myhre (d. 1927), John J. Skarpness (1867-1954), and Daniel Tjaeranson Borgen (1871- ). Note that some of these men were over 30 years old, indicating that ""second career pastors"" is not wholly a modern phenomenon. Front of photograph reads: Red Wing Seminary, 1898, Kom Jesus Kristus ihu.
Reverend J.E.Seth, pastor of the West End Mission Church (now First Covenant Church, Duluth, Minnesota), filled the Svenska Missions Kyrkan pulpit from time to time. This family portrait was taken in 1897.Reverend Seth served the West End Mission Church from 1895-1898.
Revered Albin N. Osterholm, a seminary student at Carleton College, served at Swedish Christian Mission Church during the summer of 1897. This is a portrait of Reverend Osterholm and his wife taken during the summer of 1897. Portrait once belonged to Mrs. Sundquist.
Drama held a significant role in the curriculum of the academy. Performances drew large audiences, not only from the surrounding areas, but from as far as Milwaukee, WI. The Delsarle Tableaux performance, honoring Bishop Otto Zardetti, was presented at the Village Hall in St. Joseph on February 10, 1893 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Studio portrait of Reverend Nels Forde (1849-1917) and Nora Erickson Forde (1862-1924). Rev. Nels [Nils] Forde was ordained in 1876 serving congregations in Clay County, Minnesota (1876-1881), Amherst and Stevens Point, Wisconsin (1881-1892), and Indherred, Immanuel and St. John's Congregations in Pope County (1892-1917). Nels and Nora were married in 1882. Nora contributed her musical talents and leadership to the Young Peoples Society and church choirs.
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Some of the sisters teaching in Duluth before the separation of the Duluth sisters from St. Benedict's in St. Joseph are identified as follows. Top Row - left to right: S. Catherine Siefner, Clementine Jastrzenska, Florentine Cannon, Augustine Terhaar, Margaret Dellwo (Delleveaux); (Bottom Row - left to right): S. Bertha Cherrier, Regina Otto, Cornelia Berg, Anastasia Gerard, Magdalen Walker. Duluth was first settled because of a short-lived rumor in 1854 that copper and ore were found on the North Shore. It was not until 1869, when Duluth was connected to St. Paul by railroad, that the population began to grow. Though Duluth experienced a five-year set back in 1873 when Jay Cooke's (financier of the railroad-to-the-Pacific) financial empire collapsed, it became the ore capital and the grain and lumber harbor of the Northwest. Parish communities and schools began to flourish and the Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph, MN, responded to invitations to teach there: in 1881, five sisters from St. Joseph opened Sacred Heart School for over 200 children in an old carriage shop, but the pastor closed that school; in 1883, seven sisters returned to Sacred Heart Parish and taught in a public school building until a new school (St. Thomas Aquinas) was built; in 1885 sisters began teaching in St. Stanislaus School in the Polish parish, St. Mary Star of the Sea; in 1887 they opened St. Clement School and also the Store-Front School on Garfield Avenue for the French parish; in 1891 the sisters opened St. Anthony's School. All of these mission schools, as well as St. Mary's Hospital, were transferred to St. Benedict's new daughterhouse which was established in Duluth in 1892. Prompted by her deposition as prioress in St. Joseph, it was the energy and the independent pioneer spirit of Mother Scholastica Kerst that effected the separation of the sisters in Duluth from the motherhouse in St. Joseph. While only 20 of the 43 sisters in Duluth opted to join the newly-formed community, Villa Sancta Scholastica, the separation strained the resources of both communities. However, both rallied and flourished in Minnesota. The Benedictines in Duluth today conduct the College of St. Scholastica and a Benedictine Health Care System (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; Olsenius, pages 23-24).
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). Sister Gertrude Flynn, OSB, was the prioress (in the 1870s) of a small, struggling community, St. Gertrude's Convent, Shakopee, MN, which (like St. Benedict's) had originated in St. Marys, PA. St. Gertrude's was the community of which Sister Scholastica Kerst, OSB, became a member in 1862. However, in 1877 Sister Scholastica transferred her membership to St. Benedict's Convent and within three years was appointed the fourth prioress of St. Benedict's. One of her first official actions was to negotiate the merger of St. Gertrude's Convent with St. Benedict's despite the disapproval of Sister Gertrude and her community. The merger of this English-speaking community introduced other nationalities that enhanced St. Benedict's community and provided it with a group of zealous religious whose professional experience assisted in meeting the demands of its academy and other apostolates. Sister Gertrude served St. Benedict's well in her role as community secretary and in her hope and encouragement for the full restoration of praying the Divine Office, a privilege denied the community by Abbot Boniface Wimmer, OSB, for the sake of the teaching apostolate (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 95-99).