Message from Bruce Karstadt, ASI President & CEO

Our country has honored women’s contributions to history, culture and society annually each March since 1987. This month’s column is dedicated to those women who have made a difference in the life of ASI. We begin with Lillian Turnblad, whose parents Christina and Swan Turnblad founded ASI in 1929. Lillian served on ASI’s Board from 1929 until her death in 1943 and was an influential leader of the Institute in its first years.

One of the organizations tied to ASI is the ASI Male Chorus Auxiliary, who volunteered countless hours in its early years when there were very few staff. Over the years, several other women’s organizations also contributed much to ASI, including Idun Guild, ASI Women’s Club, ASI Associates, Svea Club, Svenska Sällskapets Sällskap, Scandinavian Friends and the Cloudberries.

Listing these groups reminds me of many of their members: Ewa Rydåker, Lenore Wood, Faye Olson, Jenny Johnson, Gunhild Anderson, Margareta Crabo, Kerstin Palm, JoAnn Thoreen, Linnea Osman, Barbro Roehrdanz and others far too numerous who quietly helped ASI in ways that ranged from Board service to preparing and serving delicious Swedish food for ASI events to teaching and to managing our museum store and Bokhandel.

Lilly Lorenzen was a respected teacher of Swedish both at ASI and the University of Minnesota who inspired countless students to appreciate Swedish language and culture not only through her teaching, but also her classic book, Of Swedish Ways

Hilma Berglund was an influential textile and craft artist, who founded the Minnesota Weaver’s Guild and taught at ASI. Her weavings, looms and other personal materials were donated to ASI after her death. An exhibition at ASI in the early 1990s of her life and work drew the interest of her long-time friend, the late Margaret A. Cargill, which has led to on-going philanthropic support by a foundation established by Ms. Cargill.

There are several other generous women whose gifts to ASI were crucial to the building of our campus addition in

2012. The first is Leslie Nelson, who with her late husband Carl, made the first major gift that signaled the viability of our intention to build a new cultural center. Another was the late Karin Larson, whose parents were members of the ASI Male Chorus and Auxiliary. Her generosity to ASI will continue in perpetuity through a foundation she established.

Barbro Sachs Osher has been a dear friend to ASI for many years and generously supports our capital projects and our exhibition and cultural programs. Patty Lindell served on our Board for several years and co-chaired the capital campaign that led to the building of the Nelson Cultural Center. Her network of friends in Sweden was especially helpful to us in building strong relationships abroad, particularly with the Royal Court.

More recently Birdeen Johnson’s estate has made a significant bequest for our present mansion restoration project.

The late Phyllis Bakke served as Consul for Sweden for more than 50 years and was on ASI’s Board. If you needed to get anything done within our community, you went to Phyllis. I remain grateful for her kind and informative advice to me in my early years here.

Kim Erickson is the first woman to be elected Chair of the ASI Board of Trustees. She was serving in this role, as well as honorary Vice-consul for Sweden, when we welcomed the King and Queen of Sweden to our campus in 1996.

In sum, many of the women I’ve mentioned have had public roles at ASI and in our Swedish-American community. Others served in quieter but no less important roles. ASI would be a lesser institution without their leadership, devotion to service, and meaningful support of our mission to be a gathering place for all people.

Bruce Karstadt, ASI President & CEO