We cannot reach out, however, without your support. To earn that support we have to continue being creative and innovative and to constantly strive for quality. That takes investment from you: your membership, your response to our two annual appeals, and even providing for the museum in your estate planning. With the coming transition in leadership, your support is even more critical, more necessary.
Often, when I arrive at the museum in the clear morning light, the flags of the United States, Denmark, and Iowa are snapping in a brisk, prairie breeze. I’m filled with a sense of pride and possibility and an appreciation for the beauty of the rural landscape. And when I leave the museum in the evenings, with the sun casting long shadows across the museum and the grounds, I often hear the chimes from Elk Horn Lutheran
Church playing in the distance. I’m filled with a deep sense of gratitude at what we, together, have been able to accomplish. A new day will dawn, and I look forward to playing some part in that day, trusting that you, too, will be joining us as we continue celebrating our “Danish roots and American dreams.” Tak, og på gensyn, John Mark
meet rasmus My Danish American story began nine years ago on a particularly rainy day in Copenhagen. On a whim, I met with the international coordinator at my university and told her I wanted to study in America. The two options were an internship at a museum in Iowa or a semester at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I went to North Carolina and immediately realized “This is what I want to do!” Travel. See the world. Meet new and interesting people. So I did. I was fortunate enough to study, work, and live in a number of different countries, and, along the way, I met Jennifer from Nebraska. Jennifer and I eventually got married in New Zealand, where she was doing a Fulbright Fellowship. We ended up in Nebraska, she as a faculty member at the University of
By Rasmus Thøgersen
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Museum of Danish America
Nebraska-Lincoln, and I as the director of a public library - more or less according to our plan. When I heard about that museum in Iowa again, I decided to visit. In part, I went to experience it myself. I also went to discuss a job opening - this job opening with John Mark Nielsen, whose big shoes I will now do my best to fill. Like so many others who visit Elk Horn, I was struck by the ambition, professionalism, and sheer quality of the museum. I vividly remember driving back west that afternoon; the rolling hills and wind turbines of Iowa reminding me of Denmark - once again thinking “This is what I want to do!” Some people might find it surprising that a librarian would want to manage a museum. To me, librarianship has always been about stories. Whether a story
is expressed through words on a page, a piano recital, faded photographs, a delicate piece of textile, or a timeless and beautiful prairie landscape, is of less importance than the fact that it is being preserved by - and passed on to - people that are passionate about it. Being a steward of stories about my two homes is the most exciting job I can imagine. I will be asking for your support and advice in the coming years as we continue to develop the museum and ensure that our priceless artifacts, and the stories they tell, are preserved and made available for current and future Danish Americans. I cannot wait to meet all of you. And hear your stories. Alt godt, Rasmus