DSN Submissions Guidelines

DSN Submissions Best Practices & Tips

Submitting an article to the DSS Newsletter but don’t know the best way to submit it? To make the process smooth and easy, here are some best practices to follow when you send in a submission.

Write Your Article If you’re having trouble getting started, just start writing—whatever comes to your mind first! Then, go back and edit and your work.

Remember to include your name as well as your lodge’s name, number and location!

After you’ve made your last edits, go back and double check for spelling and grammar mistakes. Or have another person give it a look—two sets of eyes are better than one!

Document Format Make sure your article or submission is written in a Word Doc, a Google Doc, a TextEdit Doc or a similar word processing file. Don't put photos in the document!

Photos Photos should be high quality and not blurry. They should be sent in the same email as the document containing your text, but as separate attachments. If images are too large, send them in separate emails as attachments or in a Google folder.

Where to Submit You can send your submissions to our Editor, Lauren, at editor@danishsisterhood.com

Topics to Write About Trying to come up with some new ideas? The first piece of advice we have to share is: write what you know! Did you grow up in Denmark? Do you have a Danish tradition in your family? Do you have a story that has been passed down to you by your grandparents? Just write it down and share it!

If you're not in the personal sharing mood, no worries! Do some research on a historical item, event, place or person. Talk to the other sisters in your lodge and ask if you can interview them! There is a wealth of knowledge that our sisters have and there's nothing stopping us from sharing that knowledge!

Address Changes, Missing Issues, Deadlines, etc. Address changes should be sent to our National Secretary, Glenda Madrid. You can email her or use the form at the back of the DSN. Youth birthday additions also go to Glenda! Missing an issue? Contact our Membership Trustee, Karen Vig-Keathley for a replacement. Wondering about our deadlines for each issue? We have them listed on page 15 for your convenience!

Membership Expansion

Welcome New Members!

LODGE

186 15 21 300 300 NEW MEMBER

Linda Buck Gert Morgensen Annette Straus Lillian Jensen Louisa Funk SPONSOR

Barb Wenschlag Annemarie Sawkins Christina Hix Kim Brixey Hannah Funk

In Memoriam

NAME Cert # Lodge # Location Birth Date Birth Place Initiated Died Benefit Ruth V. Jensen-Larsen 25122 40 Seattle, Wa 6.7.30 Seattle, WA 2.7.97 10.23.20 1,000.

Annual USPS Statement of Ownership 2020

Danish Sisterhood Lodge Member Profile for Anna Marie (Mathisen) Olsen and Family by Donna Christensen Thomas, National DSS Historian

In looking over the list of charter members of my hometown's Danish Sisterhood lodge #97 at Audubon, Iowa, I decided to spotlight one of the charter members and her family. Twenty-nine members became an official Danish Sisterhood Lodge on February 22, 1907. I am having fun figuring out who these women were. Several of the members were family members of one another. I am working on a story about one of these families inspired by a newspaper article I stumbled upon about a Danish Sisterhood event. One of the charter members, Anna Marie (Mathisen) Olsen was the daughter of at least six children born near Harlan, Shelby county, Iowa, to Danish immigrants, Peter Mathisen (18451928) and Ane Sophie (Sorensdatter) 18361920. Peter was a farmer and later a merchant. He had come from a very meager upbringing in Als, Sonderborg, Denmark. His father had died when he was very young. He helped to support the famly from age seven by tending the cattle of neighbors and has been unable to attend much formal schooling. He immigrated about 1867 soon after the 1864 Dano-Prussian War when some of the area went to Prussian rule. His was very much against serving in the German Army and could not do so in good conscience. He first came to Davenport, Iowa, then moved to southwest Iowa after a few years. Probably because Peter Mathisen had come from such a financially difficult situation in his childhood, he instilled in his family the values of helping the poor and down-trodden that they carried throughout their lives and likely lived frugally as many immigrant families did. They also were very frugal and owned several farms throughout the years. Anna Sophie SORENSDATTER was born at Virring, Randers, Denmark in 1836. She had married Ole Jensen and had a son Jens Peter Jensen in 1866 just before emigrating. They had signed up to work for the Rock Island Railroad near Atlantic. Unfortunately, her husband got very ill and died at sea at age 26. She ended up cooking for the men working on the railroad. She and Peter Mathisen were married in 1870. Their story is compelling but too lengthy to detail in this article. I am placing the story in their immigrant file at the Musuem of Danish America Genealogy Center. Peter's mother also immigrated Kirstine Jorgensen STEFFENSEN (1826-1902) MATHISEN MØLLER. She had remarried Nis Johansen MØLLER in 1853 and had several children. The family emigrated in 1877. Many of the Mathisen and Møller (now Miller) descendents still live in the area. One of their grandsons married my grandfather Nels C Christensen's first cousin. His brother married a cousin in my grandmother's family. Many of this family attended Bethany Lutheran Church two miles northeast of Kimballton, Iowa. Bethany and my home church, Ebenezer Lutheran Church, four miles west of Audubon shared a pastor for many years. In July of 1902 in Audubon, Anna Marie Mathisen married Danish immigrant Christen Jensen Olsen (1872-1922) who was from Æroskøbing, Æro, Denmark. His parents were Peter Petersen Olsen and Anne Marie (Christensen) Olsen, farmers in Denmark. He immigrated about 1888 and initially came to Harlan at the age of sixteen. According to the Wall of Honor application prepared by their daughter Olivene, Christ's sponsor for his immigration was Christoffer Clausen Kock (1854-1927), who was the grandfather of my mother's late boyfriend and the family was part of the Ebenezer congregation. I was very surprised when I saw someone's name I knew so well and couldn't wait to tell his family! They were from the same city in Denmark. I haven't been able to determine any familial connection between the men. He had been a grocery clerk at an early age in Denmark according to his obituary. Initially he worked as a farmhand, first in Shelby, then in

Cameron Township, Audubon. He started clerking in a general mercantile store in Audubon, for few years. In about 1895, Chris Olsen started in business for himself and established a competing store which ran until June 1972, involving five generations. I remember going with my mother to the store as a child. Chris and Anna Marie had seven children between 1902 and 1919: Peter, Anna Marie "Teddy" Hjuler, George, Carl, Olllivene and two children that died as infants. He also had an older brother Rasmus Olsen (1860-before 1910 according to the 1910 U.S. cenus) who immigrated in and lived in the Kansas City, Kansas. Rasmus and Laurine Petrine Larsen were married on October 31, in Audubon. There was a nineteen year age difference, so maybe he had a previous marriage. "Anna Marie Olsen" was the name given to both daughters of the brothers born on March 6 and September 10, 1906 in Audubon. That was "Teddy"'s given name, also Chris Olsen's mother, as well as his wife, the subject of this story. So many Anna Maries! Could that be why Teddy got a nickname!?! By the 1910 census, Laurine was widowed and living with a daughter and a couple of boarders on Pacific Avenue in Kansas City. That is the same street name that Chris's family lived on in Audubon! A curious coincidence!!? I have not been able to find what happened to Laurine and Anna Marie. Did she remarry? Did they go back to Denmark? More interesting and compelling things to research, I'd say!! Rasmus and Chris Olsen had at least six siblings who remained in Denmark. Exerpts from Chris Olsen's obituary read as follows "Mr. Olsen was one of Audubon's most substantial business men. Shortly after coming to the town he entered the employ of Bilharz & Son, where he was one of the most efficient clerks the store ever employed. In 1895 he began his own business career and since then had successfully conducted one of the best business establishments in the city. He was kind, courteous, obliging and progressive and Historian’s Corner (cont.) had a vast number of close personal friends, all of whom will learn with regret of his untimely death. Mr. Olsen was very much devoted to his home, his wife and children, who therefore naturally feel their loss very keenly. As a tribute of respect to the deceased all of the business houses of the city will be closed during the hour of the funeral." Unfortunately, Chris Olsen died intestate which resulted in financial difficulties for his wife and family. She had taken care of the finances so she was knowledgeable. But the family lived a relatively austere lifestyle that Anna Marie had experienced as a child, according to the family history written by daughter Olivene mentioned below. According to Audubon's community history book compiled for their centennial in 1978, after their father's death on March 13, 1922, sons Pete, age 18, and George, age 14, eventually bought the store from the estate and decided to go strictly into the grocery business. They offered delivery as well as credit to their customers. In the summer of 1930 their store and another burned and were a total loss. They rebuilt and in 1933, Olsen's expanded and opened a store in Atlantic which George managed. They eventually had six stores in area including neighboring communities by the 1930's and 1940's. My maternal grandparents moved from the farm which surrounds Ebenezer Lutheran church into west Audubon in August 1967, just after Anna Marie (Mathisen) Olsen had died at the house just north of them on July 30, 1967. Three of Chris and Anna's surviving children were neighbors next door and across the street. A a child, I remember becoming acquainted with them through my grandparents. My mother lives in the same house since 1992. Pete and Peggy's house was the same floor plan as ours, but fell into disrepair and was torn down this summer. They were built in the early 1900's as rental properties, but eventually the family moved into them. I always wondered why the siblings had lived so close to one another.... Now I know!! I remember when Audubon had four family-owned

grocery stores and main street was a bustling Ollivene Olsen (1919-2007), a teacher, (okay, comparativley) place. Sadly, not so much was a member of the Danish Sisterhood and anymore. In further research, I found in my moth- lived at Newell, Iowa after her mother's death. I er's house deed that Chris Olsen bought the was able to locate a family history that Olivene property from his brother-in-law in 1912 so the Olsen had written. She begins the family history house was likely built shortly after that time. Var- entitled "The Mathisens" with "Mama's side of ious people who have done maintenance work the family is the nucleus for a truly remarkable on the house for my mother have commented novel. Perhaps there is someone who could that this house was one of the most sturdy and weave it into a 'Best Seller'???" well-built in town of its age. So my grandparents I looked up Anna Marie's newpaper obitand mother owned one of those rental proper- uary which gave only the basic information of ties! I learned something new! death notice, service information and survivors. Their son Pete was father of one of our The family history, however, indicated that she own, the late Carol Ann (Olsen) Jorgensen was a rather shy person and regretted in her old (1935-2018) from Dike, Iowa, was a very active age not taking more of a leadership role in the and dedicated member of her Danish Sisterhood community. She was a very busy mother of five lodge. She was also a founding board member of surviving children with the youngest being only the Museum of Danish America (formerly known 2 1/2 years old when her husband Chris Olsen as the Danish Immigrant Museum). She owned a died at age forty-nine. She no doubt "had her Scandinavian gift shop. I became well-acquaint- hands full" during this time and hopefully had ed with her mother, Lois "Peggy" (Mead) Olsen an abundance of support of her family, church as we were members of the Audubon County and community. Her father, widowed a couple Genealogical Society together. Carol's husband, of years earlier, stepped in to help. This family Dr. Harris Jorgensen, is from the area as well, would easily be considered pillars in the Audubeing born near Jacksonville, between Kimballton bon community. Their legacy lives on! and Harlan. Apply for a DSS Scholarship! It's scholarship application time! The Danish Sisterhood of America is proud of its scholarship program. We have 10 scholarships available to members and their children (regardless of age) who are attending a post secondary school in 2021-2022. To learn more about these scholarships, visit www.danishsisterhood.org and click "What we do" under the pull down menu. Or contact Nealna Gylling at trustee2@danishsisterhood. com. Applications must be postmarked by March 1, 2021, so get yours in soon!

Assessment Notice Members: Assessment #1382, for the month of January, is due and payable to your local treasurers before January 31, 2021. Lodge Treasurers: Assessment #1382, for the month of January, 2021 is due and payable to the Supreme Lodge of the Danish Sisterhood immediately following your January meeting.

Assessments for the year 2021 will follow in order, with the December, 2021 assessment being #1393.