Fonds / Collection

Thomsen

Description Level

Item

Material Type

multiple media

Fonds Number

197-10

Item Number

1

Accession Number

2014.42

Date

1938 - 1938

Physical Description

Small fabric ribbon, white, 3.5 x 1.5"

Physical Condition

Good

History / Biographical

Collected by Denise Bignold and catalogued by Denise Bignold

William Thomsen donated this to the Archives

Name Access

William Thomsen

Subject Access

Scandinavian

Scope and Content

White ribbon with black printing: Sylvan Lake July 10, 1938 - 1st Alberta Scandinavian Festival

Notes

Scandinavian Settlers - Many of the Scandinavians who ended up in Alberta came via the United States, leaving their newly established homesteads in North and South Dakota to launch a new living in Alberta.

As early as 1882 a group of Icelanders from North Dakota settled in Markerville, west of Red Deer. In 1892 a group of Swedes followed and dispersed across the province, settling in areas such as Calmar, Wetaskiwin and Camrose. In later years, groups of Swedes moved into the region around Clive, Meeting Creek, Edberg, Kingman, Donalda and Hay Lakes. The heaviest concentration took Pallessen family, Danish settlers place southwest of Edmonton. The Danes however, tended to settle around Dickson, Olds, Markerville, Ponoka, Dalum and Standard while the Finns settled at Eckville, Sylvan Lake, Hughendon and Stettler. The Norwegians were just as scattered, settling around places like Foremost and Claresholm, even as far north as Grande Prairie.

Although each Scandinavian group had its own social and cultural societies, and despite the fact that Scandinavian settlers were scattered widely throughout the province, there did emerge a uniquely Scandinavian way of life based upon shared ideas of social and political activism, often centered around the Lutheran church.

Less detail