Christmas in the Archives

Stop by the Archives and check out our festive new look!  Swedish Christmas magazines along with a few intriguing Swedish bibles are on display.  

The Christmas lights and decorations will bring holiday cheer to your research, so come in and unwrap new knowledge!

Gustavus in a Time of War

Dr. Peterson's Exposition

The United States of America remembers the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that occurred on 7 December 1941, seventy years ago.  You might be wondering how Gustavus responded in the event's immediate aftermath.  Editors of the Gustavian Weekly printed their first post-attack newspaper two days after the bombing.  While the infamous action failed to make the paper's headline, a story about the women participating in St. Lucia served that purpose, it did get a blurb below the fold.  Conrad Peterson, longtime Gustavus history professor, wrote about our need to prepare for war and turn away from pacifism or "soon become another queer little sect along side the Quakers and the Mennonites."  Peterson's comments were from the heart.  He supported the war effort passionately and spent much of his time during this period giving supportive speeches.  

To read additional issues of the Gustavian Weekly from the World War II era, please visit the archives digital collections page.  As might be expected, Gustavus was a very different place in the early 1940s.  In fact and as can be seen in the attached image, only four buildings from that period remain on the campus today.

Gustavus Adolphus College, Summer 1942

Autumn in the Archives

It's autumn in the archives so drop on in and find something fantastic.

Archives Window Display

Thanks to the efforts of Lacie Micek, an archives student worker, there is a wonderful new display on the windows of the College and Lutheran Church Archives. Using the 2011 homecoming theme of "black and gold never gets old," she created a visually appealing display of images depicting life at Gustavus since the institution moved to St. Peter in the mid 1870s. Micek utilized the facility's segmented windows to break the exhibit into 20 year time blocks. Most images were pulled from the online database of college photographs.

Keeping in Touch - Gustavus Postcards

The College and Lutheran Church Archives have brought you another exciting display! “Postcards from Gustavus Adolphus College” consists of many postcards that feature the college and the St. Peter community. Come and see what you can learn about how Gusties and our campus have changed in the last 150 years! You may be surprised at some of the similarities and differences of our community today! This appealing display was created by Lacie Micek, an archives student worker. It is located on the main floor of the library by the reference desk. Check it out!

Digital Gustavus

There are many exciting and new digital products being created and offered by the College and Lutheran Church Archives here at Gustavus. For example, you can browse nearly 500 digitized photographs going back to the 1800s, read civil war letters, study World War I propaganda
posters, peruse campus maps from bygone years, listen to oral history interviews, read all issues of the Gustavian Weekly from 1920 through spring 2005, and find your relatives in the 1947-48 alumni directory. In fact, there are so many interesting projects being tackled that you should visit the archives to learn more. If you have extra money, we are always looking for donations because history matters, and there is a cost to preserving our past. We are located in the library, directly above the main entrance. The webpage is here, and you'll need to click the link for digital collections to access the online materials. Have fun browsing! We have a history like no other because it's our history.

Archives Hours

The College and Lutheran Church Archives will be open extended hours this semester. We owe our thanks to Reverend Reuben and Edith M. Ford for an endowment supporting the Lutheran Church Archives. Adrianna Darden, the Archives Specialist, will be working an additional four hours each week.

Hours for Spring Semester 2011
Monday - 8:00-Noon and 1:00-4:30
Tuesday - 8:00-Noon and 1:00-4:30
Wednesday - 8:00-Noon and 1:00-4:30

Please contact Jeff Jenson, College and Lutheran Church Archivist, regarding other days and times. If you've never visited, hurry and join the hundreds of others who used the archives this past year. It's a fantastic experience!