EPHRAIM -- Utah has long been a haven for Scandinavian immigrants. And Scandinavians have made, in turn, significant contributions to the state's identity.
So says Richard Jensen, research professor of church history at Brigham Young University.As part of festivities commemorating the 103rd anniversary of Utah's statehood, held Monday at Snow College in Ephraim, Jensen talked about the creativity and innovation among Utah's Scandinavian-Americans.
Prior to Jensen's keynote address, the college offered various activities, including a banquet and walking tours of historical sites in Spring City and Mount Pleasant.
Scandinavians, many of whom originally settled in Sanpete County, Jensen said, have played a large role in Utah history. Members of the LDS Church traveled from Salt Lake City to the area of Manti 150 years ago while other church members served missions to Denmark, Sweden and Norway, which eventually attracted many converts to Utah.
"Sanpete County was especially blessed with their increasing presence," Jensen said. "The wave that began with mostly Danish arrivals in Fort Ephraim in 1853 has helped make this county and this state distinctive."
That influence continues today. Jensen said that according to the 1990 federal census, more than 163,000 Utahns (9 1/2 percent of the state's population) listed Denmark as the country from which their ancestors had emigrated. In Sanpete County, that figure was 29 percent, the second-highest total for any county in the nation. California had the most Danes at 262,101, Jensen said, "but Utah came in a strong second with 163,048."
Jensen lauded the accomplishments of first-generation Scandinavian immigrants who have enriched the quality of life for all Utahns, which included achievements in writing and the arts.
Among those are artists C.C.A. Christensen from Denmark and Dan Weggeland from Norway. In the late 1800s, Christensen painted scenery for theaters in Springville, Fairview and Mount Pleasant as well as the Salt Lake Theater. Dan Weggeland of Norway became known as the "father of Utah artists" and collaborated with Christensen on murals in the LDS temples in Manti and St. George.
Christensen also penned hymns in his native language and was widely published, including an essay on the arts for Bikuben, the LDS Danish-Norwegian newspaper based in Salt Lake City in 1892.
Several Scandinavians were accomplished agriculturists. In the 1880s, "Sanpete County had become known as the breadbasket of Utah," Jensen said.
And others made their own marks in other facets of society. Andreas Olsen, a Norwegian-born sailmaker who lived in Ephraim, labored on what Jensen called "inventions of mechanical devices" and a prototype of a perpetual motion machine. Norwegian and noted skier Alf Engen directed the Alf Engen Ski School at Alta from 1948 to 1989. A suggestion by May Anderson of Denmark later resulted in the establishment of Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Notable Norwegians who arrived in Utah in the early years of the 20th century, Jensen said, include writer Josef Straaberg, sculptor Torleif Knaphus, writer Anna Widtsoe, scientist John A. Widtsoe, violinist Willard Weihe, architect Ramm Hansen, author Nephi Anderson and editor Christian Johannessen.
Jensen added that numerous descendants of Scandinavian-Americans from Utah are still making contributions throughout the world, such as pianist Grant Johannessen. James Sorensen has made inroads in the medical supply industry and Bruce Bastian has done the same in computer software, Jensen said.