SANDZEN GALLERY
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As part of the celebration of Birger Sandzén’s 130th
birthday (he was born on February 5, 1871), the Gallery has prepared special
exhibits, including several birthday letters.
Birger
wrote these letters in Swedish to his relatives in Sweden. Only Swedish transcriptions and English
translations of the original letters, not the letters themselves, are available
in the Sandzén Gallery Archives. These
were prepared for Dr. Emory K. Lindquist when he did research for Birger Sandzén: An Illustrated Biography.
The letter that follows not only describes Birger’s
fortieth birthday celebration but also adds his philosophic comments and family
news. The complete translation is
presented below, with a little editing of form for ease of reading.
February 5, 1911ă.
Dear Brother!
A hearty
thank-you for the letter. I should have
answered long ago, but have been terribly rushed. Will now have time to write only a few lines but better some than
none.
Mother-in-law
[Charlotte Leksell] and Frida fixed a real festive dinner today on my birthday
and gave me useful and good gifts. In
the afternoon Engströms came with all three of the children [Enoch and Agnes
Engström, Harold, Ruth and Selma] from McPherson to congratulate. Four of the teachers (Brase; Thorsén;
Peterson, teacher in Swedish; and Welin, teacher in chemistry) were also here,
so the cottage was nearly full of people.
It is almost unbelievable that we brothers are
middle-aged men. Time passes with an
appalling speed. That in itself is
nothing to weep over, if it only goes well, i.e., if we use well the years that
are granted to us here on earth. A
couple of days ago I read in a book a statement that went something like
this: “We serve God best by serving our
fellow men, because he does not need our service himself.” That is a striking truth. Nothing can so ennoble a person, as the act
of unselfishly working for his fellow men.
The winter
is mild and nice here in Kansas. We
have had an abundance of glorious sunshine.
Carl and Sigurd [Birger’s other brother and his nephew] are in the very
best of health. Carl has as yet not
rented an office in town, since he is still waiting for the license to practice
in Kansas. He has however had several
patients.
Tomorrow
night Oscar [Thorsén] gives an instructive piano concert in the school’s large
hall. The music teachers annually give
a series of free concerts for the benefit of the students to which, however,
visitors are also welcome.
We hope our dear little Mother soon will be really well. That would be a great joy for all of us.
Greet everyone from us. Will we not soon see a picture of little Elsa? If one only could see her and hug her, the dear little thing.
· · · · ·
Additional
birthday letters, cards, and photographs may be found in the special Gallery
exhibit (including letters from his daughter Margaret) and in the Winter 2000
and 2001 issues of Gallery Notes.
Letters and Papers: Jan 00 examples
Letters and Papers: Oct 99 examples
Gallery Archives
Inside Sandzén