Lindsborg is first Kansas town to display exhibition that details how transportation and migration built America

By GARY DEMUTH

Salina Journal

LINDSBORG -- The last thing LaVern Lyon wanted to do was fly to Sweden to meet a relative he never knew existed.

But against his better judgment, Lyon and his wife, Elaine, decided to make the trip.

"I figured if I was going to die, it might as well be in Sweden," said Lyon, 77, who flew there in 2005.

The Lyons made it across the ocean without a scratch. Once they arrived in Gothenburg, Sweden, Lyon said they had a wonderful time.

Not only was Lyon's first cousin Roland Svensson and his wife, Inger, friendly and hospitable, Lyon was able to fill in some missing pieces of his Swedish heritage.

"The next 10 days were some of the most rewarding days of my life," Lyon said. "I saw the house where my dad was born (with 13 siblings), and the church where he was christened."

The Lyon family's journey from Sweden to America began with Lyon's father, Gustaf. The Swedish man immigrated at age 21 to north-central Kansas in 1906, nursing a broken heart after a failed love affair, Lyon said.

In 2004, a distant relative from Iowa contacted Lyon and told him he had a first cousin in Sweden. Lyon contacted his cousin Roland and began the journey into his past.

A traveling society

Lyon shared the story of his father's journey and his own nearly 100 years later with the staff of the McPherson County Old Mill Museum in Lindsborg for an upcoming exhibition there.

The museum will host the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition, "Journey Stories: 2009-2010 Kansas Tour," from June 26 through Aug. 9.

Through the use of photographs, music, maps and historic artifacts, the exhibition will illustrate how transportation and migration helped build America and how travel has changed the country.

Whether it was an immigrant family traveling by steamship to the Americas, escaped slaves traveling along the Underground Railroad, settlers traveling across the American West by covered wagon or a 1950s family loading up the station wagon for a summer vacation, the exhibit will examine various modes of transportation, why people chose to settle where they did, and where our journeys might take us in the future.

"It's about the movement of people across the scope of American history," said Lorna Nelson, director of the McPherson County Old Mill Museum. "We're a mobile nation, always looking for new lives and new adventures."

The Washington D.C.-based Smithsonian Institution collaborated with the Kansas Humanities Council to bring the exhibition to six locations in the state through April 2010.

The exhibition will be a combination of national history provided by the Smithsonian and local stories gathered by the Kansas host cities, which include Glasco, Junction City and Colby in central and north-central Kansas.

But why pick Lindsborg?

The Kansas Humanities Council has collaborated with the Smithsonian and the Federation of State Humanities Councils as part of a continuing project called Museum on Main Street. The project is designed to bring national exhibitions to smaller cities in Kansas and other small towns in the U.S., said Tracy Quillin, director of communications for the Kansas Humanities Council.

"We look at towns that have a population of under 20,000, and choose an exhibit that matches with the communities," she said.

Lindsborg was chosen to kick-off the "Journey Stories" exhibit because of their strong Swedish and Mennonite history, Quillin said.

"They have lots of tales of immigration and a lot of good ideas for their local exhibit that are unique to their community," she said.

The Old Mill Museum partnered with a number of other museums and cultural organizations in central Kansas to put together the local exhibit, Nelson said, including Mennonite Museums in Hillsboro and Goessel.

Nelson said assistance also was provided by Judy Lilly, Kansas Librarian at the Salina Public Library, as well as by local residents such as Lyon, who supplied artifacts, photos, letters and stories of their relatives' journeys to the area.

Quite an experience

Nelson said she is thrilled that Lindsborg was chosen to host the exhibit.

"We feel very fortunate, especially being chosen the first one to kick it off," she said. "It's a story that applies to all of us, and I think people will find it interesting and meaningful."

Researching the story of his family's journey from Sweden to Kansas has had great meaning for Lyon and his family, connecting them with relatives they never knew.

"I never knew I had anyone but my immediate family," he said.

Since the visit to Sweden in 2005, the Svenssons have visited Kansas twice, in 2006 and 2007, and Lyon has taken pride in showing them where Gustaf Lyon settled once he arrived in the U.S.

"The last two or three years have been quite an experience," Lyon said.

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.

Join the Discussion:

Salina.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here. Read our full online terms of service policy.

Sheila Blevins says....
Obviously Mr. Collier did not understand the story about the Smithsonian exhibition at the Old Mill Museum in Lindsborg. The Old Mill is the first museum to display this exhibition. It made no claims of being the only or first exhibition of this kind. The Smithsonian exhibition will be making several appearances throughout Kansas communities and The Old Mill Museum is the first PLACE the exhibition will be shown. Oh and by the way: I live in Lindsborg and I have traveled extensively over the past two years--I get out a lot, as do many in our community. Generalizations about people and communities are made by people who don't take time to find out true facts.
6/22/2009

---

says....
That may be true for some people that live in Lindsborg, but let's not say all. I don't want to be thought of that way when I travel all over the world. And I'm not Swedish or Mennonite, either.
6/19/2009

---

Darrin Collier says....
While this exhibit is probably educational, it is far from being the only, or even the first one of its kind. St. Louis has a wonderful exhibition as does North Carolina and Minnesota. Occasionally, I've noticed that the people in Lindsborg seem as if they "don't get out much" and tend to think no one else exists.
6/19/2009

---

Post a comment
Your best chance of getting your comment posted:

• No profanity
• Be civil
• Everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

Comment:

Poster:

Enter text seen above:

Read our full use policy.