FINDING AID
Nytta och Nöje club (Rock Island, Ill.) records, 1900-1984
COLLECTION SUMMARY
Collection Title:
Nytta och Nöje club (Rock Island, Ill.) records
Collection Number:
I/O:2
Dates:
1900-1984
Size:
3 boxes (1.5 linear feet)
Language:
Swedish (bulk), English
Creator/Collector:
Nytta och Nöje
Bergendoff, Conrad, 1895-1997
Subject Headings:
Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.)
Swedish Americans--Social life and customs
Swedish Americans--Illinois--Societies, etc.
Repository:
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Abstract:
Nytta och Nöje was founded at Augustana College on February 22, 1900. Its main mission was to preserve Swedish culture among people from or around Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. The collection consists of meeting minutes 1900-1984, group histories, program information, a portrait of members from 1905, and 17 audiocassette recordings of programs from the 1970s.
RIGHTS AND ACCESS
Conditions Governing Access:
Collection is open for research.
Technical Access:
The Swenson Center does not own playback equipment required for use of audio recordings in this collection. Recordings have been digitized.
Reproduction and Use:
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the Swenson Center and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation:
[item identification], in I/O:2 Nytta och Nöje club (Rock Island, Ill.) records, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATERIALS
Provenance:
The papers were transferred to the Swenson Center in 1981 from Augustana College Library. Exact date is not known.
Location of Copies:
First 21 years of meeting minutes are photocopied and bound as Protokollsbok för Föreningen Nytta och Nöje, 1900-1921. See Immig. HS1928 .N9 R6.
Processed By:
Processed by Kermit Westerberg in 1980s. First finding aid written in 2006, likely by Christina Johansson. Finding aid updated by Lisa Huntsha in January 2017 following Describing Archives: A Content Standard.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Administrative/Biographical History:
Nytta och Nöje was founded at Augustana College on February 22, 1900. Its main mission was to preserve Swedish culture among people from or around Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Nytta och Nöje, which loosely translates as “Purpose and Pleasure,” was called many names, including No Name Society, Svenska Klubb, and Swedish Club. It was formed as a literary society, but served as a group for the preservation of Swedish culture (“Svenskhetens bevarande”). The group met monthly from October to May in members’ homes and gave programs in Swedish and English on cultural topics with special speakers. The group held annual Christmas dinners, social events, and celebrated group anniversaries with special events.
Charter members include Dr. Olaf Bersell, Uma Bersell, Prof. Ernst Zetterstrand (or Setterstrand), Elise Zetterstrand, Mrs. S. P. A. Lindahl, Edla Lund, Pastor J. Jesperson, Mrs. Jesperson, Dr. Emil A. Edlen, Hulda Edlen, C. H. Boman, and Margaret Boman. Many were Swedish immigrants. Later members included Conrad Bergendoff, Fritiof Ander, Esther Andreen Albrecht, John Norton, Birger Swenson, Glen Brolander, Gustav Andreen and Harold Sundelius.
Scope and Content:
The collection consists of meeting minutes 1900-1984, group histories, program information, a portrait of members from 1905, and 17 audiocassette recordings of programs from the 1970s.
System of Arrangement:
Series I: Meeting Minutes
Series II: Club History, Programs, etc.
Series III: Cassette Recordings
Collection Inventory:
Box 1
Series I: Meeting Minutes (Protokoll, in Swedish)
• Meeting minutes book, February 1900-Oct. 1903
• Meeting minutes book, November 1903-Dec. 1909
• Meeting minutes book, January 1910- Feb. 1921
• Meeting minutes book, April 1921-Apr. 1933
• Meeting minutes book, May 1933-Jan. 1943
• Meeting minutes, February 1943-Oct. 1951
• Meeting minutes, November 1951-Jan. 1959
• Meeting minutes, February 1959-March 1968
• Meeting minutes, April 1968-Dec. 1971
• Meeting minutes, March 1972-May 1975
Box 2
• Meeting minutes, October 1975-May 1984
• Loose items from meeting minutes, October 1975-May 1984
Series II: Club History, Programs, etc.
• Club histories
• Historisk techning av Sällskapet Nytta och Nöje, Fyrtioårsfesten 1940; En Kort Historik över “Nytta och Nöje” vid 70-års festen den 13 februari 1970; An Album of Nytta och Nöje by Conrad Bergendoff (circa 1984)
• Club song
• The Argus newspaper article, Rock Island, Illinois, 1975
• Programs from 1902-1976 and undated
• Club’s 20th, 25th, 40th, and 50th anniversaries
• Club’s 70th anniversary
• Club’s 75th anniversary
• Correspondence
• Notes of sympathy and memorials, 1940-1967, and undated
• Membership
• Receipts and treasurers’ reports
• Miscellaneous
• Group photograph of members circa 1905, identified
Box 3
Series III: Cassette Recordings
Cassette 1
• Side I: May 1975, Dr. Bergendoff, “Erland Carlson”
• Side II: May 1975, Dr. Bergendoff, “Erland Carlson”
Cassette 2
• Side I: March 1976, Peter Beckman, “Church centennial celebrations and Peter Beckman in Minnesota”
• Side II: March 1976, Peter Beckman, “Church centennial celebrations and Peter Beckman in Minnesota”
Cassette 3
• Side I: April 20, 1976, “King Carl XVI Carver Center, Concert”
• Side II: April 20, 1976, “King Carl XVI Carver Center, Main Program”
Cassette 4
• Side I: April 20, 1976, “King Carl XVI Student Union”
• Side II: [No audio]
Cassette 5
• Side I: October 15, 1976, Conrad Bergendoff welcome in Swedish, reading of minutes, Lennart Setterdahl, “Preserving church records through microfilming”
• Side II: October 15, 1976, Lennart Setterdahl, “Preserving church records through microfilming”
Cassette 6
• Side I: February 4, 1977, reading of minutes, Dr. Allen Swanson, “New Approaches to Immigration”
• Side II: February 4, 1977, Dr. Allen Swanson, “New Approaches to Immigration”
Cassette 7 (BROKEN TAPE)
• Side I: March 13, 1977, Dr. Emory Lindquist, “On Writing Biographies”
• Side II: March 13, 1977, Dr. Emory Lindquist, “On Writing Biographies”
Cassette 8
• Side I: Apr. 15, 1977, John Norton, “Letters of Anders Wiberg”
• Side II: Apr. 15, 1977, John Norton, “Letters of Anders Wiberg”
Cassette 9
• Side I: May 13, 1977, Lilly Setterdahl, “Researching Immigrant History”
• Side II: [No audio]
Cassette 10
• Side I: October 21, 1977, Dr. Fritiof Ander, “Sweden Today”
• Side II: October 21, 1977, Dr. Fritiof Ander, “Sweden Today”
Cassette 11
• Side I: March 10, 1978, Brynolf Lundholm, “Music of Swedish Churches”
• Side II: March 10, 1978, Brynolf Lundholm, “Music of Swedish Churches”
Cassette 12
• Side I: April 14, 1978, Esther Andreen Albrecht, “Early Days on the Campus”
• Side II: April 14, 1978, Esther Andreen Albrecht, “Early Days on the Campus”
Cassette 13
• Side I: October 13, 1978, Dr. Conrad Bergendoff, “University of Uppsala’s 500th Anniversary”
• Side II: November 8, 1978, introduction by unknown and “Carl Linnaeus” film
Cassette 14
• Side I: January 13, 1979, Brynolf Lundholm “Introduction and recording, original compositions, songs by Mark”
• Side II: [No audio]
Cassette 15
• Side I: February 9, 1979, Birger Swenson, “My Story” biography part 2 (part 1 given in March)
• Side II: February 9, 1979, Birger Swenson, “My Story” biography part 2 (part 1 given in March)
Cassette 16
• Side I: May 1979, Brynolf Lundholm, “Review and Piano Recital”
• Side II: May 1979, Brynolf Lundholm
Cassette 17
• Side I: No date, no label
• Side II: [No audio]