Hans Allen

As printed in 1909

Rev. Hans Allen, president of the faculty of the Lutheran Ladies' Seminary, is a gentleman of unquestioned integrity and marked scholarly attainments, one who stands high in the ministerial and educational ranks of the county. He is a native of Decorah Iowa, born March 15, 1861, son of Guttorm Allen, who came to America in 1844, and the same year enlisted in the Mexican war. Here he did his adopted country brave and efficient service. Upon his return he located at Jefferson Prairie, Wis., and married Kirsten Rishovd, a native of Norway, who came to this country in 1846. At Jefferson Prairie he farmer for a short time, afterward removing to Decorah, Iowa, Avhere he purchased 360 acres and carried on agricultural operations on an extensive scale. He died in 1902 and his wife followed him to the Great Beyond during the following year. Hans Allen attended the common schools of his neighborhood and entered the Luther College of Decorah, Iowa, receiving his diploma with honors in 1883. He supplemented this training with a three years' course at the Concordia College, St. Louis, Mo., after which he was ordained to the ministry in the fall of 1886. His first charge was at Portland, Trail county. North Dakota, where he served eight congregations in an able manner for six years. His work in this capacity attracted attention, and in 1892 he was assigned to a congregation at Mankato, Minn., where he labored acceptably two years. In 1894 came the opportunity for wider service when he was called to the presidency of the Lutheran Ladies ' Seminary, in which capacity he has remained to the present day, having charge of the institution and occupying the chair of Norwegian Literature, Bible and Church History. As a disciplinarian he combines the qualities of justness with gentleness, as a teacher he is an acute thinker and incisive reasoner, and as a citizen his opinions command esteem, respect and consideration. Rev. Allen was married June 13, 1887, at Decorah. Iowa, to Emma Wingaard, of that place, daughter of Ole and Marie Wingaard, natives of Norway. The mother is now deceased and the father lives in Decorah. To Rev. and Mrs. Allen have been born three children: Nellie M. E., born April 3, 1888, and Clara L., born January 22, 1892, are students at the seminary, while Esther E., born March 28, 1898, attends the parish school of Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church at Red AVing.

The Minnesota State Training School, formerly known as the Minnesota State Reform School, has a beautiful location of about 450 acres of land, something over a mile below the city of Red AVing. The group of buildings is situated on an elevated plateau leading down by a gentle slope to the Mississippi river and commanding a view that in itself should be an inspiration to the wayward or unfortunate ones who spend their youth in the school. The institution has been in existence since January 15, 1868, and had occupied its present site since October, 1891. The State expended over $300,000 on the property and buildings, gained from the sale of the old site of the school in St. Paul, that location having wonderfully increased in value since the establishment of the school in 1868. The school is occupied on the family plan, each family of some fifty boys, classified according to age, having a cottage and playground of its own, but with a dining hall in common. The girls' school is a building by itself, 300 feet west of the other buildings, and its management is entirely separate and distinct from the boys. The exterior of the buildings are of brick and stone, the interior being entirely of hardwood. There is nothing at the school to suggest that it is a penal institution, the boys themselves looking like cadets in a military school, clothed as they are in neat uniforms. Graded schools, similar to ordinary public schools, are conducted, one-half of the scholars attending in the forenoon and working in the afternoon, and vice verse. The grading and beautifying of the extensive grounds have all been done by the boys, who also cultivate the large garden patches which supply the schools with vegetables and fruit for use on the tables and feed for the stock. The boys do all their housework, cooking, baking, laundry work, etc., and the entire institution is a marvel of neatness. The school maintains a carpenter shop, shoe shop, tailor shop, printing office and other establishments. A small paper, the Riverside, is printed by the boys, who also supply the material for its contents. Another enjoyable attraction of school life is a well trained brass band. The boys and girls are sentenced under sixteen years of age, and can be kept, the boys until they are twenty-one and the girls until they are eighteen, but they may be paroled on their good behavior during that time. There are no statistics available on which to base a percentage of those redeemed by the good influence of the school, but it is believed that the results rank well with the results obtained by other state institutions of similar character. Religion is made a part of the ever-day life, with special services Sunday.

Red Wing Collegiate Institute. — This institute was organized and incorporated August 28, 1870, with the following board of officers: president, Lucius F. Hubbard; secretary, Charles C. Webster; treasurer, F. A. Cole. Directors: James Lawther, Peter Daniels, Lucius F. Hubbard, Charles C. AVebster, F. A. Cole and W. P. AVood. The grounds were donated by Edward Murphy, of Minneapolis, and funds raised for building purposes by issu-' ing stock certificates to the amount of $12,500. Daniels & Simmons took the contract for a consideration of $14,800, and to complete it a mortgage was given to Joseph Averill, of Danvers, Alassachusetts, who advanced $5,000. The institute was successful for about three years, when, for want of funds it was sold to Joseph Averill, to satisfy the above noted mortgage. January 8, 1878, it Avas purchased by Hans Marcuson, in trust for the Hauges Norwegian Evangelical Synod, and afterwards deeded to a board of" directors, viz.: Hans Marcuson, Gunelf Tollefson.. Knut John Stangeland, and Andrew Ellingson, with the design of making it a Lutheran Theological Seminary.

Frank A. Whittier, whose efficient management of the State Training School has won praise from far beyond the borders of the state, is a native of this state, born June 22, 1860. His parents, Albert and Lucy A. (Wellington) Whittier, both natives of New Hampshire, were descended from old Granite State families. They ventured in the early days into what was then the new country of Ohio. Imbued with the pioneer spirit, they found that the rich valleys of Ohio Avere fast passing the stages of early settlement, and consequently determined to try their fortunes still further to the westAvard. Consequently the year of 1856 saw them located in Minneapolis, where young Frank A. ivas born. In the summer of 1860, they settled in Empire township,

Dakota county, and purchased 240 acres of land. The father at once set to work with vigor and soon the land was under cultivation, while a comfortable home sheltered the family. Here the roof tree was established, and happiness and prosperity was the lot of the family until December 14, 1884, when the stricken home mourned the loss of the mother. A few years later, in 1891, the father took up his residence with a daughter in Farmington, this state, where he died, August 23, 1904. Frank A. was brought up on a farm, and attended the district schools in Empire township. Later he graduated from the Hastings High School, in which institution he made so good a record that he had no difficulty in securing a clerical position in the bank there. A year later he returned home, and remained on the farm until 1888. From that date until 1893 he ran an establishment for the retail handling of dairy products in St. Paul, this business later being disposed of to the Crescent Creamery Company. His next employment was with the municipal engineering department of the city of Minneapolis, and in 1895 he was appointed state agent for the state prison and reformatory, in which position he remained until he came to-Red Wing as superintendent of the Minneapolis State Training School, an office which he has retained to the present day. It is interesting to note that while on the farm for the benefit of his health, after leaving the bank at Hastings, Mr. "WMttier taught in the rural school districts for several years. In politics he is a Republican, in fraternal affiliation a member of the Masonic order and of the Independent Order of Foresters. In religious belief he favors the Universalist church. Mr. Whittier was married, April 2, 1884, at Empire, Minn., to Margaret Cameron, by whom he has five children. Albert A., a graduate of the University of Chicago, is a civil engineer in the state of Utah, while Walter F., Grace, Horace B. and Myra live with their parents.

Villa Maria Convent, a school for girls, under the direction of the Ursuline nuns of the Roman Catholic church, is situated on Lake Pepin, near the village of old Frontenac, the well-known summer resort.

A more beautiful site for a school could not well be found; on a rise of ground, commanding a wide view of lake, valley, hill and plain, surrounded by park-like forests, and arched by the full sweep of the heavens, all the natural influences combine to elevate and instruct the mind. Nor are historical associations lacking, for on this very spot there stood, more than a century and a half ago, St. Michael's, one of the old French missionary forts of the upper Mississippi.

The grounds, consisting of 120 acres, are the gift of General

Israel Garrard, who spent a fortune and a great part of his life in improving and beautifying the already naturally beautiful village of Frontenac, to the attractions of which the villa now contributes in no small degree. Noticing the rapid growth of the school conducted at Lake City by the Ursulines, and appreciating the difficulty for them of accomplishing in crowded quarters the work at which they aimed, the general offered in 1885 a tract of land for a more commodious institution. The offer was accepted with gratitude, and, thanks to the noble generosity of Mother Kostha Bowman, the project was soon realized, and the construction of the largest educational building of the time, in the Northwest, was begun. The foundations were laid in 1888, and under the able superintendence of F. J. Evans and the assistance of 0. D. Prescott, the work progressed rapidly, the main building being completed and dedicated in 1890.

The building is cruciform in shape, with a length of 301 feet, and a with of 90 feet, exclusive of porches. It is four stories high, and is surmounted at the north end by a tower lifting a golden cross 150 feet above the ground. The main entrance is at the northeast corner, and opens into a spacious hall, extending to the opposite side, where a broad stairway of polished oak gives access to the floors above. The hall is lighted by large stained glass windows, and is crowned by a dome.

On the left of the hall, on the ground floor, are the parlors, and from the right leads a corridor 200 feet long, out of which open the dormitory, the refectory,- and. at the farther end, the kitchen. The convent proper, for the nuns occupy the entire four stories of the west wing. Besides the many windows, there is a ventilating chimney, and the rooms are noticeably airy and comfortable.

On the second floor are the library, the museum, and the laboratories for physics and chemistry. Above the dormitory are a large, sunny study hall, music rooms and recitation rooms, and adjoining these are the gymnasium and recreation hall.

On the third floor, the art rooms occupy the east end. and the greater part of the remainder of the space is given up to the chapel, a lovely devotional apartment, with high arched ceiling, frescoed walls and stained glass windows. In a vaulted recess at one end is the altar, an artistic piece of workmanship of polished wroed, carved and gilded. Framed into it above is a magnificent painting of the Blessed Virgin, the work of one of the old masters, presented to one of the nuns by King Louis II. of Bavaria.

The fourth floor contains an immense water tank which supplies the numerous bath and toilet rooms in various parts of the building, and serves as protection against fire. For further protection from this danger there are patent extinguishers on every lioor. Artificial heat is supplied by the hot water system, and there is telephone connection.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

The course of study embraces all the branches of a thorough English education, combined with the culture of art, music and languages, and extends from lowest primary through the grammar and high school grades. Successful steps have been taken to have the school accredited to the University of Minnesota, so that graduates from the Villa who wish to continue their education in the University may be admitted to its courses without examinations. Lessons are also given in music, the arts and languages, as well as in the various branches of handiwork, for which the Ursuline nuns have won a high reputation.

The physical development of the pupils is provided for in gymnasium and playground, and in the extraordinary opportunities for the natural out-of-door exercises of walking, driving, boating and bathing, under the supervision of the ever-watchful nuns.

Above all do the nuns regard the moral development of the child, and broad and deep do they lay the foundation stones of character. Religious instruction is given to the Catholic children, while all their pupils are trained daily and hourly in the precepts and practices calculated to foster those noble qualities of head, heart and soul that go to the formation of true womanhood. The character and accomplishments of the graduates who have gone out from Villa Maria during these past thirty years give ample testimony to the devotion of the nuns, and the thoroughness of their training.

The Gustavus Adolphus College, of St. Peter, was started in Red "Wing in 1862 by Dr. E. Norelius. The next year it was removed to East Union. Carver county, and named St. Ansgar's Academy. In 1874 a corporation was formed and in the next two years suitable buildings were erected at St. Peter's, where the institution has since been located, growing to tremendous importance.

As printed in History of Goodhue County, Minnesota (1909). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.