The Handcart Pioneers Arrive in Norway

Transcription

1 (DRAFT Article for the CHURCH NEWS - Saturday, June 13, 2009) By Allen P. Gerritsen, Grandson to the Sculptor Photos by: Tyler J. Gerritsen, Great-grandson to the Sculptor The Handcart Pioneers Arrive in Norway The Handcart Pioneers statue, familiar to most Latter-day Saints, is now part of a permanent display in a national museum in Norway. The statue is a bronze replica of the original 1926 version of the Handcart Pioneers, sculpted by the Norwegian-born Church sculptor Torleif S. Knaphus ( ). His descendants wanted to share with those in his native land one of his most acclaimed pieces. The piece shows a family of early Church converts between 1856 and 1860 who traveled from the end of the westerly railroad line in Iowa and Nebraska to the Salt Lake Valley. Almost 3,000 Saints traveled in ten companies of handcarts. The seventh company, were mostly from Scandinavia, Upon inquiring with the Norwegian Minister of Art and Religion concerning the potential donation to Norway, the Knaphus Family Organization was informed of the purpose and mission of the Norwegian Emigrant Museum in Ottestad, two hours north of Norway s capital of Oslo. The museum explores the history and emigration patterns of Norwegians throughout the world. It also collects and preserves relevant historical buildings and artifacts, and encourages research through publications, exhibitions, lectures and other media. This national museum has an outdoor portion that displays reconstructed farmhouses and buildings, which were built by Norwegian settlers in early America. This

2 environment is ideal to inform the public about the Mormon handcart pioneers and is of particular interest since the sculptor was born in Norway. The Handcart Pioneer statue is placed outside within a semi-circle clearing along the pathway between the main museum building and a rebuilt 1897 church originally constructed by Norwegian Lutheran. The statue and exhibit are a welcomed addition to the Norwegian Emigrant Museum and the Norway LDS Mission. President Lynn J. Poulsen said of the new addition: We anticipate that there will be many questions about the Church as people see this exhibit and ponder the reason of Norwegian s early emigration. The Mayor Nils Røhne, who was also at the ceremony, explained that in the early days the Church was not recognized as a Christian church and the members were persecuted. This is why there was a lot of immigrants to America. THE UNVEILING CEREMONY The public unveiling of the Handcart Pioneer Exhibit took place on Sunday, June 7 at the museum in Ottestad, Norway, two hours north of the capital of Oslo. Over 200 individuals joined the nine Knaphus family representatives from Utah to see the ceremony. Local dignitaries including city and community leaders, the Norway Mission Presidency, the Oslo Stake Presidency, and other local LDS Church leaders, missionaries and members also attended the event. A short program commenced in the main museum building with Sister Velsmøy Fluge Berg, a well-known soprano in Norway and wife to the second counselor in the Oslo Mission Presidency, who set the tone of the ceremony with a piece called Ved Rondane by Edvard Grieg ( ), a famous 2

3 Norwegian composer. The Norwegian National Railway Band was present to entertain the audience by a performance in the old church with a compilation of songs and a photo presentation taking the audience from Norway across the ocean to New York City then on to Chicago, where a lot of emigrants journeyed. The museum director, Knut Djupedal, showed a new and informative indoor exhibit regarding LDS Church history, Mormon handcart pioneers and Torleif S. Knaphus. This indoor exhibit will remain throughout the summer season at the Norwegian Emigrant Museum. Mr. Djupedal said to the foreign visitors that Knaphus has been their family member, but now he is a member of the museum s family, too. He also said that the Mormons now will now be a featured topic at the museum. Once outside, the attendees of the program were directed to the permanent site of the Handcart Pioneers statue. One of Brother Knaphus grandsons officially presented the donated exhibit to the national museum and community, while mentioning their gratitude of the Knaphus family s heritage being from Norway. The acceptance of the exhibit was made by the museum director and curator Djupedal. Sister Berg then sang a moving rendition of Come, Come, Ye Saints in Norwegian. This new exhibit has been in the works for five years by the Knaphus Family Organization. LDS Church leaders, members, and missionaries have looked forward to this addition to the community. Another grandson of Torleif Knaphus, David Humphrey and his wife Maxine, recently completed an 18- month mission and were able to serve in the same area as the original Knaphus farm. The Knaphus family produced bookmarks and brochures in 3

4 Norwegian and English for those who attend the unveiling ceremony, which can be distributed by the missionaries in the area for quite some time SCULPTING THE HANDCART PIONEERS STATUE In 1924, the Daughters of Utah Handcart Pioneers commissioned Brother Knaphus to create a statue in honor of this unique group of pioneers. The task took him two years. He began by interviewing some of those who had traveled with the handcart companies. He became knowledgeable about their experiences, and although his own immigration was by steamship and train fifty years later, he empathized with their experiences. To find models for his work, Knaphus simply used those close around him who fit the image in his mind. Except for the father in the statue, all of the other models were either from Norway or were the children of Norwegians. The model for the infant in the handcart was Brother Knaphus own daughter, Marie (Knaphus) James. She is now almost eighty-six years old but stresses to her own grandchildren that she DID NOT cross the plains with the handcart pioneers even though she posed for the baby in the statue! (Possible Sidebar) Except for the father pioneer, all of the other models were either from Norway or the children of Norwegians. The original bronze sculpture, one-half life size, was completed in 1926 by Brother Knaphus. For several decades, it was displayed in the foyer of the Bureau of Information Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. The LDS Church commissioned Brother Knaphus to sculpt a larger-than-life Handcart 4

5 Pioneers statue to commemorate the 1947 centennial celebration of the first pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley. Today, visitors can see that sculpture on Temple Square, while the original is located in the LDS Church Museum of Art nearby. The sculpture at the Norwegian Emigrant Museum in Ottestad, Norway, is a bronze casting of the original from To commemorate Torleif Knaphus identity as both a Norwegian and an American, the large granite stone base upon which the statue sits, the stone holding the informational plaque nearby, and the stone bench across the path, are all of Iddefjord granite from the county of Østfold, Norway. Knut Djupedal, Director of the Norwegian Emigrant Museum said, When taken together with the funding of this project provided by the James L. Sorenson family originally from Telemark in Norway, the family of John Langeland from Bergen and the sculptor s family being from Rogaland, the statue perfectly illustrates the national character of the Norwegian emigration to America. 5

6 (Possible Sidebar) Wording of the Informational Plaque at the Handcart Pioneer Exhibit (Written in Norwegian): T HE H ANDCART P I O NE E RS AND T O RLEI F S. K NAP HUS Beginning in 1847, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) began settling in the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. Many were European immigrants. Between 1856 and 1860, nearly 3,000 immigrants walked the 2,100 km. (1,300 mi.) from Iowa City, Iowa to Salt Lake City, across the Great Plains and through the Rocky Mountains, pushing and pulling the handcarts with their few belongings. In 1926, the Norwegian-born sculptor, Torleif S. Knaphus made a statue in honor of these immigrants. He called it the Handcart Pioneers. The statue at the Norwegian Emigrant Museum is an exact copy of the original. A larger-than-life version was unveiled on Temple Square in Salt Lake City in 1947, during the Centennial Celebration of the first Mormons arriving in the Salt Lake Valley. Torleif S. Knaphus was born in Øvre Vats, Rogaland, Norway in At age 19, he studied in Oslo with the well-known artist Harriet Backer as his mentor. While in Oslo, he joined the Mormon Church. At age 24, he decided to immigrate to Salt Lake City. After he began his family, his studies took him to Paris, Chicago and New York City. Knaphus became a well-known artist. His sculptures are in seven of the United States, in Canada, and now in his homeland Norway. Despite his artistic achievements, Knaphus considered his greatest accomplishments to be his large family and his extensive Norwegian genealogical research. He honored his ancestors and was proud of his Norwegian ancestry. Torleif Knaphus passed away in 1965, at age 83. 6