Tom Holmquist - Swedes of Kansas: Pioneering, Settlement and Culture in the Smoky Valley of Kansas (Programs)
Among the many cultural groups who settled the Great Plains of Kansas were people from Sweden. These hardy pioneers brought with them a strong work ethic, an absolute devotion to the church, a strong desire for education, and a love of music and the arts. Tom Holmquist's presentation will focus on those early pioneers and the obstacles they faced, how they built their farms and towns from an empty prairie and turned the Smoky Valley into a center of agriculture, education and a mecca for the arts, where even today Swedish culture and traditions are maintained and Lindsborg is known as "Little Sweden, U.S.A. "
Tom Holmquist is a farmer/rancher who lives on the family farm homesteaded by his great-grandfather in 1868 near Smolan, Kansas. He is a retired public school teacher having taught history, vocal and instrumental music, and agriculture in the Smoky Valley School District. He is a graduate of Bethany College and Emporia State University and studied as a Fulbright Scholar in Japan. He is a frequent contributor of Kansas stories to the 105 Meadowlark Reader. Mr. Holmquist published three books on Swedish American Culture and History and the settlement of the Smoky Valley of Kansas, including: Pioneer Cross, Swedish Settlements Along the Smoky Hill Bluffs, 1993; Bluestem, 2000; and Salemsborg: A History of the Salemsborg Lutheran Church, 1869-1939, 2019. This book was awarded the 2020 Award of Commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute, St Louis, Missouri. Holmquist has just finished a new book, Smoky Valley Best, Lindsborg’s Treasure, 2024, a history of the Smoky Valley Roller Mill in Lindsborg, Kansas.
Location and Hybrid Participation Options
This will be a hybrid program, with the following options available for participating.
- In-person attendance - our programs are held at the Minnesota Genealogy Center, 1385 Mendota Heights Road Suite 100 in Mendota Heights, MN.
- Virtual – The Zoom link will be emailed to all members before the program.
- A recording will be available if you can’t attend in-person or virtually.
Members
No quarterly program fee and you don’t need to register in advance.
Non-members
The cost is $10 per person. If you attend in person, no need to register and pay in advance. Registration information will be posted here at a time closer to the event.
