College and Lutheran Church ArchivesPage 2

Library at Gustavus (Part 2 of 10)

ST. ANSGAR’S ACADEMY (1863-1876) The school Norelius founded moved to East Union in Carver County, Minnesota in 1863. Andrew Jackson became the head of the school, as well as the faculty, registrar, treasurer, and librarian. There were two major additions to the library during this time. The Minnesota Lutheran Conference authorized Jackson to travel to […]

Library at Gustavus (Part 1 of 10)

RED WING (1862-1863) Eric Norelius founded a school in his home at Red Wing, Minnesota in 1862.  His personal collection of books is considered the first library collection  You can view many of the books from Norelius’ personal collection here: https://www.librarything.com/catalog/FolkeB/ericnoreliuspersonallibrary. In celebration of 50 years in the current library building (known as the Folke […]

The Gustavus Greens: Environmental Activism on Campus

Happy Earth Day!  Are you interested in learning more about environmental activism on campus? The Gustavus Greens is one notable environmental awareness group that formed during the 1980s. The Greens embraced a grassroots philosophy of direct involvement and equal participation. Club members also worked to increase the awareness of environmental issues, improve the college’s sustainability, […]

Preparing to Serve: Naval History from the Gustavus Archives

Did you know that Gustavus played an important role in training Navy and Marine Corps personnel during the Second World War? In late 1942, Gustavus, along with many other colleges and universities across the United States, was selected to participate in the V-12 Navy College Training Program. This program was created in a massive effort […]

Claire Hobart: Gustie Grad, Poet, Musician for God, Family Man, Servant to the Disabled

Claire William Hobart January 1914 – December 1993 CHILDHOOD – COLLEGE Claire Hobart was born a premature twin during January 1914. His sibling died shortly after birth, and Claire spent the first 3 months of his life in an incubator. It was at the end of this period that he lost his eyesight. While some blind children […]

NFL at Gustavus

One would not usually associate Gustavus Adolphus College with the National Football League (NFL), but surprisingly, the campus hosted the New York Giants football team not once but twice during 1952 and 1953. Gustavus was selected from a large pool in Minnesota as the location for the Giants’ training camp. Attractive attributes were the college’s […]

Happy Homecoming!

As we look forward to the big game against St. Olaf on September 28th, take a minute to check out the homecoming display featuring past traditions of this college holiday.  Over the years, Gustavus has hosted a variety of events and some even continue today.  Homecoming traditionally allows alumni to gather and catch up, but […]

Historic Yearbooks Now Online!

Exciting news from the College Archives: All published editions of Gustavus yearbooks from 1904-1992 are now searchable online along with the student newspaper. Utilize this new resource to dig up family history at Gustavus, uncover old traditions and campus events, or use for your own personal research topic of interest. The Gustavian has chronicled the lives of students, […]

Elections at Gustavus

Students are often passionate about political causes and especially so during presidential election years.  In the modern era, as evidenced by results of a student preference survey in the most recent issue of the Gustavian Weekly, Gustavus students prefer more liberal candidates.  In decades and centuries past, Gusties favored the more conservative contenders.  Although the following […]

Archives Open House and Free Tour

October is American Archives Month so visit the College and Lutheran Church Archives and take a tour. Tours will feature historical Gustavus treasures and awesome artifacts not usually on public display. Find out what the archives is all about and what it has to offer you.  The archives is located on the library’s top floor, directly […]