Nils Anton Pearson was born May 23, 1892 in Lund, Sweden and began carving wood around the age of nine. Like many of his schoolmates, Anton was inspired by the Swedish woodcarver, Axel Petersson, later known as Döderhultarn.

Anton attended a technical school at the University of Lund because his father wanted him to be an engineer; however, Anton was far more interested in the arts. In line with his adventurous personality and love of travel, Anton tried to book passage to America on the RMS Titanic, but (fortunately) the ship was sold out.

After booking an alternative route, Anton arrived in America in May 1912, just a few days before his twentieth birthday and settled in Chicago for a time. He traveled to the world’s fair in San Francisco, CA and stopped in the small town of Lindsborg, KS along the way, a stop that would change the course of his life.

By 1915, Anton had made his way back to Lindsborg and enrolled at Bethany College to study fine arts. Principal art instructor, Birger Sandzén became a close friend and mentor. The two men spent much time together looking for interesting scenery to paint. Many Saturdays would find the two driving around in a Model T Ford from sunup to sundown seeking interesting scenes to sketch for paintings. Anton painted many pictures during his time at Bethany College. By December 1918, he was exhibiting paintings at art shows locally and the surrounding areas.

During his Bethany College years, Anton also met a quietly delightful piano student named Grace Lane. Their courtship was a long one, as Anton had many adventures he still wanted to explore.

Over the next few years, Anton traveled extensively, keeping Lindsborg as his home base, sending Grace detailed letters of his adventures. He supported himself during these years by being a field agent for the Capper Publishing Company, selling Wearever aluminum kitchen utensils, as well as working as an "oil man" for an oil company securing landowners contracts to drill on their property.

In 1922, Anton took a four-month sojourn traveling the US by horse-drawn wagon, hiking, railway, automobile and even a homemade houseboat, over 3,600 miles to get inspiration for his art. He returned home with nearly 200 paintings, an eclectic collection of rocks, antiques, and various building materials.

Anton and Grace were married in 1929 and established their home in Lindsborg. Many of the items Anton had collected during his travels found new purpose in his home and studio. Grace was known for her many beautiful gardens. Their daughter, Rosemary was born in 1933.

October 2019 In this issue: Anton Pearson Display

Jim Malm Carving a Legacy

Chaplain’s Blessing

Coming Events

Anton Pearson (1892- 1967)

was best known for his whimsical

characters carved of wood.

After being tucked away for decades,

Pearson’s portraits are being displayed

and identified.

Right: Gladys Hale Dated March 4, 1918

Today Rare Portraits on

Display at Bethany Home

(Continued on page 2)

Left: This portrait has been identified as Mr. Beckstrom who owned the Beckstrom Jewelry store

(Continued from page 1)

Jim Malm remembers working in the shop with his father, Norman Malm, learning the family trade: wood carving. Jim’s memories of his grandfather, Anton Pearson, are slightly foggier, although he left a legacy of his own through this carvings and paintings.

Together, Jim and his father, Norman, maintained the Pearson Wood-carving Studio until Norman’s passing in 2011, working traditionally in

the figure carving style of Scandinavian flat-plane, and preserving the memories of early Swedish pioneers.

As Jim and his wife, Sheila, were sorting through the many family “treasures”, they came across a collection of portraits, tucked away in a back closet. The portraits were painted by Jim’s maternal grandfather, Anton Pear-

son, most likely during his years at Bethany College, between 1916-1919. None of the portraits were dated or named, although through much research and a little help on social media, many of the portraits have been identified.

The paintings represent the faces of people who helped build and develop Lindsborg in one way or another, and were done by a beloved Lindsborg artist, in a medium for which he wasn’t commonly recognized. This collection of portraits, along with many of Pearson’s wood carvings, will be on display at Bethany Home for the months of October and November. Jim and Shiela have arranged for identified portraits to be given to the family or descendants.

Anton served his adopted country in WWI; stationed at Camp Cody, NM. Too old for the WWII draft, he worked for the aircraft industry in Wichita, KS making B17 Bombers. After the war, Anton continued to carve and amassed quite a collection of wonderful carvings. He opened his studio to tourists and visiting school groups. He went to schools and spoke about the arts and wood carving.

Anton admired the early pioneers of Lindsborg. Their influence can be clearly seen in his characters and carvings. Anton said he created the characters he carved by closing his eyes and envisioning them. It's been suggested that perhaps particular Lindsborg residents crept into his mind, as many of his carvings certainly resembled the ‘Lindsborgians’ he encountered. His carvings show Swedish pioneers at work and at play, living their daily lives.

His grandson Jim Malm also says that Anton was a carving "opportunist". Finding a special piece of wood, he would carve until a figure was exposed. He used many different types of woods and even limestone.

Anton passed away in 1967. He left a legacy of woodcarvings, paintings and a grandson who follows in his woodcarving foot-steps. He also left a charming home and studio filled with won-derful woodcarvings that remained open for tours for many years. For more information on Anton Pearson, please visit: www.antonpearsoncarving.com

Pearson’s wood carvings depict Swedish Pioneers at work and at play.

The influence of friend and mentor, Birger Sandzén is clearly seen in Pearson’s paintings.

Jim Malm carries on the legacy of carving

the Malm tomtes, created with love and mischief by

his father, Norman.

Jim Malm: Carving a Legacy

Hello friends!

It is with great joy that I get to share with you my exciting news!

I am taking a call to Bethany Home and will continue on as your

full-time pastor!

As many of you know, I have been in Seminary for the past 5

years. Bethany Home was my internship location. It did not

take long for me to fall in love with this uniquely wonderful

ministry and all of you. Upon my graduation from Seminary in

May, Bethany Home was gracious enough to keep me as your

pastor on an interim basis. The past few months have been a

time of discernment and much prayer as I decided where God

was leading me next. It turns out, God was leading me home

with all of you. On September 30th, I received the official approval from the bishop to continue as

your chaplain. I am both relieved and excited for what the future will hold for me, my family, and all

of you.

On further news, October 26th will be my Service of Ordination. It will be held at 3pm at Bethany

Lutheran Church. I served at Bethany Lutheran as the Lay Associate Pastor for 6 years while attending

seminary and before coming to Bethany Home. So, it will be a further joy and honor to have my

Ordination in that congregation. All of you are invited! If you would like to come to the service,

please let the Activity Department know as they are arranging transportation. It will be a wonderful

day!

God’s blessings to us as we continue forward in ministry together. As I said before, it is a great joy to be

your pastor here at Bethany Home. This truly is a special place full of amazing people!

Chaplain Phil

CHAPLAIN PHIL’S BLESSING

Please join us in welcoming the following residents to the Bethany Home family.

Everyone is invited to help us celebrate

September birthdays on

Friday, October 25th at 3:00

in the Activity Center!

Betty Chandler 10/1

Art Wyant 10/2

Lillian Nelson 10/5

Arlene Patrick 10/5

Helen L. Johnson 10/8

Chuck Johnson 10/9

Gene Worcester 10/10

Betty Ayers 10/12

Kay Rickard 10/24

Ruth Nunemaker 10/26

Wednesday, Oct 16 4:00pm

Resident Council Meeting

Thursday, Oct 17 6:30pm

Hyllningsfest Worship Service

Friday, Oct 18

Swedish Dance 1:30pm

Men’s Choir 6:00pm

Saturday, Oct 19 9:15am

Hyllningsfest Parade

Tuesday, Oct 22 9:30am

Coffee w/ a Cop

Tuesday, Oct 15 & 29 6:30pm

Crystal Creek Band

See the Activities Calendars for all upcoming events

Come celebrate the

Service of Ordination for

Phillip Hett Saturday, October 26 at 3:00pm

Bethany Lutheran Church 320 N. Main

Lindsborg, KS

Reception to follow