Junior Achievement center exhibit

By Christina W. Lassen

On Saturday, October 18, 2014, His Excellency, Bjorn Lyrvall, Ambassador of Sweden to the US, paid a visit to what was once the New Sweden Colony. Stopping first in Salem, New Jersey, Ambassador Lyrvall dedicated two plaques recently mounted inside the Old (1675) Courthouse. The plaques are aluminum replicas of the bronze plaques installed on a monument which stands in Riverview Beach Park in Pennsville, NJ. A former Ambassador of Sweden to the US, Jan Eliasson, dedicated the monument in 2004. The plaques commemorate the Swedes and Finns move to the eastern side of the Delaware River in 1643, when Governor Johan Printz ordered his soldiers to build Fort Elfsborg. Colonists settled in greater numbers in the 1670 s. One plaque depicts a log cabin; the other, a church boat.

Ambassador Lyrvall s second and final destination was the Junior Achievement building on the south side of the Christina River in Wilmington, Delaware. Here the New Sweden Centre s newest exhibit is housed within Jr. Achievement s Finance Park.

While Ambassador Lyrvall was dedicating the plaques in New Jersey, guests had been assembling at the Jr. Achievement building in Delaware. Guests drove from as far afield as Washington, D.C.; Gettysburg, PA; the Philadelphia Main Line; Cecil County, MD; all over South Jersey (originally West Jersey ); and downstate Delaware. Guests included the directors, governors, presidents, a regent, and board chairpersons of numerous Swedish/historical societies. Quite a few of the guests, such as the Apells, the McCoys and the Seppalas, had already met His Excellency at the American Swedish Historical Museum s Spring Ting in May of 2014. Many, such as Cathy Parsells, Executive Director of KNF, and John Morton, Chairman of the Board of KNF, later greeted him in November at the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation s King Neptune Gala.

New Sweden Centre s coterie of steadfast volunteers welcomed Ambassador Lyrvall at the door. Included was Marianne Mackenzie, Swedish-born widow of Malcolm Mackenzie, the visionary who founded both the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation and the New Sweden Centre over 25 years ago. Another widow, the vivacious June Peterson, arrived early and was given a sneak peak of the exhibit. She was delighted to see her husband s name on the roster of influential Swedes. He was Governor Russell Peterson, who governed Delaware from 1969-1973. Gov. Peterson quieted the race riots tearing Wilmington apart and also protected Delaware s coastline from industrial development.

As the reception was in progress, the Bucks County (PA) Spelmanslag played nyckelharpas and accordion. They set an elegant and very Swedish tone. Guests were treated to a classic Swedish dinner. The delicious food was prepared and served by the William Penn High School Culinary Arts students, under the direction of Kip Poole. The teen-aged girls looked precious in colonial costume and with floral wreaths encircling their heads.

At 4 P.M. Ambassador Lyrvall delivered a few remarks, which included thanking the attendees for their role in promoting Swedish history and culture. He was certainly speaking to the right audience, for among those sharply dressed guests were those who raised the money to build the tall ship, Kalmar Nyckel, as well as those who maintain and sail it. Also present were Tracey Beck, Executive Director of the American Swedish Historical Museum; Sheila Romine, President of the New Sweden Alliance; Michael D Andrea, Governor of the Swedish Colonial Society and three past Governors Sally Bridwell, Herb Rambo, and Kim-Eric Williams. The latter three mentioned are also recipients of the Order of the Polar Star, as is Sandra Pfaff, without whose presence an event wouldn t be considered a success.

With Janet Anderson, President of the New Sweden Centre, on one side and Aleasa Hogate, VP and Education Director of NSC on the other, Ambassador Lyrvall cut the ribbon. Flashes of light filled the room as dozens of people stood up and crowded forward to take photos.

Once the ribbon was cut, guests entered the exhibit, progressing from left to right. The timeline at the base of the exhibit starts on the right. At eye level there are ovals, each containing a silhouette and a historical fact or observation. The information is delivered in bite-sized pieces, suitable for high school students used to texting. Aleasa Hogate, who created the oval plaques, made certain that the viewers would come away with the feeling that the Swedes and Finns had a flourishing colony long before William Penn arrived on the scene in 1682. The dioramas created by Marnie King are miracles of artistry. The miniature historical figures, dressed as well-known colonists, such as the barber-surgeon, Timen Stiddem, were equally amazing. The five charming portraits painted by Ros Stallcup were masterfully executed.

The finale of the afternoon was a short presentation by Sam Katz, President of History Making Productions and a showing of the sixth episode of the series on Philadelphia which he made for TV. The episode covered the early period of Philadelphia s history before William Penn!

Both the event in dual locations and the exhibit itself were highly successful, thanks primarily to the yearlong work by Aleasa Hogate. Meticulous planning and careful research left nothing to chance. Although the ambassador s arrival was delayed by traffic problems, he still made a point of meeting each and every guest. We hope that Ambassador Lyrvall will become as comfortable with the ancient Swedes as his predecessor, Ambassador Jonas Hafstrom, became during his ten year tenure.

The author is a descendant of Christina Ollesdotter, who married Timen Stiddem after her first husband, Walraven Jansen de Vos, died circa 1656.