Title

Confirmation class, 1902

Creation Date

1894

Description

Confirmation class of 1902 with Rev. Aaron Anderson, Swedish Missions parish churches of Mankato and Kasota. These were Evangelical Covenant Church, now Crossview Covenant Church, North Mankato, and possibly, the Evangelical Mission Church in Kasota (see explanation below.). Photos of both churches are inset into the photo of the composite photo of the confirmation class students, who are all identified: Anton Johnson, Olga Swanson, Clara Holt (Martin), Ida Johnson, Felix Lindeman, Charles Peterson, John Carlson, Jennie Swanson, Gertie Johnson, Victor Anderson, Alfred Goldberg [J. Alfred Guldberg], Eskil Alberg, Charles Olson, Olga Haglund [Hoaglund Rosewood], Emma Peterson, Edward Nordgren, Alex Swanson, John Hanson, Arthur Johnson, Arvid Alberg, Emma Holt (Tongren), Felix Freeman, Charles Johnson, Gustave Lunggren. A portrait of Rev. Aaron Anderson is in the center.

Membership rolls of the Evangelical Covenant Church found online at ancestry.com were consulted in identifying some of those pictured.

Bob Douglas, in Two Prairies, writes: "However, there was another church in town that had a different story.The Evangelical Mission Church sat on the corner of Ridgely and Main Streets. It is no longer there. It was torn down many years ago so its stone could be used for an art museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[16] How did this happen? The Philadelphia Art Museum wanted to add an addition to its building. The only stone of the exact same color and texture to match the museum’s was the Evangelical Mission Church’s construction stone.

It was from a quarry where years ago the stone for both the church and the museum was obtained. The quarry had long ago been abandoned when its stone was depleted. Hence, the church was torn down and its stone shipped to Philadelphia for the museum’s addition. I found it almost unbelievable that a museum in Philadelphia led to the demise of a little church in Kasota, Minnesota. To me this story was a clue as to what made Kasota an important place. It was the money that could be made from the limestone mining industry."