p0584_05433

Hamline University
St. Paul, Minnesota
Dec. 13, 1921

Professor O.E. Rølvaag
St. Olaf College
Northfield, Minnesota

Dear Professor Rølvaag:-

Under separate cover I am sending you a copy of my short
article "The Early Norwegian Press in America." I am also asking
the Wisconsin Historical Society to send you copies of two articles
which I published in the Wisconsin Magazine of History. One is called
"The Competition of the Northwestern States for Immigrants." and the
other is on "Colonel Hans Christian Heg." I presume that you
have my translation of Ole Rynning's "Sandfaerdig Beretning om
Amerika," as well as the article on Cleng Peerson and other articles
published for the North Start. But if you wish any of these please drop
me a line and I will be glad to send them.

I wish that you would give your support to the idea of
making the Minnesota Historical Society a center for the study of
the Scandinavian element in this country. The Society already
possesses a remarkably good collection of books, pamphlets, and
newspapers relating to the Norwegians in the United States, and I
hope this collection will be greatly increased before long. I
would like very much to see the Luther Theol. Seminary turn over
to the Society its files of Nordlyset and other early newspapers.
I am lecturing on Cleng Peerson at the the Seminary on Jan. 10 and at
that time I am going to speak a little about my general plan for
assembling at one place a large library of Norwegian-American materials.

Sincerely yours,

Theodore C. Blegen