Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/433

 HISTOID OF GOODHUE COUNT? 363 Chinlund; secretary, David Gustafson; treasurer, Harry Ander- son. Willing Workers, president, Mamie Gottrick ; vice president, Hulda Skoglund; secretary, Gena Luridquist; treasurer, Minnie Swanson. Concordia Society, organized 1909; president, the pas tor; vice president, X. -J. Skoog; secretary, Arthur Johnson ; treas- urer, P. A. Lamberg. Sunday school is held every Sunday and is attended on the average by 150 children. The school is divided into a senior and junior department, the senior department hav- ing fifteen departments and tin- junior department ten classes. Superintendent, the pastor; vice superintendent, Andrew Moss- berg; secretary, Harry Anderson; treasurer. Clarence Skoglund; librarians, Leonard Nelson, Reuben Skoglund, Eva Lindgren and Mabel Anderson. There are two church choirs, the senior choir, composed of aboul twenty members, and the junior choir, com- posed of about thirty young ladies. The congregation publishes a monthly eight-page paper, edited by tin; pastor. Tin 1 following statistics may he iriven for the church year ending January 1. 1909: Number of communicants, 658; total membership, 1,001; expenses for salaries, $1,858.88; other pur- poses. $1,387.16; to missions, education and benevolent purposes, $1,210.32; total. $4. 456. 36. Since its organization the congrega- tion has contributed toward church buildings, $38,000; toward missions, education and charity, $20,300, and toward current ex- penses, $102,000; total, $160,300. Hon. Peter Nelson, of Eed Wing, ex-senator, is a man greatly honored throughout the county for his work in upbuilding this section of the country. To his efforts is largely due the fact that the Training School is located here, when there were many other cities bidding for the honor. He was born in Skatlof, Sweden. April 14. 1844. son of Nels Nelson, a Swedish farmer and bridge contractor. The subject of this sketch left his native land on May 1. 1866, bound for America, but on account of the great rush was compelled to wait at Liverpool nearly a month. When he at last secured passage, cholera broke out on board, and out of 250 cases seventy-five proved fatal. For this reason the ship was held at Ellis Island in quarantine for a month after reaching New York, and it was consequently nearly the last of July before Peter Nelson was permitted to set foot on the land of which he was later to become an honored citizen. Since that landing his record has been one of successful achievement. He arrived in Rockford. 111., August 1, 1866. In this town he was employed at various work, and by attending night school, supplemented the education he had received in the public schools of his native coun- try. During the latter part of his stay in Rockford he worked at the carpenter's trade, and December 4 of that year entered the