Concordia College Catalogue depicting the original three Course offerings as well as a tentative daily schedule from 8:00 A.M. to 5:35 P.M.
Concordia differed in motives and purposes from many of the other Lutheran educational institutions established in the late 19th century. Luther College was founded in Iowa in 1861 to serve as a theological seminary. Augsburg College, another Lutheran institution, opened in Minneapolis in 1869. Like Luther, it shared similar aims to train students for religious study and service. As college historian Carroll Engelhardt noted, “Unlike Luther, Augsburg and Dana [College], Concordia was not founded primarily as a school for prospective clergy.” Rather, Concordia adopted and maintained a mission of preparing students for a variety callings.
The 1893 Concordia College Catalogue included a statement reflecting the desires of the administration to meet students’ educational needs: “To satisfy all reasonable demands, new classes may be added and other branches taken up. It is the purpose of the school to give all students just the classes they desire.” By the early 1900s Concordia offered the following areas of study: Classical Course, Teacher’s Course, Ladies’ Course, Commercial Course, and Shorthand and Typewriting Course. These courses prepared students for further collegiate study, such as the Classical Course, or for a particular vocations, such as the Teacher’s Course, Ladies’ Course, and Commercial Course. Regardless of the plan of study, all students were required to take courses in religion as well as various requirements in the humanities, mathematics, sciences, and social sciences.
Young women enrolled in Miss Homme’s sewing class, 1903
While women were accepted into any of the programs, the Ladies’ Course was designed to provide women with a practical education applicable to their role in society at the turn of the century, the domestic sphere. According to the Concordia College Record, the Ladies’ Course consisted of classes in “home economics, music, religion, and the common branches of elementary education.” In 1900 domestic science courses were added to this program, including instruction in “housekeeping, dressmaking, fancy needle-work and painting.”
THE FIRST GRADUATES
Anticipation for Concordia’s first commencement was dampened by an unfortunate event. Just two weeks prior to graduation a large fire broke out in Fargo’s business district, which was composed largely of wooden structures. Concordia dismissed classes and sent men to help fight the blaze. Ultimately, 160 acres were ruined. The Norwegian newspaper Dakota reported on the events: Earth clad in verdure, air fraught with balm. The Red River Valley robed in festive green attire and flowers as if it had just decked itself for the closing exercises and graduation festival at Concordia College that took place Friday evening, the 23rd of June, 1893. Fargo’s ruins, Moorhead’s groves, the wood rims along the Red River, bathed themselves in the rays of the evening sun, while large numbers of people wandered out towards Concordia College. The school was about to send out its first class of graduates.
First graduating class of Concordia College, 1893
The graduates were:
Margaret Teigen (Fargo, North Dakota)
August G. Aanensen (Marsh River, Minnesota)
Christ G. Johnson (Perley, Minnesota)
Peter J. Lyng (Halstad, Minnesota)
Nils M. Muus (Willow City, North Dakota)
John E. Rinan (Hendrum, Minnesota)
Wilhelm P. Rognlie (Halstad, Minnesota)
Oscar Simonson (Moorhead, Minnesota)
Hans Widness (Fosston, Minnesota)
What paths did Concordia’s first graduates pursue? Margaret Teigen, the first female graduate and the only one to complete the Practical Course, trained at Rush Medical College and became a doctor of medicine. The remaining graduates completed the Commercial Course. Nils M. Muus and Hans C. Widness both worked as merchants. Peter J. Lyng stayed at Concordia to work as an instructor before going on to manage the Commercial Department at Scandinavia Academy. Oscar Simenson was a salesman. August C. Aanenson farmed and operated a business. Chris G. Johnson changed his surname to Dosland and became a noted Moorhead attorney. Dosland served many years on the Northwestern Lutheran College Association board, which later became the Concordia College Corporation. John E. Rinan taught school. The last student, Wilhelm P. Rognlie, taught at Concordia for 20 years, became a part owner of Aaker’s Business College at Grand Forks, and was secretary of the Grand Forks Board of Education for several years.
Concordia Firsts The first Homecoming Crown, worn by Valborg Bjornson in 1926, was made of mesh with pearl, rhinestone, and flower accents. The first official Homecoming celebration was held in 1921.
The first beanies were known as “Green Caps” and were introduced in 1922. They remained the required head gear for first-year students until 1942 when the German-produced green dye was unavailable due to World War II. Today’s golden beanies were first introduced in 1955.
The first issue of the Concordian student newspaper was published on November 24, 1920. The first Concordian staff consisted of eighteen students and less than a thousand copies circulated per year. This readership soon expanded with a base in Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota. The Concordian even found its way overseas, being sent to men and women who were serving in the war effort during the early forties. From reflecting contemporary humor on campus to reporting hard-hitting news pieces, the Concordian has been the main voice of journalism on campus for nearly 100 years.
The student yearbook also made its first appearance in 1920. The first yearbook published at Concordia was dubbed the Scout, a name that honored the yearbook published under the same namesake at Park Region Luther College. The yearbook was published triennially until 1935, biennially until 1943, and was finally voted to become an annual publication in 1947. In 1932, the yearbook took on a new namesake, changing from the Scout to the Cobber, a name that has survived until the yearbook ceased publication in 2008.
Concordia’s Early Years The diploma was awarded to Mathilde Askegaard, a 1905 graduate who completed the requirements of the Ladies’ Course.
A well-regarded individual in Concordia’s history is Miss Helga Fjelstad, college matron from 1895 to 1921 and 1923 to 1930. She was a source of comfort for many Cobbers. This award was given to Miss Fjelstad when her service at the college reached 25 years.
The textbooks included in this shadow box represent a small portion of the subjects studied in the early years of the college: literature, history, languages, and sewing. This early version of a college ring belonged to a Concordia Academy student who attended from 1901 to 1902. The Cobber ring did not become standardized until 1920, prior to which each graduating class could design their ring. The medal was worn by those who attended the dedication of the Main Building (now Old Main) in 1906.
Stained Glass Windows
These two windows originally adorned the College Chapel in Old Main. They were among at least six windows which hung on the north and south sides of the chapel platform. The design of the windows includes both sacred and secular symbols. One window contains the College motto and dedication date above a shield with a glory cross and a version of the Great Seal of the United States. The other window’s red cross on a blue shield may be modeled after the Christian flag which was developed in 1897. While the origin of these particular windows is unknown, stained glass windows were sometimes given to the College as a gift from a graduating class, or in honor of an alumnus who met an untimely death.