Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Object Identification Number |
2005.018.002 |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Donor |
Ortgies, Karolyn |
Description |
Black and white photo of a tent meeting in Rorbeck, Iowa. There is a speaker in the distance standing at a small podium. A large group of people, probably a chorus, is behind him. To the viewer's right is a harp and a piano. There are benches in the foreground with a good sized crowd seated listening. The print is mounted on a tan mat with decorative boarders around the print and near the edge. The photographer's information is in the lower right corner: "Peter C. Thuesen, / Kimballton, Iowa". On the back in the upper left is written "Erma Westphalen" in red. There is a scratch in the middle which has been colored in with purple ink. |
Print Size |
10 x 8 |
Photographer |
Thuesen, Peter C. |
Year Range from |
1870 |
Year Range to |
1900 |
Studio |
Iowa/Kimballton |
Place of Creation |
USA/IA/Rorbeck |
Associated People |
Petersen, Peter A. Thuesen, Peter C. |
Search Terms |
Petersen, Peter A. Rorbeck, Iowa Baptist Church Thuesen, Peter C. Kimballton, Iowa Audubon County Baptist religion tent meeting choir |
Date Received by Museum |
04/12/2005 |
Provenance |
According to notes from the donor, this photograph is of a religious tent meeting in Rorbeck, IA for the Baptist Denomination. Karolyn's maternal grandfather, Peter A. Petersen, is likely in the photo, as he was very active in the Baptist church. Peter Petersen was born in Denmark in 1839. He settled in Brayton in 1887, and later in Elk Horn. He was a farmer. He bought several farms. Karolyn inherited these photos from this side of the family. According to information in the accession file: The first known owner of the Petersen photos was Hans Petersen, and the first owner of the remaining photographs was Erma Petersen Westphalen, donor's mother. Both families came from Denmark, with the Petersen's settling in Elk Horn and the Westphalen family in Brayton, then Elk Horn. Hans Petersen was a teacher in Elk Horn. The Westphalens were farmers. The donor acquired the Petersen photographs when she bought the Petersen's house with her husband, Duane Ortgies, Inez Petersen. They turned it into Elk Horn's first Bed and Breakfast in 1985. They called their establishment "The Traveling Companion" and used themes from Hans Christian Andersen's stories in its decoration and in the naming of its guest bedrooms. The photographs were found in a cupboard. The following photocopied materials have been added to the file as documentation: a history of Oakfield Baptist Church, which became the First Baptist Church of Elk Horn in 1918; two biographical sketches of Peter A. Petersen (grandfather of donor), who was active in both of the Baptist churches; biographical sketches of Hilda and Inez Petersen and of their parents, Hans and Marie Petersen (Hans Petersen was knighted for his contributions to education and religious life in the Danish community of Elk Horn, particularly for the role he played in the education of the community's children); a biographical sketch of Rasmus Hansen, who played an important role in early Elk Horn history, and who was the father of Folmer Hansen (who is in the photo); a biographical sketch of Alfred Hansen (son of Rasmus), which provides a link between the Hansens and Petersens within the Elk Horn community; a historical reference to The Traveling Companion, the Ortgies' Bed and Breakfast in Elk Horn. __________ The donor's grandfather, Peter A. Petersen, is #3 on the museum's Wall of Honor. |
Images |
073\2005018002-2.JPG |
Accession number |
2005.018 |
Collection |
Danish American Baptists |