On this date in 1915 the Swedish Methodist Church at 1306 W Olive Street in Bloomington, IL hosted a Swedish Music Festival. I began researching this post thinking that it would show the difficulties of being a Swedish immigrant in Bloomington, Illinois, but found something quite different.
Although this church was strictly for Swedish-speaking congregants, its reach into the community was much wider. In 1915 a new pastor was assigned to the church. Rev. Bjork came from the Theological Seminary in Evanston and was chosen because he could give his sermons in Swedish, as desired by the congregation.
This music festival featured many musicians and singers, some of whom were dressed in traditional Swedish attire and some who sang in Swedish. Some of the singers were actually Swedish, such as Mae Bloomquist and Godfrey Olson. Godfrey Olson was one of the star tenors of Bloomington for many years and the manager of a dry cleaning concern. Mae Bloomquist was a favored singer and high school teacher. Other performers were La Rue Cash, whose parents were born in America and Myrtle Skelton, whose mother was from England. The Swedish performers were also much in demand in other musical events throughout the city.
In fact, although many Swedish people still spoke Swedish and wanted a Swedish church, they were well integrated into American life in Bloomington, especially those who loved music. The area of West Olive and West Grove seems to have been a locality where many Swedish families lived. The Swedish Lutheran Church was at 803 W Olive.