The Poems of Anton B. SANDER (Introduction)

In July of 2011, Verla Williams wrote the following letter to Kathleen Stokker at Luther college regarding some poems that allegedly were written by Anton SANDER. Since that will serve nicely as an introduction to the poems themselves, it is quoted here in its entirety:

23 July 2011

Dr. Kathleen Stokker

Luther College
701 College Drive
Decorah, IA 52101

Dear Dr. Stokker:

First of all, I wish to thank you so much for your presentations at our Norse Club celebrations of syttende mai. They were so interesting and informative, and were so much appreciated by our members.

Now the reason for my writing to you -- I have been the family genealogist for many years. Our son, not wanting to see it get lost or disposed of, is taking responsibility for it (and doing a great job). So, as I was going through old file folders to see if there was any thing more I should pass on to him, etc. I re-discovered some information the other day of which I question its disposition. I will quote part of the information:

* Anton B. Sander
Birthplace - Brandvold, Solør, Norway
Oct. 4, 1851 - Jan. 23, 1881
Student at Luther College 1868-1874
Father - Brede B. Sander
Mother - Karen Huseby
1874 - A.B. from Luther College
1877 - Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy (In Cursu) Yale University
First graduate from Luther College to obtain a PhD degree
Teacher of Latin, Greek, Hebrew and German

Luther College - 1878-1879
Flushing, N.Y. 1879-1881

* Information from book "Luther College Through Sixty Years 1861-1921" by Luther College Faculty Editorial Committee -- O. M. Norlie, O. A. Tinglestad and Karl T. Jacobsen. Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, Minn. 1922."

Then another quotation:

Book - Luther College 1861-1961 by David T. Nelson, Luther College Press 1961, p. 109.

Anton Sander was very popular with students. He had temerity in a meeting of the Decorah Congregation to challenge certain views of the church leadership. Moreover he was regarded by some of the faculty as "too American" accordingly, as not "firmly orthodox," he was dropped from the faculty after one year, 1878-1879. His promising career was cut short two years later by illness.

In Manuscript file at Luther College 1877-1881 by A. A. Veblen.

The above information was attached to the folder which inside had a group of poems that were composed by him. They are handwritten in Norwegian on what appears to be plain tablet paper. I'm not that sure he has signed any of it, so the authorship perhaps couldn't be proven. This was given to me some years ago by a descendant in the family of Dr. Anton Sander so it was assumed by the family that the authorship was his. Anton Sander is a brother of my husband's grandmother. We thought it was of interest that this former Luther faculty member was a bit avant-garde for his time and had written some poems that have survived for over 100 years. They are written in Norwegian cursive for the most part. It would be interesting to know if in his writings one could see any tendencies that would have led to his dismissal from the faculty. I'm not sure what 
academic freedom was given to faculty at church colleges in the 1870's, but it must have been nearly non-existent to fire a PhD graduate of Yale University after only a year of teaching. It would be fun to know what they say in English. Our Norwegian is not all that good to get a real gist of the meaning.

So my question is what should we do with it? I don't think it would be of interest to this generation unless it was translated, and yet it may have some historical value. Perhaps the Luther College Archives or the Norwegian American Historical Association would be interested in it.

I would appreciate your opinion as to what my course of action should be. If you are at all interested in it, I could bring it along with me one of the next times we come to Decorah, to stay at our apartment and partake of some trout fishing, and show it to you. I await your reply.

Sincerely,
Verla Williams
4333 Pine Ridge Trail NE
Iowa City, IA 52240
verla.vince@mchsi.com

Images of the note mentioned and quoted in the letter are below:



Note attached to file containing manuscripts of poems allegedly by Anton B. SANDER. Images courtesy of Verla Williams.

At this time I am unaware as to whether any response was received. However, back in 2012 I had written to Rachel Vagts, the Luther College Archivist, and she had said that the college would be happy to receive the SANDER family items I had described to her.

The Poems of Anton B. SANDER (Part 1)

Along with the original handwritten manuscripts of Anton SANDER's poems there was also a typed document containing several, but not all, of the poems. A handwritten note on the cover page indicates that it may have been typed by Anton's sister, Ellen Marie (SANDER) Bakke. If she is the typist, then this document had to have originated before 1936, the year of her death.


Anton SANDER. Poems (Cover page). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

None of the manuscripts of the poems are dated. Since Anton died in 1881, if the poems were actually written by him, they obviously must have been written prior to that date. They will be presented in the order that they appear in the typed document with the remainder simply in the order they were scanned. Further none of them have been translated into English, a job certainly better suited to someone other than me.

The first poem begins with the line, "For himmeriges land maa man kjæmpe." Using Google Translate this roughly means, "For the kingdom of country one must contend." The images of the manuscript are below followed by the images of the typed version.

 
 
Anton B. SANDER, "For himmeriges land," manuscript (Bef. 1881). Images courtesy of Verla Williams. 

Notice there is an envelope taped onto the third page of the typed document with some biographical information about Anton SANDER. I have also included an additional page so the reader could see the reverse of the envelope.

 
 
Anton B. SANDER. "For himmeriges land," typed version. Images courtesy of Verla Williams.

The Poems of Anton B. SANDER (Part 2)

The next two poems appear as if they may have been intended to have been sung. The first line of the first one is, "Kom, Sjael, at gaa til Bethlehem." This translates roughly as, "Come, Soul, go to Bethlehem." Below are the images of the manuscript (front and back):

 
Anton B. SANDER. "Kom, Sjæl, at gaa til Bethlehem," manuscript (Bef. 1881). Images courtesy of Verla Williams.

The following image is the typed version:


Anton B. SANDER. "Kom, Sjæl, at gaa til Bethlehem," typed version. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

The second one is entitled "Efter Lucas 2, 10-14," which translates as "After Luke 2: 10-14," part of the Christmas story. The NIV of these verses reads as follows:

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Below are the images of the manuscript (front and back):


Anton B. SANDER. "Efter Lucas 2, 10-14," manuscript (Bef. 1881). Images courtesy of Verla Williams.

The following image is the typed version:


Anton B. SANDER. "Efter Lucas 2, 10-14," typed version. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

The following poem is on the last page of the typed document and is in English. The first line reads, "A boy went out to shoot one day."


Anton B. SANDER. "A boy went out to shoot one day," typed version. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

The Poems of Anton B. SANDER (Part 3)

The next poem scanned begins with the line, "Da vi med suk i støvet sad." Very roughly translated, this means, "When we sigh in the dust."


Anton B. SANDER. "Da vi med suk i støvet sad," manuscript (Bef. 1881). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

The following one begins, "Jesus kommer i kommer nu," or in English, "Jesus is coming now."

 
Anton B. SANDER. "Jesus kommer i kommer nu," manuscript (Bef. 1881). Images courtesy of Verla Williams.

The next poem appears to have a title at the top of the page that reads, "Mit kjæreste Barn bed for go med mig." Again roughly translated this means, "My dearest child go to bed with me." Also of interest is that the initials, "B. S." appear at the end of the poem on the reverse side. Was this poem actually written by Anton's father, Brede Sander, or brother, Brede Sander, Jr.?


Anton B. SANDER? "Mit kjæreste Barn bed for go med mig," manuscript (Bef. 1881). Images courtesy of Verla Williams.

Next there is a short poem that begins, "O kjære Gud lad alting lykkes." In English this is roughly, "O dear God let everything succeed."


Anton B. SANDER. "O kjære Gud lad alting lykkes," manuscript (Bef. 1881). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Finally we have a poem entitled, "Sky Saloonen." It would be interesting to have this translated as the title appears to mean, "Sky (or maybe shy) Saloon (or Lounge)."


Anton B. SANDER. "Sky Saloonen," manuscript (Bef. 1881). Images courtesy of Verla Williams.