Browse Entries

Helga Fjelstad served as matron of Concordia College for thirty-three years. An excellent cook and manager, Fjelstad was the head of the dining hall staff and helped manage the boarding department’s finances. She was affectionately nicknamed “Mother Fjelstad” by the students, who often sought her out for comfort and advice. Fjelstad Hall is named after her, in honor of her many contributions to Concordia College. 

Florence Kruger served as the head of the Home Economics program for much of her thirty-year career at Concordia College. In those thirty years, she made a name for herself, as well as making a lasting impact on the lives of the students that graduated from the program.

In 1888, Joachim Murie and Marie Frimanslund moved from Yavick, Norway to Moorhead, Minnesota and married almost immediately. Together with Marie’s brother, Henrick, they purchased a homestead. Their first child, Olaus, was born on March 1, 1889. Marie gave birth to five more children, including Martin (1891) and Adolph (1899). In 1895, Joachim died at the age of thirty-seven likely due to tuberculosis. In April of 1899, Marie married Ed Winstrom, a Swedish bartender in Moorhead. Unfortunately, Ed died from tuberculosis two months into their marriage, but Adolph was already conceived. In 1909, the family also adopted a girl named Clara. To help with family finances, they cut grass for their neighbors, worked for local gardeners, and hunted and fished alongside the Red River. Olaus and Adolph both attribute this time of camping, hunting, fishing, and canoe-making to stimulating their fascination with the natural world.

Dr. Joan N. Buckley had a long and fulfilling career at Concordia College, honored by the awards she gained during her tenure. One of three female professors at Concordia in 1956 when she began her work for the college, Dr. Buckley made her mark on campus by being the first female faculty member to receive her doctoral degree while employed, married, and raising a child. While this accomplishment was not appreciated at the time, the achievement came to be respected in Concordia’s history.