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New exhibit illustrates city-college cooperation; unveiling ceremony is April 26 on Bridge Square

mjc
April 18, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? More than 125 years of cooperation between Northfield citizens and St. Olaf College is documented in a new Northfield Historical Society exhibit to be unveiled Thursday, April 26.

The exhibit, "Intersecting Communities," provides a visual history of the relationships among St. Olaf College and its presidents, the city of Northfield, Carleton College and other communities of which St. Olaf is a part. The exhibit especially focuses on cooperative relationships with Northfield, illustrating how Northfield is an unusual city in which citizens, students and teachers have learned to live, grow, work and play together. The exhibit also examines the place of St. Olaf in broader church-related, ethnic, academic and regional communities.

A public ribbon-cutting ceremony to introduce the exhibit is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 26 on Bridge Square in downtown Northfield.

Anneliese Detwiler, a recent St. Olaf College graduate who is executive director of the Northfield Historical Society, will welcome people to the ceremony. Northfield Mayor Keith Covey, St. Olaf President Christopher Thomforde and Carleton College Dean of Budgeting and Planning Stephen Kelly will talk about the long partnership between the city and the colleges.

Gary DeKrey, St. Olaf College archivist and Department of History chair who prepared the exhibit with the help of Detwiler and Assistant Archivist Jeff Sauve, will introduce the exhibit and will acknowledge the Carleton oral history program, which assisted St. Olaf in starting its own oral history initiative. The officials will open the exhibit by cutting ribbons at the entrance to the Northfield Historical Society, 408 Division St.

St. Olaf College?s Norseman Band, conducted by St. Olaf music faculty member Paul Niemisto, with Carleton music faculty member Ron Rodman as guest conductor, will perform on Bridge Square before and after the ribbon-cutting. Cake, coffee and lemonade will be served after the event.

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"Intersecting Communities" ? 2

The Norseman Band, one of two symphonic bands at St. Olaf College, has developed a reputation as a dynamic and exciting concert ensemble. The Norseman Band performs regularly on the St. Olaf campus, and tours each spring to regional locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Canada. Band members reflect the broad spectrum of academic interests and geographical diversity of the St. Olaf student body.

In 1999 the band presented a "Thank-You-Northfield" concert opening St. Olaf College?s 125th Anniversary celebration. Last February the band was invited to present a concert at the Minnesota Music Educators? conference in Minneapolis, and last spring it offered music for the honorary degree ceremony for Estonian President Lennart Meri.

The Bridge Square ceremony is one of many that are part of the inauguration of Thomforde as St. Olaf College?s 10th president. Five concerts, two worship services, two performances of a Roman comedy, an art exhibit, a dance festival and a gala fireworks display also will be part of the inaugural festivities Thursday through Sunday, April 26-29.

The official inauguration will take place at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 29, in Skoglund Center Auditorium with Librarian of Congress James Billington, a personal friend of Thomforde?s, delivering the main address. Inauguration Day also will include a tree-planting ceremony, a worship service, a reception and an orchestra concert.

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty complement of approximately 300. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.