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birthday. The first invited meeting was held at the home of Mrs. B. E. Bengtson, on June 14, 1916, and was well attended.

    A branch of this society is the Junior League, which consists of folk from the congregation's youngest, and its object is similar to that of the parent stem. There are 57 members in the Junior League.

    The efforts of the Woman's Home and Foreign Missionary Society in Fridhem have resulted in the collection and disbursement of $413.15, and with the Junior League's membership fees, which are $45.25, this makes a total of $458.40.

    The officers of the society, elected at its annual meeting in the first part of the year 1919, were Mrs. A. A. Gustafson, president; Rev. G. W. Henry, vice president Mrs. Emil Lind, secretary, and Mrs. Gottfrid Johnson, treasurer. Mrs. Gottfrid Johnson has since that time been called away by death, and the vacancy thus arising was filled by the election of Mrs. C. W. Gustafson.

    The Martha Society was organized on the 8th of April, 1916, in the home of Mrs. T. A. Gustafson. This organization consists principally of the younger women of the church, and as the name suggests, they are industrious workers. They employ their time at meetings with fancy work and sewing.

   Meetings are held once a month in the homes, and two members serve refreshments, one of these is usually the hostess. Funds are gathered by assessing each member 10 cents per month, charging a nominal price for refreshments, and by conducting a bazar at some time in the fall of each year. By these means the following amounts have been collected:

    In 1918 a good deal of work was done for the local Red Cross society.

    The present officers are: Rev. G. W. Henry, president; Miss Anna Erlandson, secretary and Miss Violet Peterson, treasurer.

    This society was organized June 16, 1918, with a membership of 125.

    Its president is Rev. G. W. Henry; its secretary, A. A. Gustafson, and treasurer, Herman Lindquist. While it has raised some money, it has not yet ''gotten into the harness.'' It is the local branch of the National Lutheran Brotherhood. It has nevertheless raised a little money. $75 was sent to the National Brotherhood for religious purposes on the battlegrounds of France, has been promised to help establish a school for the blind in China.

    The membership fee for the first year was 10 cents. The motto of the Brotherhood is: "Loyalty to Home, Church and Country."

    B. J. Fahlund organized the first Sunday-school in 1879, with six children, and he was the first superintendent. At first the Sunday-school was held before service even Sunday morning, but when Södergren came

 

he served another congregation also, and Sunday-school began at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, or 2 o'clock in the afternoon, when there were afternoon services. At first the instruction and manner of teaching the children was elective on the teacher's side. The Catechism and Bible History were mostly used as text hooks, and progress was noted more according to the advancement of the individual than of classes. Usually the children could read, but those who could not were taught.

    In 1907 the Sunday-school was graded. After that classes were established and the pupils promoted from year to year the same as in other schools, the most advanced class graduating into the confirmation class.

    The Sunday-school has two festivals each year, a summer picnic in some grove and a Christmas festival in the church. The earliest picnics were held in Peter Erickson's grove, the next in C. J. Lundquist's grove and the latest in August Anderson's grove at Funk. At the Christmas festival there has always been a Christmas tree, although the first was nothing but a decorated cottonwood.

    The Swedish language was at first exclusively used in the Sunday-school, but after the church had been moved to Funk an English department was added and given in charge of Fred Brown. At the present time (1919) it is in charge of John Erickson.

    The Sunday-school has been ably conducted by a willing and enthusiastic corps of teachers and managed by conscientious Christian superintendents. Adolf Akerson, the present incumbent, has held the position since 1910, and the Sunday-school has gained and prospered as never before.

    While there has been no separately elected secretary, as each teacher kept record of the class taught, there has always been a separate treasurer. Those who have served as treasurers are: B. J. Fahlund, Ida C. Lundquist, Ture Lind, C. H. Lundquist, C. J. Lundquist, Adolf Akerson, C. J. Sjogren and August Peterson, the present incumbent.

    The superintendents of the Sunday-school have been. B. J. Fahlund, Peter Erickson, D. J. Bengtson, Rev. Andrew Kinell and John Bergman.

    In the past, Sunday-school has kept, usually, nine months of each year, and the value of its work cannot be estimated.

    B. J. Fahlund taught the first parochial school in Fridhem. As early as 1879 we find his name as teacher on the records and in 1886 his report in the minutes of the annual meeting says that Fahlund taught two months' parochial school at a salary of $25 per month. At an extra meeting, April 10, 1889, J. A. Edlund was elected teacher at a salary of $40 per month. Edlund also conducted church services.

    The Swedish language has always been used in the parochial school. There is a reason for this. The Swedish people had a custom of teaching their children to read at home and did not send them to school until they had acquired the art. This was sometimes very early. At the age of four years many a child could read almost any book. The children were, of course, taught the language the parents knew -- Swedish. The first thought of the parents for the child was of his religious training. All of the books especially prepared for the child and which taught the faith they wished their children to cherish were written in the Swedish language. Furthermore, the songs and hymns they loved they could not get in any other language.

    When the time comes that the Swedish language shall no longer be heard in our churches there will be a loss that it will take a long time to make up. The old Swedish hymns that were written hundreds of years ago have been revised several times by the most able scholars and churchmen of Sweden until they have attained such a degree of perfection as would take many, many years to attain in a different language. Besides, many of them are written in such a meter, or combination of meters, as to defy translation. Because of the beautiful melodies of these hymns, mostly in a minor key, it is desirable that the original meter should be retained in the translation.

   The literary gems, also, of the Swedish language are priceless. Literature belongs not to one country alone, but to the entire world, and some day America will want the literature of the Norseland. Then who will will (sic) be better fitted to help attain it than the person who understands it and carries with him the traits of the people who wrote it? In the parochial school Swedish literature is not studied -- this belongs to the college. Reading, writing and spelling, Bible History and a selection of the old hymns are the things taught in the parochial school, and this, like the Sunday-school, is but a preparation for the confirmation period.

   Those who have taught parochial school in Fridhem are: B. J. Fah-

lund 1879--; Julia Sodergren 1890; no school 1891; Rev. Andrew Kinell 1892--; Aaron Segerhammar 1895; J. E. Morton 1896; Ida Lind 1898; Augusta Lind 1899; John Bengtson 1900; Alvida Mossberg 1901, 1906; Mary Peterson 1902, 1905; Augusta Eklund 1904; Hanna Sodergren 1904, 1905; Sophie Peterson 1907, 1908; Mabel Eklund 1909--1914; Edward Ekstrom 1910; Elmer Olson 1911; Ada Swanberg 1912; Henry Hanson 1914; Rev. O. G. Berg 1915-1918; Pauline Haraldson 1916, 1917; Duzinia Gustafson 1917-1919; Estella Walline 1918; Mildred Anderson 1918, 1919; Walter Peterson 1913.

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