Alan Swanson pennant, 1950s

The Swanson family papers comprises materials collected or created by D. Verner Swanson, Alan Swanson, Vernon Swanson, and Audrey Lundahl Swanson, most of which relate to Augustana College and the Augustana Synod.

D. Verner Swanson's papers largely date from 1911 to 1961 and include material related to Verner's ministry and education. The papers comprise two folders of material and three oversize items. The first folder contains manuscript material created or received by Verner. This includes three photographic postcards from Verner's friends Arthur Peterson and Walter (Peterson?) in Lindsborg, Kansas; an undated notebook containing quotations and observations (in English and Swedish) presumably used in Verner's sermons; a 1928 almanac listing Verner's agendas and daily activitis throughout the year; and several documents originally enclosed in the almanac, including notes, records of church pledges, and two 1928 letters from S.F. Hammarlof and Mrs. A.G. Barker about upcoming church events. The second folder contains printed material, including the 1913 commencement edition of the Augustana Observer; a typewritten copy of Verner's master's thesis, "The Family: A Study n Christian Ethics;" A Dickinson County sugar rationing card used during World War II; a clipping about Verner encouraging his congregation to remain "rubber conscious" during the war; a 1942 Augustana College commencement program; and several issues of the Lutheran Companion. Oversize items include class composite photographs of the Augustana College class of 1913, the Augustana Theological Seminary class of 1916, and a 1916 certificate formally calling Verner to serve as pastor for First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Galesburg.

The folder of Vernon Swanson papers, 1940s, comprises a series of magazine clippings pasted into scrapbook pages to create a cut-and-paste letter for Vernon Swanson on the occasion of his having been admitted to college. The letter, written by his sister "Sophie" (Ruth LaVerne Swanson), contains college advice, comics, and funny quotations clipped from newspapers and magazines.

The most substantial item in the collections is a scrapbook and enclosures, 1942-1946, created by Audrey Lundahl Swanson during her time at Augustana College. Materials preserved in the scrapbook include photographs, newspaper clippings, tickets, programs, invitations, dance cards, and valentines. Of note in the scrapbook are pledge instructions describing the various tasks Swanson had to complete to become a member of Chi Omega Gamma and newsclippings related to her friends and classmates who were drafted or killed in action in World War II. The scrapbook stops abruptly in 1944, but materials in the Enclosures and Photographs folders appear to have been accumulated by Swanson for addition to the scrapbook and document her junior and senior years. Enclosures include cards, invitations, programs, and clippings from the second half of Swanson's college years that were never pasted into the scrapbook. The bulk of the photographs consists of portraits and group photos of Swanson's friends and sorority pictures, but also included are several photos of students in Halloween costumes, homecoming floats, and a single snapshot of Swanson's wedding ceremony.

Alan Swanson's papers primarily include printed material from his time at Augustana, including 1952 and 1954 Homecoming programs, copies of the Augustana Bulletin and Augustana Observer, and a 1956 commencement program. Also included are a number of items related to the Pi Upsilon Gamma fraternity, of which Swanson was a member. Thes papers includ a photograph of the PUGs (circa 1955) dressed as prisoners holding pledge paddles, clippings related to the "Teapot Dome" phrig of 1955 (in which Roald Fryxell and other PUG members attached a teapot apparatus to the dome of Old Main in the middle of the night), and several typed reminiscences of the prank written by PUG members who either participated in or witnessed it. Also included is one oversize item, an Augustana College pennant, circa 1950s.