Honoring the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Lindsborg, Kansas.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 101 Honoring the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Lindsborg, Kansas. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 5, 2019 Mr. MARSHALL submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform RESOLUTION Honoring the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Lindsborg, Kansas. Whereas February 20, 2019, marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Lindsborg, a town in McPherson County, Kansas; Whereas, in 1868, Kansas was known as ‘‘the great Amer- ican desert,’’ as it was reported that it never rained in Kansas, and upon organizing the first Swedish Agricul- tural Company in April 1868, Chairman John Ferm said, ‘‘If God is going to let us settle in Kansas, he will give us rain.’’; Whereas, after claims were filed in May 1866 in the general area that was to become Lindsborg, the Swedish Agricul- tural Company entered into a contract for the purchase VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Feb 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR101.IH HR101 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 101 IH of 16,000 acres of land from the Kansas-Pacific Rail Road Company; Whereas, in December 1868, a call to Sweden for settlers was sent and a promising young pastor named Dr. Olof Olsson was chosen to lead a large group of settlers the next spring; Whereas, on January 20, 1869, the Swedish Agricultural Company settled the site that was to become Lindsborg and the development of the land and farming com- menced; Whereas, the Swedish Agriculture Company, with several members of the Company having ‘‘Lind’’ in their sur- name, determined the name of the settlement to be ‘‘Lindsborg’’ on February 20, 1869, and, the members having fulfilled their role, the Swedish Agricultural Com- pany was dissolved shortly thereafter; Whereas Pastor Olof Olsson and a group of 100 Swedish im- migrants from the Va¨rmland province of Sweden arrived at the settlement on June 27, 1869; Whereas Lindsborg is widely known as ‘‘Little Sweden’’ due to its Swedish traditions and population of Swedish im- migrants; Whereas the Sesquicentennial Festival Committee for Lindsborg has declared the theme for 2019 to be ‘‘Swe- den to the Plains—Living the Legacy’’; Whereas Svensk Hyllningsfest is a biennial festival cele- brating the Swedish heritage of Lindsborg with arts and crafts, special foods, ethnic music, traditional folk dance and dress, and other Swedish entertainment; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Feb 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR101.IH HR101 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 101 IH Whereas King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden visited Lindsborg during his royal tour of the United States in April 1976; and Whereas the Swedish immigrants who settled in Kansas en- dured harsh weather conditions to establish Lindsborg and the people of Lindsborg have continued to maintain their Swedish heritage, making Lindsborg a cultural des- tination: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) honors Lindsborg, Kansas, on the 150th an- 2 niversary of its establishment; 3 (2) commends the men and women who have 4 made Lindsborg the town full of rich culture it is 5 today; and 6 (3) honors the immigrants of the Va¨rmland 7 province of Sweden for settling in Lindsborg. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Feb 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR101.IH HR101 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS