1932-1933
Scope and Contents
The Virgil Olson papers date to 1895-2008. The majority of the collection is from Virgil Olson, but also contains material from his father, Adolf Olson.
Much of this collection is made up of writings and speeches by Virgil Olson. Titles or subjects are listed as the folder title. There are also manuscript drafts of Adolf Olson's Centenary History and of Adolf and Virgil Olson's Seventy-Five Years: Bethel Theological Seminary.
The NBBCA: Pando Letters holds letters from the North Bank Baptist Christian Association and the Lakhimpur Baptist Christian Association in Assam, India. They were written by S.B. Pando, Executive Secretary.
The BGC History of Controversies folder mostly holds material regarding the open theism debate involving Greg Boyd and John Piper.
The folder titled These Documents Wrre Sent to Virgil in 2010 from the BGCHC are from the BGC headquarters. They consist of photocopies of Swedish letters and other documents with historical value.
The Board of Foreign Missions Correspondence folder holds materials regarding functional divisions of the Board of Foreign Missions from the 1960s.
The Correspondence folders in Box 2 contain letters between Bethel leaders, churches around the country, and missionaries from China, Assam, Congo, Cebu, Japan, Burma, and other locations.
The Ordination folder holds Virgil Olson's ordination documents at Dalton Baptist Church in Michigan.
The Photographs folder in Box 2 contains photographs of Adolph Olson, pictures from Bethel's early days, and other photographs dating to 1920s and 1930s.
The BGC Meeting in Plymouth, Massachusetts from 1959 was the 80th Annual Meeting of the Conference. Its corresponding folder holds handouts, newsletters, ballots, and resolutions from the event.
The Collected Memories for Virgil Olson's 90th Birthday was given to him in 2006 from his friends and children. The Mandarin Minnesota Christian Church ablum was given to Virgil Olson in 2003 at the end of his time as interim pastor. Both albums hold photographs and notes of appreciation for Virgil Olson.
The Correspondence series covers the years 1931-1973, with the majority during the 1940s. Many of the letters are from military members from Virgil Olson's church. Virgil wrote weekly letters to his parents from Dalton Baptist Church in Muskegon, Michigan, contained in one sub-series. His parents' responses are contained in a subsequent sub-series.
The Loose Papers folder holds various documents, such as bulletins from Dalton Baptist Church in Michigan, newspaper clippings, military chapel services, and several letters to Carl Lagergren.
The binder of Lecture and Student Notes: The Expansion of the World Christian Movement Eras of Christian History holds lesson plans and notes from a course taught in various churches in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The Partnership From Around the World is a bound collection of letters to Virgil from people around the world for his 1981 retirement from the Mission Board.
Both Adolf and Virgil Olson kept many notebooks of and diaries of their thoughts and activities kept in a series. These booklets date between 1907 and 2005.
The Artifacts are kept in a box containing several awards, a "B" for Bethel's letterman jacket, and a machete likely acquired from a missionary.
Dates
- 1895 - 2008
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to researcher use.
Extent
From the Collection: 10 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Swedish
Creator
- From the Collection: Olson, Adolf, Rev., 1886-1955 (Person)
- From the Collection: Olson, Virgil Adolf, Rev., 1915-2013 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the The History Center: Archives of Bethel University and Converge Repository