Brief History of the Cultural Heritage Foundation
Preliminary preparations were made in May of 1972 during an Eastern Division Convention in Bridgeport, Connecticut. At that time, John O. Werner of Warwick, Rhode Island made a personal pledge to Erland Levine, past president of the AUSS, to finance an archives room for AUSS memorabilia.
The museum room at Midway Village was officially dedicated by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on April 20, 1976 in the presence Mr. and Mrs. Werner. At this festive ocassion, Mr. Werner was decorated by the king with the Order of the North Star.
In 1990, the museum provided a larger room for the Foundation. Papers pertaining to the history of the AUSS and the Foundation were housed in another room at the museum.
On August 4, 1994, John Werner died at the age of 105. He willed a very generous sum to the Foundation. The money has been carefully invested and protected. Supporting grants are made to AUSS choruses, conventions, singing tours, and the museum, with an eye on not touching the principal.
During the lean years of the economy, the principal declined, and the “1892 Society” campaign was created in 2006, which added nearly $200,000 to the account.
In 2009, the history and archival material dating back to the founding of the AUSS was transferred to the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center in Rock Island, Illinois, where it is still held in a climate-controlled facility. Little by little, material is being made available online.
Although not a singer, but an associate member of the Verdandi Male Chorus in Rhode Island, John Werner loved Swedish singing so much that he wanted to preserve its history and support the organization. Don’t we all?
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