One hundred years ago on the 17th of August, 1924, two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints arrived in Bergland around 5:00 in the morning. It was a dewy, misty morning with the sun beginning to rise over the trees. They had been walking all night from Sleeman and were very tired and hungry. They made their way toward the first house they came across that had smoke rising from the chimney….it was the home of Axel Fisk whose farm was located on the property at the southwest corner of the Bergland crossroads of what is now Highway 621 and Highway 600. The missionaries asked him if he knew of any families in the area that belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; he didn’t say anything, he just pointed towards the east, across the field towards the farm of Peter John and Christina Olson.
The missionaries, who were named Art Whiting, from St. John’s Arizona; and Alvin Wilson, from Hatch Utah, were very excited that their long journey might be at an end at last. They had been stationed at Port Arthur and Fort William, in what is now Thunder Bay, when they received instructions from the mission office that they were to make their way west into the wilds of North Western Ontario in order to find a couple of families by the name of Olson that had joined the Church in Sweden and then moved to Canada. The members of that same Olson family that had moved to Utah had since lost communications with their oldest brother and their youngest brother that had moved to Canada: Christian (the oldest), his wife Anna and family, and Peter John (the youngest), his wife Christina, and family. Their relatives in Utah thought that they had moved to Canada north of Minnesota to a small place called Bergland, but had not heard from them since. It seemed like an impossible task at first, no one, it seemed, had heard of Bergland or where it was. They began by sending letters to various areas to see if anyone knew where Bergland was, but to no avail. With no leads, and a lot of faith, they began their journey west along the railroad tracks towards the Manitoba border, hoping that someone along the way might know about Bergland.
Their journey was arduous. They walked through the wilderness on the railroad tracks most of the way. Sometimes they were able to work for food and a short ride on the train at various logging camps along the way. In between work camps they survived on wild raspberries and some blueberries that they found to eat. They finally were able to get a ride on a train heading towards Sleeman, where they felt impressed to get off and ask questions about Bergland. To their relief, the people they talked to when they got off of the train knew where Bergland was. They started north from Sleeman in the afternoon and found a small boarding house and stable where they ordered a meal and a place to sleep for the night. While they were eating, the owners of the establishment started asking them questions about who they were and what they were doing there. Art Whiting later said that he felt that when the owners of the establishment found out what church they belonged to that they would no longer be welcome there, so he started to eat as fast as he could. Within a few minutes his fears about being told to get out became a reality. A few years ago from today, the family that used to own that boarding house still had the register from August 1924 with the names of Art Whiting and Alvin Wilson still in it. The missionaries at that point had nothing else to do but keep walking north with the hope of finding Bergland. They continued their journey on the primitive, 1924 version of Highway 621 in the dark, through the night, with the bugs and the animals, on unfamiliar territory until they came to the farm of Axel Fisk at 5:00 in the morning.
They knocked on Peter John and Christina Olson’s door, and a man opened it up. They told him that they were missionaries and that they had come from Port Arthur to find the Olson family that had joined the Church in Sweden. Peter John Olson was the man that had opened the door. Even though he would have welcomed them in regardless of who they were, he had seen a few itinerant preachers coming around since they had moved to Bergland and was unsure if these missionaries were really from his Church, so he asked them to tell him the story of Joseph Smith. Art Whiting was so anxious to have a meal and a place to sit down that he later said that he told Peter John the best story about Joseph Smith that he had ever told. This story was about Jesus Christ and the Restoration of the Gospel. When Peter John heard them tell this story, he was incredibly relieved, and opened up his arms to give them a hug and welcome them in for breakfast.
The rest, so they say, is history. The two missionaries and the small group of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Bergland began building a little church on land that Peter John’s son Godfrey Olson donated. It was a one room log structure that was dedicated in 1925. The little church that they built was only the second meeting house that was constructed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in all of Canada, and was the catalyst for all other branches of its congregations in Fort Frances, Atikokan, Kenora, Dryden, International falls, Whitefish Bay, and Warroad. It even contributed to establishing the Church in larger centres such as Winnipeg, and the building of a meeting house in Thunder Bay.
The Bergland Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been an active part of the community for the last one hundred years as well. Members have helped to serve their neighbours on committees, with local functions, and have participated in talent shows, holiday games, and silly skits over the years. They began a community Christmas party almost a hundred years ago that has been a longstanding tradition for many in the area and beyond. The chapel served as a refuge for the community during the forest fire of 1938, and a substitute classroom when the grade school by the West Branch of the Little Grassy River burned down in 1944. It has held quilting bees, service projects, entertainment, and exhibitions of indigenous culture. Many people in the Bergland community that were skilled in trades helped with the construction of the new building in 1980. One year in October the congregation decided to put on a spook house for the kids as a youth activity for the Church. This developed into a community haunted house that was a Halloween highlight in the area for years, with many volunteers from the community contributing to the event. The Bergland Spook House was even featured on a CBC/Winnipeg program called “Breakaway”. We usually had a few hundred people come through the Spook House on any given year……but the year that Breakaway came to film it, over 400 people came out. The members of the Bergland Branch also began a successful catering company that served the community cooking meals and also the famous “western pit BBQ” for many weddings and other functions. The funds from this endeavor served to build many church buildings in the area, including our own. It also helped to provide funding for most of the young people from our congregation that served their own missions in the United States and around the world, including South Africa, Belgium, and Norway.
We are having a commemorative walk to kickoff the 100 year celebration of the Bergland Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that will be held in 2025. This year, we plan to also celebrate the accomplishments of Elder Whiting and Elder Wilson by having a walk and a pancake lunch on the 3rd of August, 2024. We are using a stretch of road through the Bergland Sand Ridge in between Olson Road and Art’s Road that will serve to approximate the journey of the missionaries from Sleeman to Bergland. Many years ago we had a commemorative event where we actually walked the distance from Sleeman to Bergland, but this year we are having a shorter walk through the Sand Ridge. We will have volunteers stationed throughout the Sand Ridge, and we will also have a hayride available for anyone who would rather ride on a wagon. We will all meet at the Bergland Branch church building located at 5040 Highway 621 at 10:00 am, and from there make our way to Olson Road, where we will walk a designated route through the Sand Ridge to Art’s Road and then to the property south of the church building that once belonged to Peter John’s son Godfrey Olson. This property, now called “The Homestead” by the Olson family, the members of the Church, and the community, will serve as the location for our pancake lunch……where we will have, you guessed it, raspberries and blueberries available as some of the toppings for our pancakes. We will have all the trimmings that go with a pancake lunch, a bonfire, and some live old time music. The Homestead has a pavilion, running water, and outhouses available. It is located at 5000 Highway 621 and is directly south of the Bergland Branch church building. There will be lots of time for visiting and reminiscing about old times.
We are also accepting donations for the Rainy River food bank at the activity.
All are welcome to come out. Hope to see you there!
