Helga Fjelstad
Helga Fjelstad (b.1864 – d.1938)
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Matron 1895-1921, 1923-1930
Biography
Helga Fjelstad, a Norwegian immigrant, began her career at Concordia in 1895. As matron of the college, she was responsible for overseeing the food service and all it employed. This job was quite an undertaking as nearly every student and several faculty members lived on campus at the time. Considered by many homesick Cobbers to be a “substitute mother.” Miss Fjelstad was known for her comforting talks accompanied with milk and cookies.
During a typhoid outbreak on campus in 1899, all board services were shut down. Miss Fjelstad orchestrated a make-shift dining hall in the basement of President Bogstad’s home so that the students did not have to go without food. She also dutifully brought meals to those stricken with typhoid. She retired in 1921, but was asked to return two years later. In 1938, a new women’s dormitory was built and named “Fjelstad Hall” in her honor. Miss Fjelstad was present at the cornerstone laying, but passed away before the building’s completion. At the dedication of the new hall, President Brown praised Miss Fjelstad for making “the greatest contribution of any individual to the progress and welfare of Concordia College.”