To the seekers,
The Frank Carlson Library was constructed in 1976 and named after Senator Frank Carlson. To the seekers, The Frank Carlson Library’s mission to meet the educational, informational, and recreational needs of the community is fulfilled through the Pathfinder Central “One Patron, One Card” program, multiple digital resources, children and teen programs, book discussion groups, adult coloring groups, and genealogy resources, and unique events. In addition to being a free public library, the library also has an extensive Frank Carlson collection of memorabilia.
Senator Frank Carlson
Frank Carlson was known as “Kansas Favorite Son.” He was born in Concordia in 1893 to Swedish immigrant parents. In 1919 he married Alice Fredrickson of Concordia, and they began an active livestock and farming operation. Frank Carlson was educated in Cloud County schools and attended Concordia Normal and Business College and Kansas State University. He received honorary degrees from ten colleges and universities.
He was an active member of the Baptist Church of Concordia and served as a Sunday School Superintendent for twenty-five years.
Frank Carlson is the only Kansan in state history to have served in the U.S. House of Representatives, in the U.S. Senate, and as governor of Kansas. He died in 1987.
“There are no self-made men. It is your friends who make you what you are.” – Frank Carlson
Frank Carlson, elected thirtieth governor of Kansas in 1946, brought eighteen years of public service experience to that office. In the summer of 1928, Frank Carlson, farmer, serving as Cloud County Republican chairman, was recruited by a Concordia delegation as he was working in his fields.
Carlson served two terms in the Kansas House of Representatives, 1929-1933. He left the House to be Alf Landon’s presidential campaign manager. He was also Kansas State Republican Committee Chair. In 1934 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served six terms. He returned to Kansas to be governor. Near the end of his second term, he campaigned for a Congressional Senate seat and won. Carlson was elected for two more terms. In 1967 he voluntarily retired effective 1969, having given forty years to public office.
“The American system of government is based largely on the consistent voluntary participation of the individual citizen in the affairs of his community and nation.” – Frank Carlson
On the national level, Carlson helped recruit Dwight D. Eisenhower for president and was co-founder of the Presidential Prayer Breakfast. As governor, Carlson was involved in programs for highways, aid to returning veterans, education at all levels, social welfare, state mental institutions, and rural medical services. Carlson competed in thirteen primaries and thirteen general elections and never had a loss.
Kansas honored Carlson by naming him “Favorite Son” at the 1969 Republican National Convention. Two buildings, the Frank Carlson Library and the federal building in Topeka, bear his name. U.S. 81 from the Nebraska state line north of Belleville to Salina is named the Frank Carlson Memorial Highway. Wichita State University hosts the Frank Carlson Lecture Series.
Frank Carlson Room
The Frank Carlson Room contains many articles that were part of Senator Carlson’s Washington, D.C. office and showcases his life and career. He personally selected some of his favorite political mementos for the Carlson Room display. Among the items on display are a check signed by fellow Kansan Dwight D. Eisenhower in playful settlement of a bet, several political cartoons, campaign literature, and dozens of photographs. His impressive elephant collection is a symbol of his lifelong membership in the Republican Party. Photos of his wife and family, his parents, and the large family Bible brought to Kansas from Sweden are reminders of the gentle man who wielded enormous political power during his years in the Kansas State Legislature, as Governor, and in Congress.