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THIS ISSUE:
90th
Anniversary
Swedish Institute on-line newsletter for our students, faculty and community.
Anna Koppen Schmidt
Class of 1927
Anna Koppen left Norway at the tender age of 21, bound for New York City by herself with high
hopes for a new life. She was part of a wave of immigration that began around 1892 when Ellis
Island opened and a million people a year sailed past the Statue of Liberty on their way into
America. Ms. Koppen was one of those people whose dreams would be fulfilled.
She had saved up every penny she could for her passage, and she arrived with only a few dollars
in her pocket and the name of an immigrant boarding house partial to Norwegians. That night at
dinner, the phone rang with a job offer for a cook at the Norwegian Seaman's Home.
When no one else at the table responded, Ms. Koppen eagerly raised her hand and said, "I'll take
it." She had a job that would get her started.
Within two years had earned enough and learned enough to enroll in the Swedish Institute of
Physiotherapy. Ms. Koppen was just 23, and had considered nursing when she was back home.
But when she found the Swedish Institute she knew it was what she had been looking for; a career
that would allow her to care for people, yet give her the freedom to do so in her unique way.
Studying at the Swedish
As a student with a less than perfect command of English, Ms. Koppen found valuable assistance
from the school founder, Captain Theodore Melander. Captain Melander, a native of Sweden, had
brought ideas of wellness popular in Europe at the time to America. He founded the Swedish
Institute in 1916, teaching a system of physiotherapy which included massage, physical exercises,
hydrotherapy, and the use of devices like heat lamps and myostimulators. Captain Melander was
known as a vibrant lecturer and passionate teacher. His knowledge of both Nordic languages and
English was a great benefit to Ms. Koppen, whom he helped tutor throughout her course of study.
After completing the program in 1927, she married and became Anna Koppen-Schmidt.
During the depression her husband found it necessary to return to Norway for a few years in order
to find work to support the family, which by then included three children. While he was making 29
cents an hour, she was in New York earning $3.00 an hour providing massage; unless a client bought
one of her special coupon books, which offered ten sessions for $25!
Ms. Koppen-Schmidt had started out working in a chiropractor's office, but soon developed a thriving
private practice. She accepted clients only through doctor's referrals and throughout her career
considered herself a "medical masseuse." She continued to practice massage therapy professionally
until she was 75 years old, over 50 active years in the field.
A Legacy of Love
Until she was 98, Ms. Koppen-Schmidt continued to give her daughter a full-body massage once a week.
She was such an inspiration to her family that her son, Norman Schmidt, also went to the Swedish
Institute, as did two of her granddaughters, Laurie Schmidt and Linda Fehrs. All three became
licensed massage therapists, and Ms. Schmidt and Ms. Fehrs are both in active practice today.
Linda Fehrs, now at work on a book about her grandmother, said, "She never really showed her age
until she was about 100. She lived a natural life, without depending on medication of any kind.
She said if you loved your work you would never get tired, but that it should enliven and
revitalize you; massage therapy did that for her."
Anna Koppen Schmidt passed away quietly in her daughter's home in 2005, at the age of 103.
Ms. Fehrs re-visited the Swedish Institute in April 2006 to share her story with school President
Paula Eckardt. (Ms. Eckardt's great aunt, Lillian Phillips, was a 1926 graduate
who then worked at the school,
so it's certain that their two ancestors crossed paths!) At the end of their meeting Ms. Fehrs
added, "On behalf of my grandmother I'd like to say 'thank you' for being there as a school and
for maintaining this unique program, which made such a difference in the life of my grandmother
and all those she touched. It was a pivotal point for her, the marker between the first third
and the rest of her life."
Special thanks to the Schmidt/Fehrs's families for generously sharing their photos of Anna as well as
her handwritten class notes.
Anna Koppen Schmidt's Textbooks included:
Handbook of Medical and Orthopedic Gymnastics, by Professor Anders Wilde, M.D., published by Funk and Wagnall, 1905; originally published in Sweden in 1899.
Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology for Training Schools and Other Educational
Institutions, by Elizabeth R. Bundy, M.D., published by P. Blakistons Sons & Co., 1923.
Textbook of the Principles and Practice of Nursing, published by MacMillan and Co., 1924.
Practical Dietetics: Diet in Health and Disease, by Alida Frances Patee, published by A.F. Patee Publishing, 1904, second edition 1923.
Encyclopedia of Health, Vol.I through VII, by Bernarr (sic) McFarland, published by MacFadden Book
Company.
Photos
Top: Class of 1927, with Anna Koppen in the back row, fifth from left.
Center: Anna Koppen, circa 1926, in her school uniform.
Bottom: Anna Koppen’s handwritten notes.
Thanks to Linda Fehrs and the Koppen Schmidt family for use of these valuable artifacts.
All photos in the newsletter not otherwise specified are by Barbara Goldschmidt and are the
property of the Swedish Institute ©2006.