Ansedel Peter James Dahlberg

SH191, D54 Peter James Dahlberg was raised on a farm near Drayton, N.D., and graduated from Drayton High School in 1943. He attended North Central Bible College in Minneapolis for a short time before entering the military. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII from Jan. 26, 1944, to April 26, 1946. During the war, he served as a combat infantryman in the 78th Infantry Division in battle situations in Germany. Peter concluded his service after the war as Chaplain's assistant. He wrote about many of his experiences during the war, these experiences would be his "boot-camp" in preparation for ministry to other veterans. He loved going to rummage sales in Rapid City and would leave copies of the WWII memoirs he had written and strike up conversations about the war and his God. He also orally and visually shared stories and memories of WWII with students and other interested groups during the last ten years of his life. Peter was a member of both the VFW and the American Legion. Following his discharge from the army, he reentered North Central Bible College where he received training for the ministry. He married Mary Ellen Haas on Jan. 12, 1949, in Rapid City, between two of the worst blizzards ever recorded in this area. They traveled in the evangelistic field from Oregon to Ohio. He pastored in the Wisconsin towns of Viroqua, Newton, and Tomah before moving to Hot Springs, where he pastored for 32 years. He served as Youth Director (D-CAP) for the South Dakota District of the Assembly of God Church for 4 1/2 years from 1959-1963. He served as Chaplain at the S.D. State Veterans Home and the Hot Springs V.A. Medical Center for 30 years and also served as Chaplain at the Youth Forestry Camp and the Children's Hospital near Custer. He conducted a Sunday morning radio broadcast over KOBH in Hot Springs for 25 years called "Message of Life", and a daily broadcast, "Brighten Your Day", for 7 years. In 1994 he was honored as Citizen of the Year in Hot Springs. For the past 18 years, he provided Pastoral Care and served as the Seniors' Pastor at Bethel Assembly of God. He especially enjoyed teaching the seniors' Sunday school group. He organized and was the chairmen for the South Dakota Seniors' Ministry for the Assembly of God churches in 1991 for 15 years. Hospital, nursing home, and jail visitations were also ways Peter shared his enthusiasm for God and people throughout his ministries in Hot Springs and Rapid City. Peter loved music and played several musical instruments, including guitar, piano, mandolin, banjo, and auto-harp. He could play almost any instrument and most songs by ear. He enjoyed traveling and working on various missions projects in several countries overseas, including Argentina, Spain, Austria, Belgium, and Mexico. Proud of his Swedish heritage, he traveled to Sweden four times to visit his cousins and their families. Because his father immigrated to the USA in 1911 and his mother's parents also immigrated from Sweden, all of his many cousins live there.