Bovey seeks ‘Grace’ wherever it may be found

The picture “Grace” by Eric Enstrom.

Not many states have an official state photograph, but here in Minnesota we do.

Eric Enstrom took the picture “Grace” in 1918 at his studio in downtown Bovey, Minnesota. I wrote about the back story last year. This iconic image appears in homes and churches across the Christian world, so ubiquitous and replicated that people forget that the original was a crisp, black and white photograph taken by a Swedish-American immigrant on the Mesabi Iron Range.

Now 100 years old, the Picture Grace is the subject of a film project wrapping up production. Meantime, this summer people in Bovey also plan to honor the century-old image that still adorns many of its street signs.

Every year Bovey celebrates “Farmers Day,” on what most people call Labor Day. It honors the town’s roots as a small farming hub along the iron mining-centric Mesabi Range.

This year, the annual event will laud the town’s famous picture Grace. They need your help. Committee members seek to create a big map depicting how far the picture reaches around the United States and world. To do this, they need people to contact them with answers to the following questions:

• Do you have the picture “Grace” in your home?
• How did you come to have it?
• In which town/state is your picture “Grace” located?

To participate, all you need to do is tell the folks at Farmer’s Day where you’ve seen the Picture Grace.

Contact the committee by e-mail at boveyfarmersday[at]yahoo.com, at the Bovey Farmers Day Facebook page, or by postal mail at P.O. Box 147, Bovey, MN 55709.

The committee will compile the results for a display at this year’s Farmer’s Day.