By Mike Simmons, Staff Writer

MANCHESTER &8212; When people think of some of the oldest businesses in Freeborn County a lot of attention probably goes to the biggest city Albert Lea. But drive 11 miles north of Albert Lea on Highway 13 and you come to the small town of Manchester, population 81.

You will also find a company that has been in business since 1876, the Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. Farmers Mutual has been going strong for 131 years, every one of them in Manchester.

Dave Pederson is the manager of the home office in Manchester, and, no, he hasn&8217;t been with the company since it started.

But it might just seem that way. Pederson, it turns out, has also not lived or worked anywhere else but Manchester in his 57 years.

Pederson has been happily married for a little over two years now to his wife, Nancy. He also has two children who didn&8217;t stay in Manchester as their father did &8212; as they now live in the Glenville area.

&8220;My first job was working at Jordahl Meats. I started there in high school,&8221; Pederson said. &8220;I worked there for a little over 14 years.&8221;

Not only has Pederson not had a job anywhere but Manchester, but if look out his office window there is Jordahl Meats just across the road.

&8220;I really liked it there, but a job opened up here at Farmers Mutual for a fire prevention inspector,&8221; Pederson said. &8220;I was on the fire department and had once been the fire chief, so I got the job and that was in 1979. Been here since.&8221;

Pederson said fire prevention and the high liability of a fire was what helped insurance companies like Farmers Mutual become a necessity. In the old days the big insurance companies wouldn&8217;t ensure farmers, their equipment or their homes.

&8220;That&8217;s right, farmers actually had to band together and do it themselves,&8221; Pederson said. &8220;It was called a township mutual insurance company which is the same as today. There are 93 of these in Minnesota today so we have a very limited territory.

&8220;We currently have 18 agencies in six of the surrounding counties, but if we ever wanted to expand, which we have been thinking of doing, we have to apply to the state. But one thing to remember, everyone that is insured, everyone who has a policy, is a member of the company. That&8217;s what a mutual is.&8221;

There are no agents that work out of Pederson&8217;s office in Manchester but all the applications for policies come here and they also pay all the claims from this office.

&8220;The interesting thing to me,&8221; said Pederson, &8220;is that from the time the company got started up until 1972 when this building was built, Farmers Mutual was run out of a home. That&8217;s right, the secretary ran it out of the home.&8221;

Farmers Mutual does some advertising but Dave said that just like in many businesses word of mouth is the best advertisement you can get. If you make one person happy they tell all their friends simple as that.

&8220;There is a great deal of satisfaction in knowing you are helping people that need it,&8221; Pederson said. &8220;We just had a family that lost their home to a fire in November which was very tragic. But it was very satisfying to know they would be able to get back on their feet.

&8220;It&8217;s just terrible. I would hate to come home one night and find a smoldering hole in the ground. The only thing you have to save you is your insurance.&8221;

In Pederson&8217;s spare time he has taught himself some computer programming. He has been doing that on the side since the late &8217;80s he said because of its challenge.

&8220;It&8217;s just something I picked up and enjoyed doing,&8221; he said. &8220;If everything works and someone enjoys it that makes it worthwhile that makes me happy.&8221;

But don&8217;t expect Pederson to pack up and start working or living anywhere but Manchester anytime soon. In his opinion Manchester has everything anyone could need, and Albert Lea is just a few miles down the road.

Pederson and Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. seem like the perfect match. Neither one has ever called anywhere but Manchester home.