By Ed Shannon, staff writer

Credit for introducing the incredible edible called pizza to the food connoisseurs of the Albert Lea area goes to C. Duane Field.

Up to the 1950s pizza was a little known food item in the Midwest. However, this changed because of World War II and here in Albert Lea with the opening of Field&8217;s Pizza Cellar.

Duane was born Dec. 25, 1916, in Joice, Iowa, and graduated from Lake Mills High School in 1936.

He married Florence Nash on June 22, 1942, at Salem Lutheran church in Lake Mills, Iowa.

From 1942 to 1945, Duane served in the U.S. Army. And during this military service he had an Army buddy named Earl Balzer.

Duane and Florence moved to Albert Lea in either 1950 or 1951. During the 1950s Duane

and Balzer, who lived in St. Paul, continued their friendship.

Balzer had developed a restaurant business concept which specialized in a new food gaining in popularity called pizza, plus another Italian favorite, spaghetti. He called his business Mister Pizza and was setting up franchises. Field decided to open up an Albert Lea Mister Pizza outlet in 1959. This was reportedly the city&8217;s first real pizza place.

The name given to this new eating place was Field&8217;s Pizza Cellar. It was located at 221 S. Washington St., and across the street from Albert Lea&8217;s Sears Roebuck and Co. store and Westrum&8217;s Outlet.

Despite the cellar name, this new pizza parlor was located at the street level of a three-story apartment building. Thus, customers didn&8217;t have to go down any steps to the cellar or basement to do their indoor air conditioned dining or to pick up orders called in earlier.

During its years of operation this eating place had a variety of pizza toppings with meat and also meatless (like cheese, shrimp and anchovy). One of the menus from that era listed the sizes of pizza as bambino (small), mama (medium) and papa (large).

Other food items on the somewhat limited menu included spaghetti with and without meat balls, hot cakes (up to 8 p.m.), sandwiches (called subwiches), salads, spumoni ice cream and beverages.

Field&8217;s Pizza Cellar operated from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The Cellar was closed on Sundays for what the menu said was, &8220;A Day for Worship and Rest.&8221;

One of the old menus from this

Albert Lea eating-out destination also listed five other pizza places

in St. Paul and locations in Mankato, West St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Mason City, Iowa, which were franchises of Balzer&8217;s Mister Pizza concept.

During the dozen years Field&8217;s Pizza Cellar was a part of life in Albert Lea, the business was certainly a part of life for the Field family. Florence was the bookkeeper for Duane&8217;s

business.

Also involved as they grew up were three of the four children: Mary Johnson, who now lives in Cambridge, Paul of Albert Lea, and David of Walters. The youngest child, Julie Baldwin of Albert Lea, has memories of having pizza parties and even cooking pizza at her parents&8217; restaurant.

Paul said he started working at Field&8217;s Pizza Cellar at the age of 12 and continued all through his high school years.

At the end of August 1971 the Fields sold the Pizza Cellar to Doug and Betty Jensen. Jensen had been a former employee and he continued operating the business for a few more years.

Credit for starting Albert Lea&8217;s second pizza business likely goes to Ernest K. Jacobson. The 1968 city directory lists his business as Crown Pizza, located at 126 W. Clark St. The name changed to the present Jake&8217;s Pizza by 1970, according to a city directory listing, and still continues at this same address.

After passing the pizza paddle to Jensen, Duane was employed by Wonder Life and later worked for his son, Paul, of the ABC Seamless Siding franchise in Albert Lea (now Home Solutions Midwest.). He died on March 20, 1991. His wife, Florence, died on July 21, 2004.

The couple who took pride in having the first pizza business in Albert Lea are buried in Salem Lutheran Cemetery,

Lake Mills.