By Ed Shannon

staff writer

One of the least-known business enterprises from the past was Albert Lea Woolen Mills. And the person who was closely associated with this firm was a Danish immigrant named Jorgen Jensen. However, this woolen mill was started and owned for a dozen years by two other men.

The concept for creating a woolen mill in Albert Lea came about during the winter of 1886-87. Promoting this place, where wool from area sheep could be processed into various clothing items and blankets, were C. Pedersen and J.W. Shonaker. Their main building was constructed close to the corner of what&8217;s now East Fountain Street and Bridge Avenue. The building was 36 feet by 70 feet with two floors and a basement and described as one the city&8217;s largest structures. In this building was equipment, purchased mostly in Lowell, Mass., for carding, spinning, weaving and finishing the wool. A building extension, 30 feet by 36 feet, was for wool dyeing and the boiler and engine. A trench or small canal was dug from the woolen mill to nearby Fountain Lake for the needed water supply.

Jensen was one of the residents of Albert Lea during the time this woolen mill was being organized, built and operated by Pedersen and Shonaker. During those dozen years he was operating a business in another part of Albert Lea.

This particular member of the Jensen family was born during 1855 in Denmark. After serving in the Danish Army as part of his mandatory military service, he decided to go to the United States in 1881.

As an answer to a question on an official document in Denmark, Jensen answered the question based on his occupation with the word &8220;cooper.&8221;

To many people the word cooper would be considered to be a person&8217;s last name and capitalized. Yet, this word is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as &8220;one who makes or repairs barrels or casks.&8221;

His answer to another question on the document regarding his destination after leaving Denmark was, &8220;Austin, Minnesota.&8221;

Jensen may have had a family connection in Austin and lived in this community for a short time. Then he decided to go to Albert Lea which had a large group of Danish immigrants and many people with the last name of Jensen.

Within a few years he was operating a plant at the corner of Charles Street and River Lane which made butter tubs and barrels for the creameries in south Minnesota and north Iowa.

By the end of 1897, C. Pedersen was evidently the sole owner of the Albert Lea Woolen Mills. This was emphasized with this news item in the Jan. 5, 1898, issue of the Freeborn County Standard: &8220;C. Pedersen last week sold the woolen mill property to Jorgen Jensen, formerly proprietor of the butter tub factory, the consideration being $4,000. Mr. Jensen expects to operate it to its fullest capacity and make it one of the thriving institutions of this city.&8221;

Jensen obviously shifted his occupation and attention from barrels and butter tubs to working with sheep wool within a short time. An ad in the Jan. 3, 1900, issue of the Albert Lea Enterprise newspaper said: &8220;The Albert Lea Woolen Mills, manufacturers of woolen yarns of

all descriptions, always pays the highest market price for wool. We buy for cash or in exchange for goods. By bringing your wool to us, you are always sure of the highest market price for the class of wool you have. Our general line of woolen goods (include) flannels, blankets, shawls, dress goods, underwear, hosiery, woolen batts and knitting yarns. All have been made from pure wool and are first-class in every respect.&8221;

Jensen operated the woolen mill with about eight employees for a few years. By 1903 he decided to close his Albert Lea mill, but remain in the woolen clothing business. In effect, he set up what was implied to be a retail outlet, company store or agency for a woolen mill. This was emphasized with the name of The Woolen Mill Store, even if the mill was actually somewhere else.

This store was located at 113 E. Clark St. Jensen continued to buy raw wool from the region&8217;s sheep raisers. And like before, he either paid cash for the wool or offered an exchange for clothing items and/or blankets. He also became involved with the Jensen Brothers Clothing Store for a few years.

The purchased wool was shipped to a mill in another locality for further processing. It&8217;s very likely one of those destinations was the now-famous Faribault Woolen Mills. (This firm was started by a German immigrant in 1865, and like the Albert Lea Woolen Mills was a part of the 800 mills once active in the Midwest. Today, the Faribault firm is one of the nation&8217;s last active woolen mills.)

In 1922, one of Jorgen&8217;s sons, Art, decided to start an automobile garage, service station and dealership at the corner of South Newton Avenue and East William Street, just to the south of the post office building. Jorgen then decided to close the clothing store and be involved in a third major and again entirely different venture. He became a part of the management as the office manager and an investor in the Midway Motor Co.

Jorgen made this comment to a Tribune reporter at that time: &8220;Art is level-headed and I&8217;m not afraid to go into business with him at any time. Whatever Art sets about to do he does it &8212; and when he goes into a business he usually succeeds.&8221;

This reporter added this comment. &8220;All citizens who know Art best, know that Mr. (Jorgen) Jensen was absolutely right in this statement.&8221;

Sometime in the 1930s Jorgen and his wife, Cecilia, moved to California where their four married daughters were living in the Los Angeles area. His wife died in 1941, and Jorgen died in Alhambra, Calif., on Jan. 19, 1945.

Part of the historical material used for this story was furnished by Kevin Savick.