Friday, August 14, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 76: A Final Word

Minnesota Book Awards, 2001, A Man's Reach. Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

On April 20, 2001 Elmer was recognized by the Minnesota Center for the Book with an Honor Award for his memoir A Man's Reach, edited by Lori Sturdevant. "This Honor Award was created to recognize Minnesota books of unusual achievement or significance that fall outside the ten standing award categories. The Minnesota Book Awards committee is empowered to present up to three Honor Awards each year. A Man's Reach was the first book to receive this special honor since the award's creation in 1999 and is recognized as an important work that spans memoir and history in the retelling of extraordinary moments in the private and public life of Minnesota's leading citizen."

Toward the end of his speech at the Minnesota Book Awards, Elmer made this observation: "I think we're coming to the end of a materialistic age, where money was more important than anything else and the heart of a future is going to be in meetings like this. And in Minnesota, the heart of the culture is right here because it's in the expression of the poetry in the lives of people, the history of politics, the generations that have gone before that should stand as a springboard for future citizenship that will be more appreciative of our government, more respectful of the views of others, dedicated not to private gain but to public service for the welfare of all. That should be the mission of all of us."

This marks the end of the exhibit. We hope you've enjoyed this insight into the life of "Minnesota's leading citizen." We enjoyed the opportunity to share it with you.

Our special thanks to those who helped make this exhibit possible: the family of Elmer L. Andersen, the H. B. Fuller Company, and the Minnesota Historical Society. Special thanks as well to Katie Goetz for her tireless work in digging through the many boxes and files and finding some wonderful treasures; Darren Terpstra for his continuously amazing and delightful creativity and design; Karen Hoyle, Maggie Ragnow, Kathy Allen, and Elaine Challacombe for the initial ideas and assistance; and Kris Kiesling, Elmer L. Andersen Director of Archives and Special Collections, for her energizing support, ideas, humor, and so much more. It is a pleasure to count you all as colleagues.

Tim Johnson
Curator, Special Collections & Rare Books

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 75: Elmer and Eleanor

"Eleanor and I developed a way of relating to each other that has suited us well for nearly seventy years: We do not talk about everything. There ought to be a certain mystique about love and marriage. Talking about everything in great detail diminishes the mystery. Not all of life, of art, of music, of anything should be thrown out on the table and torn apart and dismembered. It is too precious. You sense music. You sense art. Some parts of life are better just experienced."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 74: The Marching Song of Life

Elmer, 1980s

"I learned conventional Lutheran theology, the stuff of confirmation class and the catechism. The lessons were simple: faith, trust, service to others. Those ideas have affected my whole life. I trust people, and when I find people I cannot trust, I do not react against them. I just avoid them. I learned at church that every human being has great potential. There is a great deal of good in everybody, and there is potential for evil in everybody. What makes the difference is the environment in which people are placed. In all my relationships, particularly in business, I have tried to place people in situations in which it is easy for them to be at their best."

"To me, religious faith is the marching song of life. It is what appeals to something deep within you that you do not quite fully understand but that holds the potential of making something finer or nobler of you."

"The Lutheran Church taught more than theology. From it I learned a way of life that has stayed with me longer than some church doctrines have. It was a life that required a great deal of people. One was always to be honest, decent, kind, generous, civil. Those strictures were so imbedded in me that I did not think of behaving any other way."

Courtesy H. B. Fuller Company

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 73: The Kelmscott Chaucer

Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400. The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer: now newly imprinted. Hammersmith [Eng.] : William Morris at the Kelmscott Press, 1896.


425 copies on paper; 13 on vellum. This copy on paper. One of 48 copies bound in white pigskin over wooden boards by the Doves Bindery.

"When I began to think about the next owner of my books, I checked with the University of Minnesota to see whether its collection included a Kelmscott Chaucer. I knew another Minnesota book collector…had one—not bound in pigskin, as mine was, but in heavy board binding. I never told him I had a pigskin-bound copy, because I wanted to spare him the jealousy. I thought he intended to give his Chaucer to the university, but it went instead to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. So, a few years ago, I surprised Austin McLean, then the university's curator of special collections, with a personal visit. I laid the Kelmscott Chaucer on his desk."

This volume is one of the most treasured gifts from Governor Andersen to the University.

University of Minnesota Libraries, Rare Books Flat/v 822C39 IM83b

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 72: I Trust To Be Believed

I Trust To Be Believed. Edited by Lori Sturdevant. Minneapolis: Nodin Press, 2004.

Manuscripts and transcriptions of recorded addresses given by Elmer Andersen from 1949 to 2003 on a variety of topics. Includes comments on the continued relevance of these issues in the 21st century.

University of Minnesota Libraries, Andersen Collection

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 71: What nobler purpose...

Whittington Press broadside for Elmer on the naming of the Elmer L. Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota

"What nobler purpose can there be for a University than to gather up the prizes of a culture—preserve them, propagate them, make them available—so that the best of what has gone before can be preserved and built on?"

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 70: His Library

Elmer in his library at home.

"Even in my youth, I did not buy books casually. In my mind, I was building a library. My intention was to read my books, know them well, catalog them, and care for them. I still have the little book in which I recorded every book I bought. I would put a little red-bordered, numbered sticker in each book and then record the number in my little catalog, along with the book's name and author, how much I paid for it, and sometimes, where I got it."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 69: Elmer Loves Books

Minnesota Library Association, Distinguished Achievement Award, 1994

"Recently a high school boy called on us. He said he and fifteen other young people were trying to raise $5,000 for a library fund at a school district some distance from our home. He came because a friend of mine told him, 'Elmer Andersen loves books. You ought to see Elmer.'"

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Jerome K. Jerome, on work

I came across this passage while reading "Three Men in a Boat," by Jerome K. Jerome. It had me in stitches (and still does, every time I read it). From Chapter XV:

It always does seem to me that I am doing more work than I should do. It is not that I object to the work, mind you; I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. I love to keep it by me: the idea of getting rid of it nearly breaks my heart.

You cannot give me too much work; to accumulate work has almost become a passion with me: my study is so full of it now, that there is hardly an inch of room for any more. I shall have to throw out a wing soon.

And I am careful of my work, too. Why, some of the work that I have by me now has been in my possession for years and years, and there isn't a finger-mark on it. I take a great pride in my work; I take it down now and then and dust it. No man keeps his work in a better state of preservation than I do.

But, though I crave for work, I still like to be fair. I do not ask for more than my proper share.

But I get it without asking for it - at least, so it appears to me - and this worries me.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 68: Whittington Press

Whittington Press broadside, from an essay by Elmer, with engraving by Gaylord Schanilec, 1989

"Excellence in book publication is not confined to the nineteenth century. Through a dealer named Jim Sitter, I became acquainted with the work of the Whittington Press in England. Whittington is operated by John and Rosalind Randle, a husband-wife team. I became their eager customer." Later, in order to raise money for the press, the Randles offered their archival collection for sale. "The archival collection included not only a copy of every book Whittington had published but a copy of every variation in binding and paper quality produced. The collection also included manuscript material and correspondence with authors….I bought the collection and gave it to the University of Minnesota."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

Friday, August 7, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 67: Arboretum Library

Ampersand Club broadside, talk at the Landscape Arboretum, 1982

"...Then I asked Eleanor, 'Wouldn't it be fun if we could be identified with the library portion of the [Synder] building [at the Arboretum]?' She could not help but concur. I had already started collecting rare books about horticulture. A library is books. I did not wait for the construction of a building to start amassing the books to fill it."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 66: Kelmscott Press

Bieler Press broadside, Kelmscott Press & William Morris, exhibit, 1981

"In everything he did, [Morris] pursued the highest standard of quality. Morris became a printer late in life and established the Kelmscott Press at Hammersmith, England, to print fine books….Kelmscott Press printed 54 items, all of them classics. The Kelmscott Chaucer was the top work of these 54. At one time, I had a complete set of all 54, including Chaucer—not the vellum edition that I so badly wanted, but the pigskin-bound paper version that was published in 1896."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 65: William Morris

Portrait of William Morris by Barry Moser

"As I came to know more about fine printing and fine printers, I learned that William Morris of the Kelmscott Press was among history's best….He had more influence on printing in the world, not only in England but in Europe and in the United States, than anybody."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 64: Erasmus

Portrait of Erasmus

"Desiderius Erasmus, who is my favorite character, was a great scholar of the Reformation. His portrait hangs on our library wall. He wrote a wonderful little piece called In Praise of Folly. Erasmus satirically praises all kinds of folly, including his own. He mentions himself by name and lists his faults. Out of it comes the message that this is life. This is humanity. We have to be tolerant, even as we try to improve. All of us can do better. That is the purpose of life: to try to live better with each other, to try to live better with ourselves, to try to live better with all with whom we come in contact. We must recognize folly because it exists and can point the way toward improvement. You do not fight it. You do not fight life; you enjoy life."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 63: Love of Books

Elmer L. Andersen reading at his desk

"Aunt Lillian may have been the first person to inspire in me a love of books and a desire to collect them."

"Through a long life, a number of constants have grown dearer with time. Among them is the joy I find in books. I have been a book collector my entire adult life."

"The craving to own books, not just read them, did not pass with childhood. As a young traveling salesman in Minneapolis in the fall of 1928, I saved my loose change and then spent it on books. I always wanted nice books, but in those early years, I could not afford new ones. Instead, I scoured through Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries stores for high-quality secondhand books."

Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 62: Generosity and Love

"I told myself: If you ever are fortunate enough to have some means, be generous with it. Remember that a little generosity makes a big difference to people who do not have much. Just a little caring goes a long way."

"People want to be loved. I have come to think that the greatest force in life is love—not sexual love but love of humanity. If people will believe in the power of love and let it work, it can do wonders. That philosophy has been at the core of all my efforts in business and government."

"Polio was not a deterrent in my life. It might have given my life more vigor, by convincing me that whatever happened could be overcome."

"Society should not be tough on the perpetrators of crime. We should have mechanisms for finding out what is afflicting them and exert the effort to salvage their lives in some way."

Courtesy H. B. Fuller Company

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 61: Rotary

Rotary Letter, on the 60th anniversary of Elmer as a member, 2001

"In 1941, after I took control of H. B. Fuller Company, Harvey Fuller talked to me about the Rotary Club. He said, 'Elmer, I think you'd like it. It's a group of good fellows, and they stand for what you believe in. I wish you'd let me propose you for the Rotary Club.' I agreed and soon found myself reveling in the Rotary. I just marveled at the good work it did in the community and for its members."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

Monday, August 3, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 60: Willard Munger Award

Minnesota Natural Resources Foundation, Willard Munger Environmentalist of the Year Award, 1997

"Munger, nicknamed "Mr. Environment," served his west Duluth district in the Minnesota Legislature for 43 years, starting in 1954, with only one two-year interruption, which occurred when he ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 1964."

"Munger sponsored or advocated nearly every piece of legislation related to the environment in Minnesota during the last half of the century."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 59: Reuel Harmon Award

Reuel Harmon Award, 1997

"The Reuel Harmon Award is an annual recognition of exemplary service and outstanding achievements on behalf of Minnesota’s parks and trails. Reuel Harmon was a founding member of the Minnesota Council of State Parks in 1954, and through its next 30 years of growth and transformation into the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota he was a powerful advocate for Minnesota’s parks and trails."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 58: Princeton Area Community Library

Princeton Area Community Library plaque, 1995

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 57: Myers Memorial Award

Myers Memorial Award, Metro State University, Creative Community Service, 1985

Over the years Elmer received a number of awards in recognition of his service to society. This and the following posts provide a sample of some of those awards.

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 56: Lindbergh Fund

Patch, Charles A. Lindbergh Fund Dinner, with autographs from early astronauts, wives and Anne Lindbergh, 1984

"The Lindbergh Foundation awarded grants to scientists seeking to discover a healthy balance between technology and nature, often through environmental research. The amount of the grant was uniformly $10,580—the price Lindbergh paid for the plane he flew to Paris in 1927." Elmer was the foundation's president from 1982 to 1985, and chairman of the board in 1986 and 1987.

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 55: Apollo 11

Apollo 11 envelope with stamps, July 20, 1969

Elmer attended the launch of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon on July 16, 1969 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. His papers include personal photographs taken on the day of the launch and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) still photographs and other memorabilia—including this first day of issue stamp and envelope—from the mission.

Later he worked with the Charles A. Lindbergh Foundation, a group organized in New York in 1976 by Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong and World War II flying ace Jimmy Doolittle.

Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life, 54: Persistence on Voyageurs

Letter from the National Park Service in gratitude for work on Voyageurs National Park, 1970

"My experience with Voyageurs, perhaps more than any other, showed me the value of persistence. When you work at something and keep at it, you never lose. A person should not make a commitment easily. But once committed, do not let go. Stay with it, and your work will eventually come to a positive end. I did not let the end of the governorship or Boise Cascade opposition or local resistance or lobbying setbacks deter me. Today, there is a national park to show for it."

Courtesy Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Family

"A Man's Reach -- A Transforming Life" is on display through August 15 in the Exhibit Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.