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.

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.

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.

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.