Elmer Lee Andersen (June 17, 1909 – November 15, 2004) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who built a successful business career with the H. B. Fuller Company. Andersen was most notably the 30th governor of Minnesota. A Republican, he was a well-regarded moderate who passed many social and environmental regulations. In one of the closest elections in the history of Minnesota and the United States, Andersen lost the 1962 Minnesota gubernatorial election by 91 votes to Karl Rolvaag. Early life and education Andersen was born in Chicago. His mother, Jennie Olivia Johnson (1877–1925), was the daughter of a seaman from Luleå, Sweden, who came to America as a young man and worked in the timber business. Elmer's father, Arne Kjelsberg Andersen (1866–1926), was an immigrant from Solør, Norway, who had settled in Chicago and became a streetcar motorman, operating on the Halsted streetcar line out of the Ashland Avenue car barns. "My earliest memory", Andersen wrote in his memoirs, "is of riding with him on the streetcar and being permitted to clang the bell as we came to street crossings." His parents separated when he was six years old. Andersen never understood why his parents separated and never questioned them. He and his mother and infant sister, Caroline, moved to Muskegon, Michigan. His two older brothers, Arnold and Marvin, arrived in Muskegon later. The Andersens had only sporadic contact with their father after the separation. At age nine, Elmer contracted a mild form of polio but, through exercise, regained his strength. Andersen's brothers worked for E. H. Sheldon and Company in Muskegon, a manufacturer of specialty school furniture. Too young to work in the factory, Elmer's first job was helping his mother, who took in washing. From there he moved on to selling newspapers, vegetables, specialty products, candy bars and soft drinks. He also carried travelers' bags from the boat docks to the train station. "I love selling", he wrote. "I love the interchange with people. A good salesman gains influence on another person's mind. That makes selling quite a serious undertaking." At age 14, Andersen joined his brothers at Sheldon and Company. He also wrote short essays on birds that were published in the Muskegon Chronicle. "The thrill I had seeing those columns in print was the start of an abiding attraction to the newspaper business." Andersen's mother was devoted to church work and ensured that her