By Ed Shannon, staff writer

Martin R. Oppegaard had a last name which was also spelled Oppegard during his lifetime. Maybe this difference was an attempt to Americanize the name or eliminate an extra letter a. No matter how his name was spelled, this man was both an Albert Lea businessman and the inventor and promoter of four known devices.

Oppegaard was born April 8, 1887, near Twin Lakes and graduated from Albert Lea High School. He attended the local normal school and taught rural schools for 11 years. After living for a short time in both McIntosh (between Crookston and Bemidji) and Snohomish (near Seattle), Wash., Oppegaard moved back to Albert Lea.

By early 1919, he was operating the South Side Cash Grocery at 412 E. Third St. Later that same year Oppegaard purchased a building at the corner of West Third Street and South Broadway Avenue. For the next decade this corner was the focus of his business ventures and newly invented products.

What may have been Oppegaard&8217;s first promotion of one of his inventions was based on a patented chimney cleaner. In an era when the burning of coal and wood was the main source for heating for both homes and cooking, there was a definite need for a chimney clean. An article in the Jan. 5, 1921, issued of the Freeborn County Times reported:

&8220;Have you seen Martin Oppegaard&8217;s new invention? It&8217;s a patent chimney cleaner. He has them at all the local hardware stores.

&8220;So far he has had a sale for all that he can make with his hastily acquired machinery and tools.

&8220;Hitherto a real practical chimney cleaner (to remove soot and creosote) is a hard article to get hold of. Martin&8217;s contrivance is simple and sells at a price within reach of all. …

&8220;Martin says he believes that as soon as the contrivance becomes known, the demand will be so great that a factory for the manufacture on a large basis will have to be contracted.&8221;

In 1922 Oppegaard had his old grocery store building moved to the north of the Third Street and Broadway Avenue corner. On this corner lot he had a new building constructed. However, this was not to be a factory but a new food store with the name of Oppegard Cash Grocery across the front. Besides the grocery, and a curbside gasoline pump, the mechanical-minded store owner also had a small shop in his new building where he worked on his various ideas for new inventions.

The next known invention by Oppegard came in 1926 with the ensilage spreader or distributor.

This labor-saving device was intended to help farmers to fill their silos with a minimum of labor and future spoilage. It had been tested at the E.L. Bure farm near Twin Lakes. What he called the &8220;new labor saver&8221; was on sale for $28 each. An ad in the Freeborn County Times said this device was available from the following dealers or agents: J.H. Lightley, Oakland; C.P. Hullegaard, Hayward; Glenville Implement Co.; E. Bosserman Co., Northwood, Iowa; C.H. Hanson, Manchester; Clarks Grove Hardware and Implement Co.; Stadheim & Hellie, Lerdal; and from M.R. Oppegard, 832 S. Broadway Ave.

There&8217;s an old saying based on the concept of necessity being the mother of invention. This was certainly emphasized in the Feb. 9, 1928, issue of the Tribune, which featured the enterprising grocer&8217;s third known invention. This article said:

&8220;Martin Oppegard, whose head is always working along inventive lines, today demonstrated his latest invention to the Albert Lea street committee and it worked perfectly.

&8220;This new contrivance is known as a sidewalk sander and, so far as known, is the only thing of its kind used it distribute sand.

&8220;A short time ago Martin sprained one of his ankles quite badly when he slipped on the icy sidewalk. For two weeks he was laid up &8212; but he wasn&8217;t idle mentally. The more he thought about the icy sidewalks the more he realized how dangerous they are. Finally he decided to set about making a machine for the purpose of distributing sand in a quicker, efficient and more economical way. Today he made public his invention. …

&8220;Mr. Oppegard has already patents pending on his new invention.

&8220;From all indications

it looks as if Martin has at last invented a machine which will bring him in a heap of dough, for every city in the frozen north districts needs one or more of such machines.

&8220;The fact that Martin Oppegard slipped and sprained his ankle may be the cause of making him a multimillionaire.&8221;

Despite the Tribune&8217;s prediction, the South Broadway grocer didn&8217;t become a multimillionaire. Instead, by November that year he was a candidate for the office of judge of probate (where he didn&8217;t win) and had changed a part of his building to a cobbler&8217;s (shoe repair) shop. His intention, according to a short Tribune news article on Nov. 19, 1928, was, &8220;I am going to put in modern machinery and employ expert repair men. If I can improve the &8216;soles&8217; of my friends, I will not have lived in vain.&8221;

The fourth known invention promoted by Oppegard came with a patented mailbox post. A Tribune news report in the Jan. 19, 1929, issue said, &8220;He has already orders for 18,017 of these posts. They wholesale for $3 each.&8221;

Like the other inventions by Oppegaard, this fourth device didn&8217;t quite result in riches or an increase in demand after the initial publicity. By November 1930 he was the manager of the Gateway Service Station at the corner of East Fifth Street and South Broadway Avenue. This station sold Koolmotor and Cities Service products. And from this connection he became a salesman for the Cities Service Oil Co. for a few years. In the 1941-42 city directory Oppegaard was listed as an insurance agent and abstractor in the city directory.

He married Evelyn Daphne Peterson on Oct. 8, 1932, and they had two sons.

Martin R. Oppegaard, also known as Oppegard, died Sept. 9, 1948.

(This article is based in part on research recently done by Kevin Savick.)