They first met when she was working for dining services and passed him dessert. He gave a smart remark and she wouldn’t even give him a look. She was wearing a yellow blouse and a brown corduroy jumper, he distinctly remembered. This year they’re celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary. Who are they? They’re Northwest School of Agriculture alumni Ray Anderson 1958 and Elaine (Wold) Anderson 1957, of course.
Ray and Elaine loved their time at the “AC” where they were involved in many activities and met lifelong friends. They started dating when Elaine was a junior and Ray was a sophomore in 1955.
“I chased her and she caught me,” Ray said with a twinkle in his eye. “There were about 90 boys and 12 girls at school, and you had a heck of a time getting a date.”
Elaine traveled from her family farm in Roseau, Minn., with her twin sister, Eloise, to attend the NWSA. Their brothers had also attended. She remembers being in home economics and home management classes with Retta Bede, and later in advanced clothing and advanced sewing.
“Management was fun as we got to invite our boyfriends up for a meal; Ray went,” Elaine explained. “Miss Bede was very strict though. She didn’t even want us to hold hands with the guys.”
Ray grew up north of Fisher, Minn., on the family farm which included pigs, chickens, and cows. He played football and piano, and was on the swim team. Both Ray and Elaine were in choir and the mixed octet.
“Even though we only went six months, our education was accelerated,” stated Ray. “We had a lot of our activities after class, too, like music and choir.”
Following graduation, Ray and Elaine were married June 12, 1959 and immediately went to Toul, France while Ray served in the United States Army.
“I knew I was going to be drafted and my dad was in bad shape (health wise) so I wanted to get in and out,” Ray explained. “I was in for three years and we had our first son in France.”
“Our baby was a good traveler so we were able to travel around to places like Germany,” added Elaine.
When they returned stateside, Ray went back to the farm to help. Sadly, Ray’s father passed away when Ray was just 23 years old. Soon thereafter, Ray signed up for classes at the University of Minnesota Technical Institute in Crookston, the same campus where the NWSA once was, and studied soils and agronomy. He worked in gas transport and took classes at the same time, some days studying inside the transport vehicles. Ray also recalled taking flying lessons and aeronautics with Mr. Miller which later led to the purchase of an airplane he and his son enjoyed.
After their four children were born and a little older in age, Elaine became a nurse and worked for home health in Polk County, Minn. Aside from taking care of her family and tending to the farm, she enjoyed quilting.
In 1976, Ray and Elaine incorporated the Anderson farm as Ray Co Farms which is still in operation today. They proudly celebrated the farm’s centennial in 2010 with a large gathering of family and friends. Their son and grandson have since taken over while Ray and Elaine help out and spend time traveling and living out their hobbies which, for Ray, has included restoring old trucks, tractors, and even motorcycles.
“I once bought an old Mac truck on eBay, hauled it back to the farm, and restored it,” shared Ray. “It was a 1958 and my 50-year reunion was coming up, so I brought my 1958 Mac and a 1958 tractor and parked it on campus. I even had it in the Ox Cart Days parade a few years ago.”
Elaine says Ray had about 30 old tractors at one time, fixed them up, and sold them all off.
“Last Christmas Elaine got a tractor, so maybe this Christmas I’ll get a pair of diamond earrings,” joked Ray.
Just after their interview Ray and Elaine were headed back to Arizona, where they’re now full-time residents, and then off on a Viking cruise to Europe where they planned to travel through Amsterdam and Hungary, and view the Rhine and Danube rivers. The trip was their gift to each other for their anniversary.
“We like to travel,” Ray admitted. “We’ve been to Cambodia three times, Norway and Sweden several times, Hawaii and Alaska twice, and Arizona. We also like the drive to Arizona from Minnesota.”
When they’re not traveling, Ray and Elaine like to spend quality time with their children, two sons and two daughters, their nine grandchildren, and their eight great grandchildren. Their oldest son is a farmer on the family farm, the next oldest daughter attended the University of Minnesota Crookston and worked on the border of Washington state before recently retiring, their other daughter is a pharmacist in Fargo, N.D., and their youngest son works for Metropolitan Transit Authority in Minneapolis, Minn.
