Earl B. Olson died at home Monday losing his battle with cancer at age 91.
"Earl B.", as he was known around Willmar, was an icon who will be greatly missed.
Willmar, Jennie-O Turkey Store and the turkey industry have lost a renowned and innovative leader as well as a quiet benefactor.
A man of small stature who grew up on a Murdock area farm, Olson became a turkey industry giant which helped put Willmar on the map.
He started out at age of 17 in the creamery business in Murdock and Swift Falls. He soon began collecting milk and eggs as well selling seed corn and buying poultry, turkeys and livestock.
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In 1941, Olson re-focused his business on the turkey industry. Within a decade, he purchased his first turkey processing plant in Willmar. Thus began Olson's efforts to vertical integrate his company to add value to his turkeys.
Profit did not come easy for the Willmar-based entrepreneur. Turkey prices sometimes dropped to only 29 cents per pound. Fires destroyed processing plants in Willmar, Litchfield and Melrose. The turkey business was a very competitive industry.
He never gave up or lost focus on innovation. Even in his 90s, he rarely missed a day at Jennie-O Turkey Store's corporate headquarters.
Today, the business he founded is now the largest turkey processor in the world, employing 7,000 people, producing more than 1,500 products, distributed in the United States and 26 countries.
Throughout the decades Jennie-O's innovations, such as vertical integration, the turkey roll, and the turkey hot dog, helped make Minnesota a leader in the industry.
His largesse was not limited to his company and the turkey industry. He never forgot Willmar or Kandiyohi County.
The Willmar businessman remained interested in Willmar and its businesses. He served on a local bank board, supported local entrepreneurs and was a member of the local chamber of commerce.
He preferred that his philanthropy remain private, but he was a generous man. He and his family provided the primary funding for the Kandiyohi County Area Family YMCA and the Dorothy A. Olson Aquatic Center in Willmar.
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Olson's business legacy will long be remembered in the turkey industry. His loyalty to Willmar and Kandiyohi County will be missed.
Willmar's Jennie-O business giant is gone, but "Earl B." will not be forgotten.
