Dairy owner, sportsman and tobacconist Esper Andersen (March 5, 1859 – November 26, 1936) started out as a dairyman, but was involved in many other activities and professions. He was a modern sportsman and had a professional approach to cycling, for example. He tried to lose everything, but got going again. He was also friends with Jeppe Aakjær and became known as a fine lecturer, interpreter and reader of Aakjær.
Grundtvigianism and the dairyman
Esper Andersen was born on a medium-sized farm in Lyby. At the age of 9, he joined the Jebjerg Shooting Circle, which was led by Pastor Niels Krestjan Glud, “the first man of Grundtvigianism” in Salling. Following Glud’s advice, Esper Andersen became a student at Galtrup Folk High School on Mors in January-March 1879, where Grundtvigian Poulsen Dal was headmaster. In the winter of 1880-1881, Esper Andersen learned dairy farming at the relatively newly established Ladelund Dairy School under headmaster Niels Pedersen, who had previously been a teacher at Askov Folk High School. After completing his education, Esper Andersen was manager of Stenderup Fællesmejeri for a period in 1881. In 1881-1882, he came very close to the stronghold of Grundtvigianism, Askov Folk High School, when he became manager of Folk High School principal Ludvig Schrøder’s farm in Askov.
Dairyman and manager in Jebjerg
After completing his military service in 1882-1883, Esper Andersen decided to return to Salling to start his own communal dairy. During these years, the railway from Skive to Glyngøre (the Salling Railway) was under construction, creating new opportunities for enterprising men. Esper Andersen chose to start his own dairy in Jebjerg in 1884, the same year the railroad opened. He bought a disused grocery store and an accompanying supply contract for 83 cows to supply milk to the dairy for five years.
New dairy
In the early summer of 1884, a committee headed by Pastor Glud decided to establish a high school in Jebjerg. Esper Andersen sold the grocery store building and built a new, modern dairy, equipped with machines from Brødrene Johansen , Skive ny Jernstøberi, just opposite the college. In 1887, Esper Andersen built a cooperative dairy in Thise, which he sold again a few years later. In 1893, when the cooperative dairy idea had gained a strong foothold in Salling, Esper Andersen sold his communal dairy in Jebjerg to a cooperative dairy, after which he continued as dairy manager here.
The gymnastics teacher: Swedish gymnastics
In addition to running the dairy, Esper Andersen became a gymnastics teacher at Salling Folk High School from 1884, and close contact developed between the school and the dairy. At the school, Esper Andersen taught the new Swedish gymnastics, which was partly based on team exercises, and it was also he who introduced the sport to Salling.
The cyclist
the “farmer” was a professional
He was probably the first person to buy a bicycle in Salling, and as early as 1890 he opened a bicycle shop called “Jyden” in Jebjerg. In 1892, he competed in the Jutland race, which was about 550 kilometers long and the longest bicycle race in Denmark to date. He completed the race in 36 hours and 10 minutes and defeated the entire Copenhagen cycling elite. The victory caused a stir across most of Europe! It was touted in the Copenhagen press as a “farmer’s victory” over the urban elite, but it was far from that. Esper Andersen was no peasant, he was a professional – he rode a custom-built lightweight bike that he imported from England, he had a special diet and he used pacers, including his brother, Peder Andersen.
In 1894/95, the two started the bicycle factory “Jyden” in Gedsted, which after a fire was moved to Ålestrup in 1899, where it developed into a million-dollar business. In 1912 – 20 years later – Esper Andersen tried to beat his time from 1892. He did not succeed. This time he spent 37 hours and 30 minutes. During the trip, he lived on bananas, pears, soda and milk.
Esper Andersen meets Aakjær
When Esper Andersen started his communal dairy in 1884, he sought help and advice from farmer Per Odgaard, who had started a communal dairy at Tastumgård in 1875. Odgaard also held public meetings, where Esper Andersen met the young Jeppe Aakjær in 1887. A close friendship developed between the two, and Jeppe Aakjær became a dear guest who lived – often for long periods – at the dairy in Jebjerg for the next few decades, where he socialized with both dairymen and folk high school students – and wrote some of his most famous poems and works. The increasingly wealthy Esper Andersen also helped the impoverished poet financially – the last time when he, Aakjær and three others saved Jeppe Aakjær’s home “Jenle” from being foreclosed in 1911.
A dairyman becomes an electrician
At the dairy in Jebjerg, Esper Andersen continuously trained dairymen. One of them was Siliam Bjerre, who was more technically interested. In 1899, Esper Andersen and Siliam Bjerre started an electrical installation business in Jebjerg, with Andersen as bookkeeper and Siliam Bjerre as installer. In 1905, Esper Andersen left the company, which moved to Skive.
The bicycle factory “Jyden”
In 1907, Esper Andersen stopped as manager of Jebjerg Andelsmejeri. He bought a farm in Jebjerg and planned to settle on it, but instead he moved to Ålestrup in 1908, where he joined Cykelfabrikken “Jyden” – also financially. The two brothers were hit hard by the economic crisis that hit Denmark after the end of World War I, and in March 1922 the factory had to stop payments. Assets amounted to around DKK 600,000 and liabilities to around DKK 900,000. In September 1922, “Jyden” was declared bankrupt.
Andersen loses everything – but becomes a tobacconist
Esper Andersen lost everything when “Jyden” collapsed. With financial help from good friends, he managed to take over a tobacco shop in Olesens Gård in Adelgade from May 1, 1922.
Lecture about Jeppe Aakjær
After moving to Skive, Esper Andersen began giving lectures on Jeppe Aakjær and reading his works. Esper Andersen was a good storyteller and a skilled interpreter of Aakjær. He made many appearances in village halls etc. until his death in 1936. His daughter, Asta Esper Andersen, who trained as an actress, continued reading Aakjær’s works well into this millennium.
The memorial stone
After Esper Andersen’s death in 1936, a committee collected money for a memorial stone for him at his grave in Skive Cemetery. The stone was erected in September 1937. The inscription reads: “1859-1936 – Esper Andersen – At the forefront of sports – Man of the wrestling era – A faithful friend”. At the top of the stone, the artist has carved 8 birds in flight.
Sources:
- Esper Andersen: A 60th anniversary (Jebjerg and Lyby Shooting Association). Krabbesholm Højskole’s annual report 1927, p. 56-61.
- Esper Andersen: Folk high school life in the seventies. Krabbesholm Højskole’s annual report 1927, p. 3-29.
- Esper Andersen: How dairy farming came to Salling. Krabbesholm Højskole’s annual report 1929, p. 3-17.
- Esper Andersen: Peder Odgaard. Krabbesholm Højskole’s annual report 1932, p. 21-34.
- Jeppe Aakjær: Livserindringer 1. 2010.
- Niels Mortensen: Da sporten kom til Skive. Skivebogen 1997, p. 110-162.