Several stories include inanimate objects as characters, such as forks, frying pans, and rubber balls, in the tradition of the Scandinavian "tingseventyr," or "object fairy tales." In 1934, in the year that Lois Jenson was born, on November 11th 1933, an extremely strong dust storm hit South Dakota, stripping topsoil. It was his masterful influence that solidified her approach to the California landscape. In January 1987, the state's agency requested that Ogelbay Norton Co.,[3] a Cleveland, Ohio-based part-owner of the mine, pay US$6,000 in punitive damages and $5,000 to Jenson for mental anguish, but the company refused. She had lost friends, worn out her family. [7], In 1992, Jensen published the first volume of 100 stories in his "Square Story" project. The first half of the trial for damages began in Duluth on January 17, 1995 and lasted until February 10. Her female colleagues at the mines sought employment there for much of the same reasons, many were family breadwinners and some were single women trying to support themselves. Lois Jensen was born on June 20, 1931, and died at age 41 years old in April 1973. But mining was in her blood. Then she visited the set of "North Country" and began to change her mind. Bookbird (54.4): 45. Her school name was British International Higher College. "Fantastic Tales and Poetic Square Stories: Important Features in the Danish Author Louis Jensen's Literature for Children." "There were times I felt so terrible about myself on the job that I couldn't stand it.". We will update the name of Louise Jensons Brother soon. ", Kildegaard, Lise. But most importantly by certifying the case as a class action, the court put the principles of collective bargaining to work in the courtroom and it gave once powerless, voiceless workingwomen a platform to demand change and the leverage to achieve it. Select the next to any field to update. Lois Jenson's life story is the inspiration behind the hit film, North Country, starring Charlize Theron. The movie, which stars Charlize Theron playing a character based on Jenson, opens nationwide Friday. Lois A Jensen Lois Jensen (1910 - 2003) Jump to: Biography Memories . ", Kildegaard, Lise. When the National Womens History Museum opens in a permanent site in Washington, DC, one of the themes will be womens experience in the workplace. Many companies offered to model her but she volunteered to do whatever she wanted and refused to do whatever she wanted. Script adaptation and directed by Robert Larson. She attended grade school in Elk Point, SD and graduated from Beresford, SD high school in 1946. In 1975, Lois Jenson started working in a mine in northern Minnesota's Iron Range. AncientFaces is a place where our memories live. In this brutal workplace, female miners were relentlessly threatened with pornographic graffiti, denigrating language, stalking, and physical assaults. The National Womens History Museum is an organization dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the diverse historic contributions of women, and integrating this rich heritage fully into our nations history. As Sren Fan (Lecturer and specialist in children's literature) explains in his review of the eleventh volume, "Smaller children simply listen to the stories, older children contemplate both form and meaning, high school students analyze and interpret them, and among some grown ups they attain cult status and become collectibles. On that point, Jenson found a sympathetic ear in Caro. Over the course of the next 24 years, he accomplished his goal of writing 1001 of these very short stories, each in the shape of a square. United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story, U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals case documents, Class Action: What Happens When Employers Refuse To Remedy Sexual Harassment, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jenson_v._Eveleth_Taconite_Co.&oldid=1142311149, Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law (2003), This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 18:18. There is a common misconception that women were not members of the workforce until recently. Jenson is not in the movie, but she spent time on the set in Eveleth. "I don't like to take liberties and speak for the other women, but they had concerns as well, and, from what I've seen, I think (the movie people) listened," Jenson says. Jenson by then was on medication for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Jensen also includes many stories that have no characters, plot, or action. Share memories and family stories, photos, or ask questions. With the eleventh and final book in the series, which includes 100 pictures and one story, Jensen reached his goal of producing 1001 stories. [1][2][3] While he published more than 90 books for both adults and children, he was best known for his children's books, which include picture books, short stories, flash fiction, creative nonfiction and novels. She did not take interest in this college and entered the entertainment world. in A Beautiful Girl I Knew Became a High-Class Escort And Paid a Terrible Price in A Different Page Scientists Warn of A "Friendship Recession" I'm Part of It Ceebla Cuud Her Ex-husband's Whole. All she wanted was a good job with good wages. After the policy was instituted signs that read, Sexual harassment will not be tolerated, but will be graded, began appearing around the mine. "Square Stories." "Square Stories." She was among the first women they ever hired. Now her 14-year battle has inspired a film, and could win Charlize Theron an Oscar. Toilet breaks were timed, just for a laugh. Previous to Lois's current city of Babbitt, MN, Lois Jenson lived in Gilbert MN and Mountain Iron MN. The eleven volumes of the 1001 Square Stories are: Jensen's Square Stories have been adapted into several theater productions, including, Media related to Louis Jensen at Wikimedia Commons, Novels and short prose collections for adults. Why don't you go home? "[24], The eleven volumes of the Square Stories are illustrated by Lilian Brgger, a prize-winning Danish illustrator. The women of Eveleth Mines should take well-deserved pride in their historic contributions. The women who banded together to challenge the hostile environment at the Eveleth Mines are part of a long and proud tradition of women who have made America a better place to live. we begin to Show & Tell who they were during particular moments in their lives. The case was on its way to court again in 1998 when a deal was done. She got a lot of progress and today Louise Jenson has become a big star. ", Jenson says that's evident from Theron's performance. Peterson, Johnsons Wax Davis Factor, Max Factor Valley National Bank Vertex Management, Inc. Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, AZ U.S. Department of Justice SHOWS / EXHIBITIONS: Exhibited in major U.S. galleries for thirty-five years Honored at a Congressional reception in Washington D.C., where she received a SILVER AWARD from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Who were the people in Lois' life? She traveled along the coast in her small RV in the late 1980sand 1990s painting en plein aire. Dansk Forfatterforenings H.C. Andersen Legat (H.C. Andersen Stipend), 1998. The company refused to install womens bathrooms and provide safety equipment sized for womens smaller bodies. Madsen, Monica. Jenson took a job at the mines because it paid 3 times as much as she could earn anywhere else and she needed a job that would pay enough to support herself and her young son and provide benefits such as health care. He waited to speak until he was close to Jenson. Theron's character, Josey Aimes, is similar to Jenson: Both are single mothers; both have been sexually assaulted; both find work in the male-dominated taconite mines of Minnesota's Iron Range; both file lawsuits that establish precedents in U.S. courts' treatment of sexual harassment. If anyone knows about her brothers information, please let us know in the comments. Her parents enrolled her in school when she was 4 years old . Lois is included in ContemporaryWestern Artists, Whos Who in the West and Whos Who in America. Required fields are marked *. She was born on January 12, 1981, in England, United Kingdom. "It really was like they had never seen a woman before." "Fantastic Tales and Poetic Square Stories: Important Features in the Danish Author Louis Jensen's Literature for Children." He made the short list (5 authors, nominated from 34 countries) for the Hans Christian Andersen Award two times, in 2010 and again in 2016. Bernice Johnson Reagon is a renowned composer, historian, musician, and activist. Louise Jensons father started Her own business after completing Her education and got married after working hard in it. There she was surrounded by lush green farmland to the east and the majestic pacific coast on the west. Where we share as we remember & make discoveries and connect with others to help answer questions. North Country is beautifully shot, with a soundtrack from Bob Dylan, who himself was raised in a Minnesota mining town. Then she visited the set of "North Country" and began to change her mind. "This movie has given me my life back," she says. The company agreed to adopt a sexual harassment policy but refused to pay any money. What is Lois' ethnicity and where did her parents, grandparents & great-grandparents come from? He described his mother's childhood in the biographically based book, "En historie om seks sstre" ("A story of six sisters," Gyldendal, 2009). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Louise Jensons father belonged to a good family. These were small compensations for almost daily indignities suffered by the women. Jenson's story was the inspiration for the film North Country, which opens in Britain today and this week won Charlize Theron an Oscar nomination. "This was about sexual harassment and being able to go to work knowing you were going to come home safely, but also that you could go to work knowing that you would not be grabbed or raped, or have these verbal abuses," she says. Luther College, Decorah IA. Here are the latest pictures of Louise Jenson. She had more sophisticated reading habits, favouring self-help books over the more usual romance novels. As Skyggebjerg remarks, "In Jensen's books, there is a great deal of cruelty and evil, but also love and friendship between different creatures and humans. Meeting her today, wrapped in a cuddly thick sweater, her nails a delicate shell pink, it's hard to connect her to the picture of her younger self in a hard hat. On August 15, 1988, attorney Paul Sprenger filed Lois E. Jenson and Patricia S. Kosmach v. Eveleth Taconite Co. in the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. According to critic Anna Karlskov Skyggebjerg, Brgger "has given the texts new meanings without closing the openness to many interpretations that is one of their hallmarks." "You fucking women don't belong here. We will update this article soon. Updated: November 11, 2011 . The case, the first class action lawsuit on sexual discrimination in the US, changed the way Americans live and work. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Some carried weapons for self-defense, others took sick days to recover from attacks, and as a result of it all, their mental health continued to decline, they found themselves becoming people they and their family and friends did not recognize. "He grabbed my wrists, came around the desk and pushed me back in the chair. Skyggebjerg, Anna Karlskov (2016). The company eventually settled for $3.5 million. Ahead of the trial, the plaintiffs endured long depositions that explored their personal lives in great detail. Where they would find themselves vulnerable to the men. She did, and in 1991 she won. When we share what we know, together we discover more. Class action : the story of Lois Jenson and the landmark case that changed sexual harassment law, Clara Bingham & Laura Leedy Gansler. One day her foreman followed her to the top when they reached the end of the conveyor he tried to kiss her, she was terrified, he could shove her out into the pile of taconite and no one would ever find her. The stories are each numberednot on the page, but within the story itself. Estimated read time: 5-6 She managed to escape that situation, but it would not be the last time she would be threatened or assaulted. when she died at the age of 48. He had three grown children, and several grandchildren. She was racked by guilt for accepting a settlement rather than fight a highly public trial. The Mesabi Iron Range of northern Minnesota has the richest seam of ore on the planet, and the mines once produced almost all of America's iron and steel. Skyggebjerg remarks that Brgger's illustrations are "quite at the same innovative level as the texts. Her female colleagues at the mines sought employment there for much of the same reasons, many were family breadwinners and some were single women trying to support themselves. 2008. Lois Jenson of Florida was born on June 25, 1934, and died at age 48 years old in January 1983. Her parents warmly invited all the guests to celebrate Louise Jenson's birth. She was also born in England, United Kingdom. (c) 2005, St. Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.). Directed by Bjarne Sandborg. Lois Virginia Jensen of San Diego, San Diego County, California was born on October 9, 1924, and died at age 81 years old on April 4, 2006. Biography ID: 85000479 . She was born in a beautiful village in England, United Kingdom. Based on 23 square stories. "(The moviemakers) listened to us and got in some good guys. ", "Spectacular Square Stories from Louis Jensen.". Former miner Lois Jenson was the first woman to win a sex discrimination case in the US. Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Statens Kunstfond Livsvarig ydelse (Danish National Art Foundation Lifelong Stipend), 2002present. Like the women before them, they were not out to change society but were motivated by a desire to earn higher wages and obtain benefits to support themselves or their families. The government should ban such obscene videos as it is wrong to tarnish ones image. Her parents warmly invited all the guests to celebrate Louise Jensons birth. And now, more than two decades after she first went to work in Eveleth Mines, Jenson can lay claim to her life. Link to family and friends whose lives she impacted. As more women were hired the harassment just got worse. It was filed in 1988 on behalf of Lois Jenson and other female workers at the EVTAC mine in Eveleth, Minnesota on the state's northern Mesabi Range, which is part of the Iron Range. We are not allowed to share anyones data. The Wondrous Beauty of Life: an interview with Louis Jensen.. The rioting spread throughout the city (made worse by false rumors of attacks on blacks and whites) and resulted in the deployment of 6,000 Federal troops. And because of that, the settlement and the lasting emotional scars, closure was never really achieved for any of the women. The reader simultaneously grasps the 1001 story project in its grand ambition and the individual iteration of a single story in all its local particularity."[22]. She contributed to the more poetic and fairytale-like imagery of the 1980s, and has held her own in the postmodern and deconstructionist revival that has characterized the 1990s and the turn of the century. [8] The Danish author and literary critic Rikke Finderup has called this work "one of the most radical literary projects in all of Danish literature,"[9] and the Square Stories have found an audience among adult readers as well as children. 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