Their union, USW did nothing to stop it. 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. Management kept pin-ups in the offices; regular miners plastered the plant with graffiti showing the women in sexual positions. Toilet breaks were timed, just for a laugh. I hope you liked it. It was his masterful influence that solidified her approach to the California landscape. "The core issue, I think, is it's not men versus women. This progress can be seen in Louis Jensens Hundrede firkantede historier 1-9 (Hundred square stories, 1-9, 1992-2014) where her illustrations developed from fine black and white lines to powerful colours to graphic and collage."[27]. "Square Stories." She loved the film. Share memories and family stories, photos, or ask questions. This archived news story is available You know, good people are good people, but they do bad things, and bad people do good things.". Some of the men became friends. Jenson became one of the first four women ever hired at Eveleth Mines in 1975. Share what Lois did for a living or if she had a career or profession. ", Kildegaard, Lise. Lois Jensen was born on June 20, 1931, and died at age 41 years old in April 1973. Ophelia Settle Egypt was a medical social worker and womens rights advocate. She was racked by guilt for accepting a settlement rather than fight a highly public trial. Over the next several years the case dragged on until an attorney from the Attorney Generals office persuaded Jenson to turn her complaint into a class action. Louise Jensons father started Her own business after completing Her education and got married after working hard in it. If anyone knows about her Childrens information, please let us know in the comments. Their personal and sexual pasts were picked apart; every detail was on display regardless of its relevance to the case. Louis Jensen was born in Nibe, Denmark close to the Limfjord in northern Jutland. Other strong dust storms had occurred during 1933. [21] His first novel for young readers, "Krystalmanden" (The Crystal Man), was published in 1986. The hours were grueling, but the pay was astonishing, and Jenson didn't think twice before accepting a job cleaning viscous soot from enormous grinding machines. We will do our best to help you, and we will do our best to fix it. The case was also the subject of . Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Lois Jensen. Gyldendals Store Brnebogspris (Gyldendal's Major Children's Book Prize), 2009. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Lois Jensen. One concern Jenson and other women involved in the Jenson v. Eveleth Mines lawsuit discussed with Caro was how the movie would treat its male characters. 2018. When 2 or more people share their unique perspectives, Her parents warmly invited all the guests to celebrate Louise Jenson's birth. Jensen, Louis. Her real name is Louise Jenson. only for your personal, non-commercial use. How has Title IX impacted women in education and sports over the last 5 decades? "The whole thing probably took 15 minutes, but it felt much longer. Jenson first began working at the site in March 1975 and, along with other women, endured a continuous stream of hostile behavior from male employees, including sexual harassment, abusive language, threats, stalking and intimidation. We dont have any videos of them. Experts say it's time to 'up our game', Eli Lilly plans to slash some insulin prices, expand cost cap, Utah Rep. Trevor Lee says 'government overreach' during COVID-19 led him to run for office, Storm's second wave heads for Utah, possibly adding 1-3 feet of mountain snow, Tank note: A high lottery pick may still be obtainable for the Jazz, Pennsylvania unseals search warrant in Idaho killings, Kobe Bryant family settles photo lawsuit for $28.5M, Greek stationmaster arrested in head-on train crash; 36 dead, Senator trying to change law that leaves Utahns with dead spouse's medical debt. Her illness was in no way related to or a result of the case, but one example of the ruthlessness of the defense attorneys was demonstrated when they burst into her hospital room and demanded to see her medical records and tried to depose her when she could no longer even speak. Jensen, Louis, Gorm Rasmussen og Torben Schultz: Three Square Stories. "Fantastic Tales and Poetic Square Stories: Important Features in the Danish Author Louis Jensen's Literature for Children." At about the same time, she was assaulted by her supervisor in the electrical department. [18] His family moved from Nibe to Beder, south of Aarhus, when he was 12. Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Lois' lifetime. A federal court certified the case as a class action on behalf of all of the women who worked at the mine. Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., 130 F.3d 1287 (8th Cir. "At Home in an Astonishing World: The Square Stories of Louis Jensen. Podcast interview with Louis Jensen (in Danish). But complaints to management and their union only contributed to a more actively hostile environment. Beginning in 1992, he worked full-time as an author. 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. "[13], Jensen received multiple awards and prizes. The company refused to install womens bathrooms and provide safety equipment sized for womens smaller bodies. Dansk Forfatterforenings H.C. Andersen Legat (H.C. Andersen Stipend), 1998. a Your email address will not be published. "1001 Firkanter--om Louis Jensens firkantede historier.". "Since that time, they've been very gracious and generous with their time, answering questions for me and listening to my concerns," says Jenson, who lives in Babbitt, Minn. And in 1975 four women walked into the Eveleth Mines Forbes Fairlane Plant for the first time. Based on the square stories. 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. Taking a chance, she became one of the first four women to work in the iron mines of Minnesota. 2008, 2009. The union still refused to help her and management promised to transfer him but it never happened. Kildegaard, Lise, and Daniel Rabuzzi. Sister Margaret Traxler was a Catholic feminist nun and a civil rights activist who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the famous march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. In real life, some male miners sexually assaulted and abused female co-workers, but others were supportive of them and tried to help, something the book didn't address and the women worried the movie wouldn't show. 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. That doesn't always happen to authors and illustrators. The parents were overjoyed at the birth and invited all their relatives to the feast. 2008. Her real name is Louise Jenson. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Lois R Jensen. Before filming began on Minnesota's Iron Range in February, she. The numbers both indicate the scope of the 1001 story project, and, by identifying the order of the stories, they locate the reader precisely within it: "By assigning each story a unique place within the collection, the simple enumeration of stories places into tension the whole and the part, the general and the specific. becomes full The men that worked at the mine were very vocal about their opposition to the women working at the mine right from the start and that disapproval turned ugly quickly. 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. "I'm not sure how to say it.". In 1987, the state ordered the mining company to pay her $11,000 in damages and institute a sexual harassment policy. The case, the first class action lawsuit on sexual discrimination in the US, changed the way Americans live and work. Northern Minnesotas Mesabi Iron Range is home to the largest Iron ore deposit in the world. Jenson is believed to have been awarded close to $1m before taxes. I just wanted to make a decent life for my family." The two women finally convinced enough others to join them and in 1988 the suit was certified as a class action with the USDistrict Court for the District of Minnesota. Jenson by then was on medication for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Script adaptation and directed by Robert Larson. ZeBU Theatre, Copenhagen. Where we share as we remember & make discoveries and connect with others to help answer questions. "(The moviemakers) listened to us and got in some good guys. As a result of not having facilities, many of the women would stop drinking and have to hold their urine for hours resulting in dehydration and severe bladder and kidney infections. "It really was about getting a better paying job with benefits. In the end, the suit set many very important precedents. She was born in a beautiful village in England, United Kingdom. Then she visited the set of "North Country" and began to change her mind. Caro and her cast met with several women involved in the suit, some of whom ended up in the movie. [7], In 1992, Jensen published the first volume of 100 stories in his "Square Story" project. In 1972, at the age of 38 years old, Lois was alive when on June 17th, 5 men were arrested by police in an attempt to bug the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington D.C.s Watergate hotel. He waited to speak until he was close to Jenson. What schools or universities did Lois attend? Former miner Lois Jenson was the first woman to win a sex discrimination case in the US. She did, and in 1991 she won. [19] Memories of his childhood in Nibe are found in many of his works, including his 2014 collection of short prose pieces, "Elefanterne holdt hver gang med Tarzan" ("The elephants always sided with Tarzan"), which "turns the story of Jensen's childhood into mystic stuff, into literature. Their fellow workers subjected them to verbal abuse, offensive materials, and unwelcome physical contact. And now, more than two decades after she first went to work in Eveleth Mines, Jenson can lay claim to her life. As for the mine, litigation and negative publicity could have been avoided and millions of dollars saved if Oglebay Norton, Eveleth Mines, and the union would have addressed the womens complaints and taken steps to effectively rectify the situation and protect them. The Roosevelt administration and scientists eventually determined that farming practices had caused the conditions that led to the dust storms and the changes they implemented in farming stopped the Dust Bowl. She declined to sell her life story to the producers of the film and, in general, she says with a chuckle, "I gave them a lot of crap.". She has a lot of property and vehicles. She was born on January 12, 1981, in England, United Kingdom. The company agreed to adopt a sexual harassment policy but refused to pay any money. The Wondrous Beauty of Life: an interview with Louis Jensen.. Actually, that's probably the best way to say it. These were small compensations for almost daily indignities suffered by the women. It was intimidating.". Now and again, a woman miner would come in to cash a pay cheque that was several times what Jenson earned. Now 57, she still lives in the Iron Range. Ahead of the trial, the plaintiffs endured long depositions that explored their personal lives in great detail. On that point, Jenson found a sympathetic ear in Caro. Lois Virginia Jensen Lois Jensen (1924 - 2006) Jump to: Biography Memories . According to Lise Kildegaard, these "ludic and lyrical" stories reveal Jensen's close observation of nature and his poetic appreciation of a world that combines in equal measure "familiarity and strangeness, commonplace reality and ecstatic vision. [20] He lived in Aarhus, Denmark, with his wife, the painter Elisabeth Wegger. If you are also a big fan of Louise Jenson and are wandering around to find out about Her life, then you have come to the right place on our site. Theron plays a young woman seething with defiance, who brings down the wrath of her family and her home town when she takes on the twin constellations of power: the mining company and the union. The movie, which stars Charlize Theron playing a character based on Jenson, opens nationwide Friday. Her father lived Her life like a straightforward man and worked hard to become a successful man in Her life. After the policy was instituted signs that read, Sexual harassment will not be tolerated, but will be graded, began appearing around the mine. Help paint a picture of Lois so that she is always remembered. Lois Jenson didn't want a movie to be made of her life. "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. ", For Jenson, the breaking point came in 1984 when, frustrated by the refusal of management or the union to intervene, she filed a complaint with the Minnesota human rights commission. Left to Right: Marcy Steele, Jan Carey (AAUW Branch President), Audrey Daniels, Diane Hodge, and Stephanie Carlson (AAUW Branch Public Policy Chair). The 1001 square stories share several formal features. [1] A new jury trial on damages was ordered. "It was like a retraining process. ", Kildegaard, Lise. 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. 27 birth, 8 death, 4 marriage, 1 divorce, View Lois Jenson's life story is the inspiration behind the hit film, North Country, starring Charlize Theron. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Lois Jensen. She was also born in England, United Kingdom. Lois Jensons first request was for just that, an educational sexual harassment policy, compensation for her stress related health problems and job security, but they flatly refused. "Square Stories." Updated: November 11, 2011 . Working conditions did not improve when the mine began hiring more women. Teatervrkstedet Madam Bach, 2009. The first half of the trial for damages began in Duluth on January 17, 1995 and lasted until February 10. Since red iron ore was discovered in 1890 by the Merritt brothers, men have toiled in the iron mines, that is until 1974 when 9 of the countrys largest steel companies signed a consent decree with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the USDepartment of Justice and the Labor Department requiring the industrys mines to provide 20% of its new jobs to women and minorities. Where was Lois born and where did she live? "Og de nominerede er" Kristeligt Dagblad October 21, 2014. 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." See What AncientFaces Does to discover more about the community. The Danish author Louis Jensen (19 July 1943 4 March 2021) was an innovator in the international literary trends of flash fiction, metafiction, prose poetry, and magical realism. "Fantastic Tales and Poetic Square Stories: Important Features in the Danish Author Louis Jensen's Literature for Children. This work was presented for display at Ellis Island. Brgger began to add some color to the illustrations in the fourth book. The case was on its way to court again in 1998 when a deal was done. It was absolutely terrifying". I met all the stars and actually had a chance to speak with Charlize Theron," she says. The burglars were found to be paid by cash from a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President - the official organization of President Nixon's campaign. They confronted male-dominated institutions that did not welcome change. There she was surrounded by lush green farmland to the east and the majestic pacific coast on the west. 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. Previous to Lois's current city of Babbitt, MN, Lois Jenson lived in Gilbert MN and Mountain Iron MN. The museums newest on-line exhibit, Women in Industry, demonstrates that women have been in the workforce since the nations inception and have been key players in movements to improve working conditions. "You are involved in a struggle for so long, looking forward to the trial and all of a sudden," - she snaps her fingers - "it was over.". She had had enough, so she filed a complaint with the State Department of Human Rights in October of 1984. She was born April 22, 1928 in Union County, South Dakota to Lars and Alma (Anderson) Hanson. "This movie has given me my life back," she says. We will update this article soon. What is Lois' ethnicity and where did her parents, grandparents & great-grandparents come from? Directed by Bjarne Sandborg. Updated: November 4, 2011 . After a break, it resumed on May 22 and ended on June 13. 2016. Reading, photography, learning, traveling, and surfing the internet. He put both of my wrists in one hand - it was really hurting me - and with the other he was trying to get at my body." This began the string of legal battles and worsening harassment. First, it sent a strong message to employers that they could not ignore it when their employees were being harassed sexually. Script adaptation and directed by Marc van der Velden. Add Lois' family friends, and her friends from childhood through adulthood. She died before the case ended and her heirs received nothing from the settlement. The case went to trial in 1992 and the court ruled that Eveleth Mines maintained a hostile work environment and ordered the company to develop a policy and educate employees about sexual harassment and they also ordered that they enact a procedure for effectively addressing complaints. Lois is included in ContemporaryWestern Artists, Whos Who in the West and Whos Who in America. 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