Jerry and Jan Albrecht have a long history of being involved in Dairy programs at the Minnesota State Fair and county fairs. They met as 4-Hers in Renville County, ran a Holstein dairy farm near Watertown, MN for 40 years and have been recognized for their many contributions to Minnesota’s livestock industry.
Jan has been involved in the Minnesota Federation of County Fairs for several decades and was a member of the Carver County Fair Board for over 30 years, serving as its secretary-manager from 1977 until her retirement in 2004.
The Albrechts have been supporting the Minnesota State Fair through the Foundation since 2002 when they joined The First 100, a group of community leaders and State Fair partners who gave funds to establish the Minnesota State Fair Foundation.
They consider the fair to be a valuable resource celebrating the accomplishments of Minnesota’s farm families, especially those of young people. They have decided to leave a legacy through their estate plan that will help ensure that the State Fair’s dairy program remains one of the nation’s pre-eminent shows for generations.
Q&A
How long have you been involved with the Minnesota State Fair?
Jerry: My first year at the State Fair was in 1950 with my uncle Hugo Albrecht’s registered Holstein herd. That’s where I got interested and started showing in 4-H. In 1962, when I was 21 (4-H was dropped to age 18, shortly thereafter), I had a Grand Champion Grade Holstein in 4-H at the Minnesota State Fair. I remember lining up between the Cattle Barn and Coliseum on Saturday night for the “parade of champions of all species.” We marched in front of the Grandstand with our exhibits. That night Jimmy Dean was on the Grandstand and after we got done showing we got to go to the Grandstand show for free.
Tell me about the other ways you’ve been involved with the Minnesota State Fair.
Jerry: We had the Milking Parlor Display Herd for 1988 and 1989. We had to have our animals ready for anything. We had 16 animals at the fair those years.
Jan: I was also Extension Home Economist in Carver and McLeod counties and worked at the Milking Parlor.
Jerry: When Jan worked at the Milking Parlor, she often narrated the demonstrations. She made a lot of connections with dairy people around the state in that role. Jan became known by youth showing animals for always having the right thing or being able to solve a problem as they were preparing to show.
Jan: I’d have an emergency bag of things the kids might need: socks, sweatshirts, towels, cleaning materials, etc. I was, like a supplier of common ordinary needs, it paid off to be prepared! People would say, “I don’t have a jacket or I need this, or I need a pair of socks. Go to Jan, go to Jan.” One time a kid was going to go onto the show ring but had gotten their pants dirty in the barn. So, I sat there and quickly scrubbed and washed the stain and put the pants in the dryer that we used for drying things in the Milking Parlor.
What are some favorite memories during your time at the fair?
Jan: I worked with and got to know a lot of young kids and a lot of people from Minnesota and 4-H. I got to watch them grow up and meet their children who started showing.
Jerry: An early memory of mine is when Hubert and Muriel Humphrey would sit on my uncle’s showboxes in the center walk on Sunday morning with their kids in the early fifties. He would shake hands with everybody campaigning.
The Cattle Barn just celebrated a hundred years. Why do you think it’s important to maintain the fair’s historic structures and celebrate these kinds of milestones?
Jerry: I like history, and celebrating is good for the next generation. It’s important to keep those buildings up to date, not tear them down. They built them strong back then.
Jan: When you look at old buildings and you can share their history with others, like, “I was there when this happened.” It’s important to preserve that history for future generations.
You were part of the first 100 people to give to establish the Minnesota State Fair Foundation. How did you even find out about that? Why did you decide that was a good idea and important?
Jerry: We heard about it in many ways. Jan was executive secretary of Minnesota Federation of County Fairs and on the Minnesota Livestock Breeders’ Association board at the time and Vern and Helen Prokosch told us they were going to do it so we decided to join in. We think it’s important to have the State Fair around for a very long time. And we also need to make sure we don’t lose our county fairs because if you don’t have good county fairs you don’t have a good State Fair, especially with livestock.
You have the Minnesota State Fair Foundation in your estate plan to support the State Fair’s dairy programs. Why did you decide to do that?
Jan: Well, we don’t have any kids and the Minnesota State Fair has always been important to us.
Jerry: We want the money to do good at the fair for the future. We need to maintain it to make sure that it doesn’t end, that we don’t lose our fair. I enjoy the scenery and the camaraderie of the livestock and at the dairy shows. We felt that was an important part of the fair that we could support.
Jan Albrecht 
Jerry Albrecht in 1988 or 1989 at the Minnesota State Fair 
Albrechts Registered Holsteins sign 
Albrechts cows