Cloudy / 54° F
Long-time FF business owner, Realtor turning 100 Monday
Published 10:55am Thursday, November 29, 2012Truman Markegard is celebrating a milestone — he will turn 100 on December 5.
The octogenarian’s life has spanned several careers.
Few people in town may remember a store and gas station in the 1940s on Vernon Avenue where the Dairy Queen now stands. Truman’s Place would be the first business he owned after graduating from Winona Business College with an accounting diploma.
During World War II, Markegard worked on the Alaskan Highway, earning enough money to return to Minnesota to purchase a building on Washington Avenue. While he took a side venture to work in the automobile industry, real estate remained a passion for years to come.
Markegard obtained a Studebaker franchise and operated the dealership as Truman Motors from 1946 to 1954. The building still remains adjacent to the PEG access TV station in Fergus Falls. He also had a fleet of dump trucks that he leased out sold several delivery trucks to Park Region Bakery.
Jumping back into real estate ventures, Markegard was an agent for Olson, Enstad, and Larson Company. While there, he helped start and was an officer of Northland Development Company — best known for developing the Northland Park Addition and Woodland Heights Addition in Fergus Falls as well as building many area homes.
Markegard also played a hand in the development of Interstate 94. He appraised to the land for for the project in 1957.
Truman Markegard is looking forward to his 100th birthday celebration at his Mill Street residence, and also a family celebration with his favorites — lutefisk and lefse.
