[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 63 (Thursday, May 19, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  HONORING THE LATE LEONARD CARPENTER

  Mr. DURENBERGER. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the 
passing of a major contributor to the commercial and cultural life of 
Minnesota. Last Sunday, my friend Leonard Carpenter died at the age of 
91.
  Leonard was truly a man for all seasons. Born in Orono, MN, he went 
from Yale to the 1924 Paris Olympics, where he was a member of the 
gold-medal United States rowing team.
  Back home, he became a key figure in Minnesota's lumber industry, 
impressing industry observers with his accomplishment in turning a 
struggling enterprise--McCloud Lumber Co.--into a major economic 
success.
  But Minnesotans--myself included--will miss him most as a driving 
force behind the Minnesota Orchestra. For over half a century, he 
devoted his very best efforts to making that symphony the pride of our 
State--serving in various capacities, including vice president and 
member of the board of the Minnesota Orchestral Association.
  He will be missed by the many of us who knew him and loved him. I 
would like to take this opportunity to extend the warmest condolences 
to his widow Geraldine--and especially to thank her for the terrific 
contribution she made to building the Leonard Carpenter success story. 
All Minnesotans stand in the debt of Leonard and Geraldine Carpenter.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Minneapolis Star 
Tribune obituary of Leonard Carpenter be included at the conclusion of 
my remarks.
  There being no objection, the obituary was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

         (From The Minneapolis (MN) Star Tribune, May 17, 1994)

            Leonard Carpenter, Key Orchestra Supporter, Dies

                           (By David Chanen)

       Leonard G. Carpenter devoted more than 50 years to the 
     Minnesota Orchestra, but it was only a small part of what 
     made his life special.
       He ran one of the largest lumber companies in the United 
     States and was a member of the rowing crew that won a gold 
     medal in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Through all his 
     accomplishments, his greatest joy might have come from 
     classical music and his work with the orchestra.
       He died Sunday at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in 
     Minneapolis. He was 91.
       ``He had an interest in everything that was going on around 
     him, from business to his extended family,'' said his son, 
     Tom, of Buffalo, Colo.
       His longtime friend and former next-door neighbor, John 
     Pillsbury, said Carpenter was a gentleman with capital 
     letters. He took Pillsbury, the retired chairman of 
     Northwestern National Life Insurance Co., on his first 
     sailboat ride. Both raced at the Minnetonka Yacht Club, where 
     Carpenter was a champion.
       The Minnesota Orchestra was known as the Minneapolis 
     Symphony until 1968. Carpenter was a board member of its 
     governing body, the Minnesota Orchestral Association, for 56 
     years, including long terms was vice president and member of 
     the executive committee. He was named a life director, the 
     association's highest honor, in 1970. His father, Albert, was 
     a charter member of the board of the association when it was 
     formed in 1903 and was its president from 1905 to 1945.
       ``If he was in town, Carpenter and family members were 
     always attending concerts,'' said Richard Cisek, former 
     president of the association ``He had a great devotion to the 
     orchestra and wanted to make sure it was a gift to the 
     community.''
       He said Carpenter had a great understanding of classical 
     music and was tenacious when it came to defending the 
     orchestra's artistic standards. His son was a board member of 
     the association, and his daughter-in-law, Vicky B. Carpenter, 
     is now chairwoman of the board.
       Carpenter was born in Orono and attended the Blake School 
     in Hopkins and Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn. He earned 
     a bachelor's degree in English from Yale University. While at 
     Yale, he was part of the team that won a gold medal in rowing 
     at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. The crew never lost a 
     race and set a world record.
       Except for a stint in the Navy during World War II, he 
     worked for the family lumber business, Shevlin, Carpenter & 
     Clarke. It was a sawmill operation that operated a railroad 
     and distribution sites throughout the United States.
       He was president and director of McCloud Lumber Co. in 
     Minneapolis and president of McCloud River Lumber Co. in 
     McCloud, Calif., both associated with Shevlin, Carpenter & 
     Clarke. The company was sold to U.S. Plywood Corp. for more 
     than $40 million in 1962.
       ``He took the company, that for a time was floundering, and 
     turned it around with his leadership abilities,'' said Curt 
     Lee, former comptroller at McCloud Lumber Co. ``He had a 
     phenomenal success record.''
       Preservation of the forest and the proper management of 
     timber was important to Carpenter, Lee said. He was a board 
     member of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association and 
     the National Forest Products Association, president of 
     American Forest Products Industries and a member of the 
     American Forest Society.
       He was a director of First Bank System, Northwestern 
     National Life Insurance Co., the Minneapolis Institute of 
     Arts, the Minneapolis Foundation, the Minnesota Historical 
     Society and the Community Chest of Hennepin County (now 
     Untied Way of Minneapolis Area), trustee of the old Farmers & 
     Mechanics Savings Bank of Minneapolis and a member of the 
     Minneapolis Club and Woodhill Country Club in Orono.
       Besides his son, Carpenter is survived by his wife, 
     Geraldine, and a daughter, Nina Carpenter Masek, of Sonoita, 
     Ariz.
       A celebration of life and music including members of the 
     Minnesota Orchestra and assistant conductor William Eddins 
     will be held in his honor at 3 p.m. Thursday at Orchestra 
     Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis. Memorials to the 
     Minnesota Orchestra Association's Leonard G. Carpenter Family 
     Fund are suggested. Arrangements are by the David Lee Funeral 
     Home, Wayzata.

                          ____________________