People
Whether cooking at the state fair or supporting families in Guatemala, Elaine Christiansen gives back every day.
Meet a woman who’s clocked 50 years of volunteering around the world.
From the test kitchens of Pillsbury, the 4-H cafeteria and Hamline Church Dining Hall at the Minnesota State Fair, and the makeshift kitchens where she cooks for humanitarian missions in Guatemala, Elaine Christiansen has spent a lifetime feeding and caring for her fellow human beings.
“I like doing things for others,” says Elaine, of Falcon Heights, Minnesota. “I think my purpose in life is outreach. I have a pretty strong work ethic.”
You might call Elaine one of the original—and one of the last true remaining—home economists.
She grew up on a potato farm near Osseo, Minnesota, with her brother, Eldon Tessman. When she and her brother were 12 and 14 years old, their father died in a tragic hunting accident. Not long after, their mother encouraged them to join 4-H.
After Elaine started high school, her mother moved to Arizona for health reasons, so Elaine finished school there and earned her home economics degree from Arizona State University in Tempe.
When her mother’s health began to improve in 1951, they moved back to Minnesota where Elaine began her career with University of Minnesota Extension, as a home agent in Martin County. She later moved to the state 4-H office on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus.
One of her responsibilities was managing the 4-H cafeteria during the Minnesota State Fair, a task she handled for 30 years—first as a 4-H staff member and later as a consultant, which involved feeding up to 1,200 kids per day.
While working in the 4-H office, Elaine married Martin and had four sons, John, David, Jim and Joel.
She then became a stay-at-home mother, but was also active in
Twin City Home Economists in Homemaking, an organization that helped publish two Cooking in
Minnesota cookbooks, featuring recipes tested by the group.
Elaine’s volunteer recipe work paved her way to Pillsbury, where she worked in recipe development and with the legendary Bake-Off contest. Starting as a freelance consultant, Elaine tested contest recipes. She then continued to work with the contest, in contract and staff positions, until 1996.
In 1982, Martin died suddenly of cardiac arrest. Some years later, Elaine married Hal Routhe. For their honeymoon in 2001, they joined an Airstream trailer caravan and traveled through Central America to Panama and back.
In addition to her worldly travels, Elaine has kept close ties to home with over 50 years of volunteer work at the Minnesota State Fair. One of her longest-standing volunteer jobs is at the Hamline Church Dining Hall during the fair.
Every day, Elaine arrives for her shift at 5:30 a.m., smiling and ready to work. In recognition of her commitment, in 2014 she was named an honorary life member of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society, an honor that comes with a highly coveted (and rare) item— a parking pass she can use at the fairgrounds.
“The Minnesota State Fair is a grander event because of Elaine Christiansen,” said past Minnesota State Agricultural Society Board President Al Paulson. And Jan Bajuniemi, a fellow fair volunteer who’s worked with Elaine at the dining hall for more than 20 years, said she’s been an inspiration to everyone around her.
While she’s proud to contribute to hometown events, Elaine also has volunteered with two global organizations—Helps International, which works across Guatemala to break the cycle of poverty through sustainable means, and Common Hope, a Guatemalan agency that fights the war on poverty primarily through education.
“I’m just so grateful that I can reach out and give a helping hand,” she said. “I firmly believe that we are one world and we need to take care of each other. If we would just open up our hearts to others, the whole world could become our neighborhood, our own community.”