Pigpen Johannsen

Pigpen Johannsen was a neighbor of Rose Nylund in St. Olaf. "Johannsen" was not his real last name.

In 1955, Johannsen had just turned 80 and he was required to leave his job teaching driving at the high school because the town bylaws required him to wear a shirt while driving, which he refused to do.

After he left his teaching job, the town fathers tasked him with putting up the "Welcome to St. Olaf" sign on Miller's Lane. That same year on Founders' Day, the governor was coming to St. Olaf. Unfortunately, Johannsen forgot to put up the sign and the governor drove straight through town without ever realizing he was in St. Olaf.

Johannsen's failure to put up the sign ruined Founders' Day. As a result, the the town fathers took down his picture from where it had always hung in the St. Olaf auto shop.