IOANC
Ole & Peggy Jensen
Ole and Peggy Jensen have been stalwart
members of IOANC since about 1978. The club
got its start in 1978, so it was fun sorting through
memories to present their story as our Spotlight
Members this issue.
Peggy and Ole both love trains. In 1977, as fate
would have it, they had both boarded the
Freedom Train on the Yuma to Los Angeles leg of
the trip where they met. Peggy recalls that her
camera was frozen, and she was asking for help
among the passengers. Ole and his friend were
traveling together and it was Ole’s handy friend
who fixed Peggy’s camera, and also introduced
her to Ole. They hit it off and exchanged contact
information. Peggy was living in the Los Angeles
area at the time. After a wonderful courtship,
Peggy moved to the Bay Area and they were
married in 1982, living happily ever after.
Ole was born in 1928 in Hornbaek, Denmark, a
seaside town . It is 40 miles north of the Danish capitol,
Copenhagen. His parents owned a farm and he grew
up knowing hard work as he helped his parents. Ole
grew up with two siblings, a brother and sister. As a
young adult he apprenticed as a Machinist, then came
the opportunity to work for a company abroad.
Canadian Pacific Railway brought Ole to Montreal,
Quebec on a work visa. He was 20 years old.
However, when he arrived, war veterans needed their
jobs back, so they couldn’t hire him. They were able to
find him a job, thus his adventure in a new land began.
Though he started out a ‘Chevy Man’, he migrated to a
‘Mopar fan’ early in his life. He spent about a year in
Montreal, and heard it was warmer out West. At the time, he had a ‘37 Plymouth Business Coupe that he sold to get a
train ticket to Vancouver. He worked there for a while, then made his way south of the Canadian border to Seattle. One
day he had passed a United Airlines Ticket Office which had a “Help Wanted” sign for employment. He decided to apply,
and took a two day test. He passed, and United Airlines immediately hired him and sent him to San Francisco. The year
was 1956. He has lived in the Bay Area ever since, having retired from United Airlines after 38 years of service. Peggy
was born in Maywood, New Jersey. Her dad was a Locomotive Engineer and her Mom was a Teacher. Recently, the
small town of Maywood published a book which included a feature of Peggy’s family and all the railroad artifacts that her
Dad had collected over the years. One can tell how the love of trains for both Peggy and Ole began early in their lives.
Peggy’s family were Ford enthusiasts. Her first car was a ‘36 Ford Woody Station wagon. One of her favorite cars was
her ’57 Thunderbird. We were reminiscing that if we had many of our vehicle today, how valuable they would be. We also
know that is not how life works, and we at least have our memories of even owning such vehicles.
Peggy worked for Pacific Telephone and retired around 1998. Growing up in New Jersey, she migrated to Los Angeles,
and eventually to the Bay Area to share the rest of her life with Ole. With Ole’s fringe benefit of air travel, having worked for
United Airlines, Ole and Peggy traveled often. Their most memorable were several trips to Ole’s home country of
Denmark. Other destinations were to Australia, South America, South Africa, Antarctica, and Iceland. They would fly to
different Canadian cities, for the purpose of purchasing a car and driving it home. Their love for travel took them to many
enviable places.
Currently, they have their 1958 Imperial, and 1949 New Yorker in their garage. Both are in good condition, and he starts
them regularly. I asked Ole what IOANC event was his favorite, and he shared that the trip to Yosemite was a large tour
that they enjoyed very much. Peggy served as President between 1996 and 1997 when the Imperial Club in the Bay Area
was know as Northern California Imperial Owners Club, Inc. She maintains her favorite aspect of the Club is that when
the Members get together, it is like having a ’Hugging Club’, the members have such an affinity for our Imperials and get
along so well. Thankfully, that is still a great feature of the Club.
Peggy and Ole have fond memories of the early years of the Imperial Club. In 1978, David Michaels, original founder of the
Imperial Club, invited Ole to look at the 1958 Imperial that would soon be in his possession. Ole and Peggy are second
owners of their beautiful Imperial. The car was originally purchased from J.E. French Company in Oakland, a then
prominent auto dealership that no longer exists. Another fond memory is of a Car Event originating in Half Moon Bay to
Santa Cruz organized by David Michaels. Ole and Peggy have generously shared precious photos of the 1981 event. Also,
included as part of their Spotlight are professional photos taken of their 1958 Imperial in a magazine called “Collectible
Automobile” dated August 1999 depicting several Imperials. Ole and Peggy’s 1958 was featured Excitingly, in the same
article I have included the Imperials of now deceased IOANC member, Frank Pfaffinger’s 1957 Imperial , and Richard
Palmer 1959 Imperial. The article is called “1957-59 Imperial: Finest Expressions of the Forward Look”.
It has indeed been my pleasure to share the rest of Ole
and Peggy’s story with our members. It is great that they
are still active and contributing members that have
shared the early years of the Imperial Club with me.
Thank you, Ole and Peggy.
Peggy has a talented green thumb. In her backyard,
she grows the most prolific and beautiful orchids.
She cut two thick stems for me, and I am enjoying
the orchids at home. Besides showing off their
incredibly manicured backyard, with the Lagoon in
the backdrop, the miscellaneous photos here
represent a memorable car event to Yosemite, and
their non-Imperial vehicles.