Where Are They Now? Jacobson retires early after career in automotive service

How would you like to live a life in which every day is a Saturday? This is how Justin Jacobson, a graduate of the New Rockford High School Class of 1976, describes his retirement. Even though he did not attend college classes, Justin was able to achieve his retirement goal at the young age of 58. Justin credits much of his success to the work ethic he learned from his parents, a few of his teachers and early employers from New Rockford.

Leonard and Lois Jacobson, Justin's parents, farmed for a living. This way of life lends itself naturally to instill a solid sense of effort in children of farmers. Justin's siblings, Kathy Ryan of New Rockford and Keith of Washburn, also have inherited the "labor" gene. Kathy has been employed at the Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd for 40 years, and Keith, a high school history teacher and coach, has taught for 30 years and has taken his girls' basketball team to the state tournament six times.

Jerry Seibold taught shop classes at New Rockford High School during the '70s, and he imparted a love for mechanics in Justin. The art teacher Jim Evanson offered Justin a variety of methods to express himself. Justin's artistic side is continuing to flourish as one of his primary retirement activities is to work with metal. He and his wife Laurie create metal signs and yard ornaments.

Two New Rockford employers made a tremendous mark on Justin's career path. Bill Hope, then manager at Town and Country Motors, offered Justin employment during the winter months. This is where Justin underwent extensive training on the subject of auto repairs. During the summer months, Justin then used his repair knowledge to work as a mechanic at the Archie Campbell Construction business. While in high school, Justin also gained experience as a hard-working employee at the Silver Crest Bakery and Pfau Brothers Auto Body.

Some of Justin's closest friends while attending high school were Brad Weber, Bruce Gilliss, Kenny Klocke and Agnes Hitz. The last time Justin was in New Rockford, "for old times' sake," he took a reminiscent walk through the school, remembering his old classrooms and noting the improvements to the building. Studying the framed picture collection of his graduating class of 1976 that is displayed near the band room, Justin brought up the interesting and somewhat unusual fact that there were three sets of twins in his 60+ member class. The Allmaras, Hartl and Nygaard twins were part of the class, but Justin recalls that at one time another set of twins, the Lees, were also in the class!

After his high school graduation, Justin was ready to start out on his own. He headed to Fargo-Moorhead, where he secured a job at Rod's Amoco in Moorhead. He worked his way up to the manager position at Rod's, but then he decided to work as a technician at Selland Motors in Moorhead. Justin's career turning point was in 1998 when he became the manager of the South Pointe Amoco station in Fargo. In 2000, he purchased the business with partner Ted Ingersoll, a fellow coworker at South Pointe's Service Center.

Justin relates, "I like to talk, so I manned the desk in front and visited with our customers while taking care of what they needed. Ted was more of the quiet type, so he worked in the back with the parts." It was a great working agreement and relationship that sustained as the lucrative and successful business grew. In 2015, Justin decided to sell his share of the business to two longtime employees. This allowed him to retire fully and focus on his family.

Concentrating on Laurie, Justin's wife of 28 years, his adult stepchildren and their spouses, along with his five grandchildren, was infinitely easy! Laurie, who had worked for many years in the banking business in Fargo, had introduced Justin earlier to lake life, which suited him quite well. Prior to full retirement, Justin and Laurie had built a home in 2011 on Lake Sallie, which is about a 15-minute drive from Detroit Lakes, Minn. Now when Justin isn't working at his part-time job at the Detroit Lakes Menards store, he takes care of a variety of fun projects at the lake.

Winter trips to Florida and Mexico for Justin and Laurie are a must, as they enjoy breaks from the cold weather in the north. Other activities that bring the couple pleasure are boating on the lake, sci-fi movies, craft projects and their metal artwork. They do manage to get back to New Rockford at least six times per year to visit with family and friends. When Justin is in town, he fondly remembers how fun it was to grow up in New Rockford. He thinks that the sporting events, movie theater and simple small town living are just a few of the community's highlights.

Yes, Justin is definitely living the good life! His laid-back, easy-going personality is a façade for the energetic, passionate attitude he displayed during his career. His personal motto of "Work hard and enjoy life" has truly come to fruition.