Direktør Kristen Helmer - Hvem var han?
Journal de Duclair har skrevet en artikkel om de funn lokale historikere i Duclair og Rouen har gjort rundt Kristen Helmer høsten 2024. Teksten under er oversatt fra fransk til engelsk via google translator og kan ha setningsoppbygninger som ikke er helt korrekt fra hva tekstforfatter har ment, originalteksten kan leses i artikkel lenken ovenfor.
Kristen Helmer
The generous director of Mustad
By Laurent Quevilly
A native of Grimstad, this Norwegian lived 45 years in Duclair at the head of the Mustad nail factory. As reserved as he was generous, Kristen Helmer leaves the memory of a philanthropist. Unfortunately, his holiday home in Norway is now threatened with disappearance...
Kristen Helmer was born in Grimstad on 14. November 1860 to Jacob Helmer, a surveor working for the classification company Norsk Veritas, and Catharine Holst. They were a family with long local roots. Kristen had a perfect namesake born in 1776 and a local elected official who made headlines in the local press, Christen Groos Helmer (1776-1866). This sailor who owned his own ship was imprisoned for two years in the English penitentiary in Reading after being intercepted at sea. With his brother-in-law, Peder Holst, he was one of those who ventured to Denmark on board an open boat to collect grain during the blockade. His connections need to be clarified, but that is another story...
Assumed portrait of Kristen Helmer, 1914.
In 1870, the Helmer family is listed living at Storgata 150 in Grimstad. Elisabeth Holst, 81, lives under her roof and has two employees at her service. Our Kristen Groos Helmer has four siblings, including Elisabeth, who will be the first female photographer in the region. A passion she shares with Marie Topp, another figure in the Norwegian epic in Duclair. Elisabeth will leave behind several hundred or even thousands of photographs, which are now preserved in the Grimstad archives, but not yet scanned or published.
After his studies, Kristen Helmer joined Ole Mustad in Kristiania (Oslo) and was noticed for his work skills and talent. As a cashier, he then lived at Akersgaden 53 - Kristiania. When Mustad sought to establish itself abroad, Helmer was one of the pioneers who was handpicked to work at the Duclair factory in 1891, on the site of an old mill. He would become the director. The beginnings were difficult because on April 9, 1892 a fire destroyed part of the premises essential to the production. The first horse shoe nail was finally manufactured on 15. November 1894 and the company then had 200 employees, including around thirty Scandinavians.
Kristen Helmer immediately integrated into his new country. In 1896, he appeared among the candidates for the Touring-club de France, a young association of bicycle enthusiasts who intended to develop tourism in the country following the English model. Very quickly he also appeared as a breeder of hunting dogs. His pointers were regularly presented in dog shows, both in England and in Normandy.
Clarin, one of the five Mustad brothers, had a castle built on the factory site. Kristen lived under his roof and shared his meals. In 1901, the two men had Johanne Golassen, in the grace of her 26 years, as their cook. In 1906, Pauline Pedersen took over this role. She was the same age as Kristen and came to us from Solør...
He saves a desperate man
On June 12, 1908, Kristen Helmer is responsible of an act of bravery. Former caretaker of the general hospice of Rouen, Mr. Bea is boarding with Mr. Lefaucheur. Who that day entrusts him with the care of his restaurant. But the reserves are tempting. Bea gets drunk. There he is seized by a panic when he sees his boss return. So, he heads straight for the river Seine where he throws himself from a height of five meters. Immediately, a worker signals an alarm. There Kristen Helmer dives in fully clothed and grabs Béa who is hoisted aboard a boat then onto the bank. He is transported to Lefaucheur where the tireless Dr. Chatel gives him first aid.
In 1912, Clarin Mustad married Nathalia Schneider. The following year, on June 8, 1913, Helmer again exhibited a pointer with a very fresh nose at the Normandy dog show, called Stegg-Eidsworld. But then came the war, the Great War...
For the wounded, the prisoners...
Scandinavia being neutral, its nationals will not be mobilized in 1914. Which is not the case for the Normans. But the women and the exempted will participate in the war effort. My aunt Marie-Louise Mainberte was one of them. Here is what her director, Kristen Helmer, wrote to a colleague on October 12, 1914:
“Our Mr. Mustad, who left for Norway since the beginning of May to spend the summer there, has not yet returned and because of the events he will spend the winter there with his whole family. Almost all of our workers are in the colors, nevertheless, we were able to operate some machines that are currently working for a fairly large supply for the Army. They also came to requisition our stock of Army model nails, about thirty tons. We have a fairly large stock of nails of all categories, so that we can satisfy our customers for some time to come.”
At the castle, part of the premises has been hosting French and Belgian convalescents since the outbreak of hostilities. A famous photo of this infirmary clearly shows two managers and female factory staff. One is tempted to see Kristen Helmer near the nurse when rereading the Journal de Rouen of October 20, 1913:
DUCLAIR. – For our wounded. – In Mr. Mustad’s castle, located on a hillside alongside the Trait forest, a most comfortable auxiliary hospital has been set up for several days. There is room for a dozen wounded. Five Belgian soldiers, already convalescent, have arrived and, under the supervision of a nurse from a Rouen section of the Red Cross, are receiving devoted care there. Mr. Helmer, director of the Mustad factory, who contributed greatly to this installation, continues to take care of the wounded.
This example was emulated since, on the Caudebec road, Mr. Dupont fitted out two apartments to accommodate eight wounded under the medical supervision of Dr. Allard.
Generous donor
As in times of peace, Mustad was generous with his employees mobilized or detained far away. In September 1916, on behalf of the nail factory, Helmer gave Henri Denise, mayor of Duclair, 1000F intended for the prisoner relief committee, whose number was constantly increasing. He added 150F from his personal funds. Very warm thanks were addressed to him and it was hoped that he would have imitators...
And finally the Armistice. Having satisfied orders from the Army, in particular the manufacture of components for shells, Mustad found all the facilities to continue its development. And in particular its real estate program in favor of employees launched from the beginning of the company. In 1921, a city was taking shape in the hamlet of Saint-Paul, on the border between Duclair and Yainville. There we find Kristen Helmer, who probably succeeded an engineer from the house who had returned to the country: Einar Topp, related to my family for having married a girl from Chéron, from the café du Quai, a small tavern welded to the factory. Kristen still has Pauline Pedersen as a servant.
And more generosity!
In 1926, Kristen Helmer was this time listed alone, on the Caudebec road. That year, in August, he participated, like many notables from Duclair, in the voluntary contribution intended to reduce France's debt. He gave 1,000 F while O. Mustad and his sons paid 10,000. Single, Helmer was a rather reserved character, very discreet but warm in his relationships and very noble of heart. Like his boss, Helmer went back to Norway every summer to visit his father and then spend several days in his holiday villa. It was built on the Indre Maløya, in the archipelago at the entrance to the port of Grimstad. In 1929, he donated land to a public utility company, Grimstad Byselskap, which would allow public access to the archipelago. He also spared large sums of money which would go towards purchasing other land, particularly for the benefit of the local sports society.
Kristen Helmer's summer villa. It has already been remodeled but this time is in danger of disappearing Photo: Grimstad Adressetidende by Martin Haugen.
When December 1933 came, the Seine was completely frozen to the point that all the ferries in the canton stopped their crossings. This threw the workers on the left bank out of work. Once again, in conjunction with the general councilor, Arnauld de Malartic, Kristen Helmer sought a solution with the other factory managers to allow the unemployed to return to work.
A nail factory at the forefront
At the nail factory, we have always been at the forefront of social progress. So when the major demands and national strikes all over France of 1936 were blown, Mustad's employees were moderately concerned. The company distributed its generosity to its entire staff and already from 1927 the employees were given one week paid holiday. That year, Kristen Helmer again gave the tidy sum of 1 million francs to the Duclair charity office. But the year of 1936 became a dark year. It began with the death of Clarin Mustad's wife. It ended with that also for the director.
A well-attended funeral
Kristen Helmer was at the time of his death living with an employee, Jeanne Douyère, widow of Gustave Albert Lefebvre, a nail maker born in Duclair where he died on May 22, 1913. Jeanne was born in 1883 in La Mailleraye-sur-Seine and married in 1902. As a widow for 23 years, she appeared with her children on the death notices and thank you notices alongside with the five Mustad brothers, which shows a great closeness to the deceased.
On November 11, Helmer’s body was removed from his home, on the Caudebec road. There was a ceremony according to the Protestant rite. After that, a long procession behind the hearse covered in flowers. At the head of the procession marched Clarin Mustad and the Scandinavian staff of the nail factory as well as the Norwegian consul Mr. Zachariassen, and a shipping broker in Rouen. The Duclair Municipal Council followed. At the cemetery, the pastor gave a speech and a farewell prayer. Then it was the turn of the mayor, Charles Leopold de Heyn, to give the deceased a final greeting on behalf of the city and its population. Finally Clarin Mustad said goodbye to his colleague and friend. A ship eventually took the coffin away and the final funeral took place in Norway on November 25, 1936.
Helmer’s vacation home threatened to be demolished.
In a circle, Helmer's vacation home and its surroundings in the Grimstad archipelago, photographed in 1951. Photo: The Norwegian National Library.
In the 1920s, Helmer has a vacation home built in the Grimstad archipelago. He visit and stays here every summer until his death in 1936.
Single, Helmer left behind him in Duclair furniture insured for 30,000 F. In his will he also leaves his properties in Grimstad to the utility company - “Byselskapet”. But already on August 12, 1937, the Helmer vacation home in Grimstad was sold to the shipping owner Thomas Einersen, which already sparked debate. “Byselskapet” claimed they did not to have the means to maintain the house, but hoped new private owners would take care of the building.
In 1947, the building passed into the hands of Dr. Johannessen who would eventually sell it to the shipping owner Ugland. Which brings us to 2023, when the younger Knut N. Tønnevold Ugland plans to demolish the old vacation home to build a new one. The municipality and a majority of the local politicians of Grimstad has so far showed no opposition to this. Which is not the opinion of the venerable National Trust of Norway - Fortidsminneforeningen, which has saved many wooden buildings in the past. It intends to honour the memory of Kristen Helmer, a great philanthropist…
Laurent QUEVILLY.
Thanks to Arnaud Serander for his help.
Resources:
Newspaper “Journal de Rouen”
Censuses “Recensements de Duclair”
Newspaper “Grimstad Adressetidende”
Register of deaths and absences, censuses in Norway consulted by Arnaud Serander.
Electoral list of Duclair, 1903 (Gustave Albert Lefebvre, born in Duclair and not Ste-Marguerite).
Captivity of Kristen Helmer: Terje Vigen historie, Hans Hansen, 1906, p. 16.
Captivity of Kristen Helmer: Grimstad bys historie: Paa kommunal foranstaltning - 1927, p. 682.
The industrial heritage of Duclair... Paul Bonmartel, Berthout, 1998.
14-18 in the canton of Duclair, Laurent Quevilly, BoD, 2015.
National Trust of Norway - Fortidsminneforeningen, Aust-Agder lokallag.
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