Laura-Leigh Madsen, the Compost Queen

—interview by Rachel Fang

If you think you see Laura-Leigh smiling to herself as the snow flies outside, you’re right: she adores snow, maybe because it gives her time to dream about her grandchildren, her garden, and the promise of spring. Or maybe just because she thinks it’s beautiful. Laura-Leigh has been shopping at the co-op since about 1980, and volunteering for many of those years as a cashier (most recently), banker, stocker, and cheese-cutter (she had one shift as a cheese cutter, she reports, and was not asked back).

Originally from Seattle, Laura-Leigh Madsen moved to Minneapolis more than 30 years ago with her husband, and raised three children. She taught fourth grade in several Minneapolis schools and says she was known as the Compost Queen. “I had a compost bucket in my classroom,” she remembers, “and one year a composting experiment recommended by a colleague went awry and the school was almost evacuated because of the indescribably bad smell.” Laura-Leigh emphasized that this only happened once and that most years her classroom was much less odorous.

Laura-Leigh’s parents both grew up on farms; and her mother gardened, canned, and composted long before these activities became fashionable. “We grew up caring about buying fresh food," she remembers, “and about buying from local businesses." Hampden Park Co-op provides everything she needs, Laura-Leigh says, and she feels welcome and comfortable in the store. Social interaction is part of the draw of the co-op, along with the fresh fruits and vegetables, and “you can be as involved in the co-op as you want to be,” Laura-Leigh says.

Laura-Leigh is a self-described “news junkie” and loves to read spy novels set in exotic places that help her travel without leaving home. She is a singer, musician, and assiduous (again, self- described) knitter and crocheter. She is also a devoted gardener, planting native plants wherever she can. She keeps her bird feeders filled year- round; and when she’s not shopping at the co-op, Laura-Leigh is spending time with her grandchildren, one of whom is now also a co-op volunteer.