Prior to coming to Bemidji, Al Jester had been sales manager for the Cudahy Packing company of Sioux City, Ia., and later traveled on the road for the Greene-De Laittre company of Minneapolis. He married Caroline Halbritter in Minneapolis on July 5, 1901. She died in Bemidji in March 1905. Mrs. Jester was 24 years of age and had lived with her husband at Lake Plantagnet for several years past. In June 1905, he was a widower, residing in Bemidji along with his young daughter Constance Gladys Jester and his mother Alma Jester. While he was in Bemidji, he was the manager of the Rex Hotel and later deputy United States Marshall. His first love was for his farm at Lake Plantagnet.
In July 1907, Billy’s Hunt’s “Purple Book” contained the following write up of Jester’s farm on Lake Plantagnet, which was liberally sprinkled with good-natured jollying of the local bunch of Elks.
“Did you ask ‘How do I like farming?’ I don’t think I can stand it any longer than a lifetime. It’s simply awful on a hot day to lie on the beach and let the minnows tickle the bottoms of our feet. Stand it? Say, I went to Bemidji last week for the first time in a month, and they had to put a blanket over my head to get me up to a train. They are building a crate to take me to Stillwater with the Bemidji boosters in August.”
Elks from all over northwestern Minnesota are flocking in on Bro. Jester’s summer cottage farm, and returning, speak in the highest terms of him and his lovely wife as host and hostess. Crookston frequently sends bunches of Elks down there, and Al simply can’t do the “chores” about the farm while he sees antlers browsing about. He outfits them with fishing tackle, rows their boats, shows them where the fish delight to haunt, and assists them in every way to have a good time. And when they do not catch any fish, which is almost invariably the case, be slips a nice string to them and frames up a tale which they are to repeat when they reach home. He did this for Wiley Phillips of Crookston, in June and went so far as to furnish Wiley with a supply of mosquito bites just to make it realistic.
The Bemidji Elks’ quartet was over at Al’s place this month. This famous musical organization, consisting of Bro. Chas. Decker, Al Jester, Fred Jordon and Bill Wilson, got into a boat in the moonlight, and the beautiful strains of melody floated over the waters until the very frogs hushed their croakings and bent their emerald heads in rapt attention.
Say, Old Bill Elk, if you want to know what good warm, kindly hearts there are in the world you want to get mixed up with this Crookston- Bemidji bunch. If there is a dead hair on your head, it will instantly drop out at sight of these noble fellows. (Aug 1, 1907)
He was extremely popular with his fellow Elks while in Bemidji, who referred to him as “the prince of Jesters.” Members insisted that he preside over their social session in May 1909. On Feb 4, 1910, at an Elks meeting the crowd insisted that Al Jester tell his “telephone story,” which he did with even greater ability than he has displayed on previous occasions, causing screams of laughter.
It was thought that he had an excellent chance for the Republican nomination for the state senate, but he withdrew his nomination in 1910 and said he did not wish to pursue the nomination any further. He preferred to be a farmer.
On Aug 23,1911, Kathryn Marie Jester was born at Bemidji to Al and his wife Marie (Daley) Jester.
A. H. Jester took charge of the Bemidji Brewing company as of July 9, 1912, and made a number of changes in this institution which were expected to materially increase the output of the plant and enlarge the scope of its labors. He installed new offices, placed a traveling salesman in the field and increased the capacity of the bottling department.
He took a job as a traveling representative for Stone-Ordean-Wells Co. wholesale grocers in 1918, but kept his home base at Bemidji. In December 1919, he announced that he would soon leave for Great Falls, Montana, where he assumed management of the branch headquarters there. As of Jan 1, 1920, when he took the job in Great Falls, he already had thirty-one years experience in traveling. His daughter Constance Gladys Jester was married in Great Falls, Montana in 1922. Al died at Duluth in 1935 about five months after his transfer from Great Falls, Montana. He was sales manager for Stone-Ordean-Wells at both locations.
After Al’s death in 1935, his wife Marie continued to live in Bemidji and worked as the head waitress at the Hotel Markham. They had often lived in the Markham Apartments during the winter and returned to their farm at Lake Plantagnet for the summers.
Al and Marie are buried at Greenwood Cemetery.