subject: Who Was Catherine Helshoj? [print this page] Back during World War II, a young Danish man, Torben Helshoj watched as American soldiers did amazing things to defeat the Nazis. Around the same time, he began to learn woodworking and later married a young woman, Catherine Helshoj. Many years after the war, Catherine received a letter that brought back memories of the things done by the Americans in Europe so very long ago, heroic deeds by the soldiers that the couple had seen.
The letter was forwarded to Laguna Tools Company, since Torben had immigrated to the US many years before and had established the company in Irvine. When he first arrived on American soil, the young man noticed that American machines were not nearly as sophisticated as those available in Europe for woodworking. So, he set up a business to change all of this and founded Laguna Tools Company.
A veteran soldier had learned much about the Irvine tool company's equipment through the advertising materials and wanted to purchase a 14" bandsaw. Unfortunately he could not get the money together to buy one, since he had many medical issues. This young man was Nathaniel Meadows and he had worked as a medic in Iraq during his 2003 tour. While in Iraq, Nathaniel was the victim of a bomb. His injuries included everything from brain injury to ear perforations and hearing loss. He was unable to continue in the military and was placed in the Warrior in Transition Program.
Following in the footsteps of those in this program, Nathaniel found himself rediscovering the joy of woodworking again and realized that he may have found a whole new career. His previous love of woodworking could open him up to a new opportunity. At this point, Nathaniel wrote a letter to Catherine Helshoj who was moved by his story. Determined to check the facts, she asked for contact information, as well as verification of what he had said. It did not take long for these to arrive.
Catherine Helshoj shared the story with others in the woodworking world and the tool company sends Nathaniel a 16 inch bandsaw. Through the aid of the company, Nate has managed to build up a small woodshop and is now able to work on his new career with the best products available. Over time, he will likely find himself able to purchase more tools from the quality company and spend his time working with Laguna's tools.
