Democratic Party of Douglas County

ALBERT G. FLEGEL

The Flegel Center, formerly known as the Roseburg Armory, was so named in honor of Albert E. Flegel, usually referred to as simply Al Flegel. Mr. Flegel came to Roseburg in 1940 and soon after left to serve in the Army in World War II. Upon his return in 1945, he took over a moving and storage company, renaming it Flegel Transfer and Storage. In 1946 he was elected mayor of Roseburg, serving in that office until 1953. During that time he served on the Roseburg Park Commission which established Stewart Park, started Pee Wee baseball, was chairman of the local Red Cross, served on the Board of Directors of Douglas Community Hospital, and helped organize the Douglas County Humane Society. In 1957, Mr. Flegel was elected to the Oregon Legislature, serving in the House of Representatives for two terms. He was elected as a State Senator in 1961 and served as Senate Majority leader from 1967-1969. While in the Legislature, he worked to improve Community College funding and was chairman of the Education Committee. He returned to Roseburg public office in 1969 filling out the unexpired term of a County Commissioner; he was later elected to that office and served until 1975. In 1984 the Roseburg American Legion baseball tournament was dedicated to him. Mr. Flegel died in 1986 at the age of 80. He was eulogized by Governor Robert Straub as "a man with a strong mind and soft heart.

Text courtesy of United States Department of the Interior National Park Service