Art came to Beloit in 1920 at the age of 19, having had to cut short his college education out of economic necessity. By 1920, the Great Depression left him and millions of others out of work. Armed with some knowledge of chemicals, he started making laundry bleach for housewives. That led him into developing a disinfectant for dairies. The first two gallons of the product were purchased by Beloit dairyman Ron Dougan. And from that small beginning Art and his brother Claire formed Klenzade Products, Inc. in 1938.

The brothers Shogren built Klenzade to prominence as a manufacturer of cleansing and related products for the food processing industry. An entrepreneur in every sense of the word, Art used sharp marketing and intensive sales training to build the business. Throughout, his success was founded on superior products and honest dealings with customers and employees. When Klenzade became a division of Economic Laboratories in 1962, Art and his wife Ethel embarked on a rather remarkable retirement. They traveled widely, actually completing at least 14 trips around the world. But the fruits of Art’s labors did more than enable them to travel. They gave generously to many, many worthwhile causes in their adopted hometown of Beloit.

Mostly, their contributions were made without fanfare. Beloit Memorial Hospital is the beneficiary of considerable help from the Shogrens. So are the Boy Scouts, Beloit Hospice, Ducks Unlimited and an assortment of conservative causes. Long after his arthritic hands lost their firm grip, Art Shogren persevered at the game of golf. He was not one to give up on anything. His many and remarkable qualities earned for him a place high on the roster of exceptional Beloiters. But he didn’t aspire to fame or fortune; his many goals in life were realized by hard work, perseverance, creativity and a desire to con-tribute.

Art Shogren loved his family first, the challenge of business, the outdoors (he hunted, fished and golfed), his church, the Rotary Club, the Country Club of Beloit and being a true patriot with a decidedly conservative bent. In 1982 there was a program recognizing his 50 years as a dedicated Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow. The latter designation is reserved for those who contribute to the cause of world understanding through the Rotary foundation.

Art and Ethel had one son, Tom, who is deceased and a grandson Ted. Ethel Shogren lives in Beloit. If there is one standout quality possessed by this remarkable Beloiter throughout his lifetime, it was his humility. Responding to lengthy praise during Rotary’s “Art Shogren Day” program, Art said to the large audience: “I just don’t know what to say. I’ve lived a pretty good life and it’s going well. I just hope it lasts a little longer.” And it did. Art lived eleven years beyond that day.

During those years he was a devoted helpmate to Ethel. She suffered a stroke and Art patiently re-taught her to play cribbage, a game both loved, with the result that she recovered to a remarkable degree. Also, during the Rotary program, then-president Al McIvor characterized Art’s rich life by quoting an Arabic saying: “When you see an old man amiable, mild, equable, content and good humored, be sure that in his youth he has been just, generous and forbearing. In his end he doesn’t lament the past nor dread the future; he is like the evening of a fine day.” Arthur L. Shogren, one of Beloit’s finest, died March 5, 1993 at the age of 92. His was a wonderful life.