The Beefcake of Albert Lay or Lee, Minnesota

Another city name that no one can pronounce is Albert Lea, in the southeastern part of the state near the Iowa border.  Is it "lee" or "lay"?

I thought it was named after some Scottish ballad -- "And draw my bed twae furrows long, and drop me three bonnie brae, for I'll nae more be seen on Earth, 'tis the last of Albert Lea."

Ok, I just made that up.  But a "lea" is a field, as Wordsworth, "upon this pleasant lea.

Surely the name came from something literary.


Turns out that it is named after Albert Miller Lea (1808-1891),  who surveyed southern Minnesota in 1835.  He didn't name it, nor did he ever live there; he grew up in Tennessee, and spent his retirement in Texas.  I checked; he probably wasn't gay. 

Albert Lea's main claim to fame today is the SPAM museum in nearby Austin.











And the Big Island Rendezvous, held every October, which involves dressing in historic costumes.














There is only one high school in town, Albert Lea High, which offers cross-country.














And swimming.  Believe it or not, these are high school-aged swimmers.






I could only find beefcake photos of the wrestlers.


















But there are a lot of them.

















The Albert Lea wrestler is in back.











And by the way, it's pronounced "Lee."