Helena business owner credits independence

By Faith Jungers

Donna Tenneson is someone I think others should aspire to emulate. Moving to Helena at the age of 17, Donna never stopped chasing her dreams. She came from the town of Cardwell, but was never set on staying. She always had an interest in business, and when she was of age, she didn’t hesitate to jump on the opportunity to start one, even if it was just a small disposal business.

On the summer after her 17th birthday, she and her friend moved to Helena to work at a coffee shop that would eventually lead to a whole new life for Donna.

One day, Donna met a man and fell in love with him. They had a good relationship at first, but Donna wasn’t going to be dependent upon a man. She had her dreams and goals and wasn’t ready to share them quite yet.

This resulted in a divorce that thrust her into a different relationship. This time though, it was different. She married a man named Clayton who created with her a much more promising relationship.

Donna and Clayton adopted kids together and tried to raise them together. Donna still had her dream to start a business, so she and Clayton started a garbage business. In the beginning they were barely getting by, and hardly had anything. Their kids would dig through the garbage for things. After a few years went by, the business started to pick up. As more workers began to show up, Donna began to host daily competitions. There was a doll competition she would host: whoever brought the most dolls home from the trash would get a raise; this went on for a while.

After a few years of marriage though, Donna found herself constantly distracted by her business, and she divorced Clayton .

Donna also invested in a landfill where the trucks would dump the garbage. Eventually, with age, Donna went through more marriages, which she claimed were destroyed by alcohol.

Donna’s love for dolls led her to start yet another business: collecting dolls, Donna decided to carry this. She made a doll museum; she would sell the dolls and by more. This business grew, and so did her love for dolls. Donna retired from the other business and gave it to her kids; she now works at her doll museum full time. At age 77 independence and ambitious spirit make her an inspiration to her family (full disclosure; she’s the reporter’s grandmother) to her friends, and to her community.