Sidney Palmer Anderson was born in Cummings, ND on April 19, 1930 to Olaf and Bessie Anderson and was baptized on June 9, 1930. He grew up in rural Fisher, MN where he worked on the farm with his four brothers and sister. He attended country school for the first several years then Fisher Public School, finishing his education at the Northwest School of Agriculture in Crookston. He attended Bygland Lutheran Synod church where he was confirmed on February 11, 1945.