PUBLIC AFFAIRS CENTER COLLECTION ORAL HISTORY
PROJECT:
An Inventory of Its Oral History Interviews at the Minnesota Historical Society
Oral History Collection
OVERVIEW
Creator: | Public Affairs Center Collection Oral History Project, creator. | |
Title: | Oral History Interviews of the Public Affairs Center Collection Oral History Project. | |
Dates: | 1956-1982. | |
Language: | Materials in English. | |
Abstract: | Oral history interviews conducted through the Minnesota Historical Society's Public Affairs Center documenting the political careers and experiences of those who held positions of national and international importance, were involved at local and state levels, and were in both major and minor political parties. | |
Quantity: | 26 master audiotape reels: 3 3/4 ips; 7 inch, 27 master audiocassettes, 63 submaster audio files: WAV, 63 user audio files: MP3. 31 transcripts volumes (654 pages) and 31 transcripts text files: PDF. | |
Location: | OH 170 : See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
HISTORICAL NOTE
The Minnesota Historical Society established the Public Affairs Center in 1967 to stimulate acquisitions of politicians’ and government officials’ papers and use of the Society’s manuscript collections relating to politics and government.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Public Affairs Center Collection Oral History Project, Oral History Interviews of the Public Affairs Center Collection Oral History Project. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: AV2017.165
Processing Information:
The Emily Anne Staples Tuttle Fund for Oral History was used to help digitize these interviews.
Processed by: Karen Obermeyer-Kolb, August 2017
Catalog ID number: 990088828170104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
EUGENIE MOORE ANDERSON
Biographical Information: Eugenie Anderson (1909-1997) was active in Democratic politics on local, state, and national levels; U.S. Ambassador to Denmark (1949-1953); U.S. Minister to Bulgaria (1962-1965); and U.S. delegate to the United Nations (1965-1968).
OH 170.1 | Oral history interview with Eugenie Moore Anderson, May 7, 1971. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 34 minutes), 2 submaster audio files: WAV, and 2 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (28 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include Anderson's childhood; early and young adult life; and Minnesota political activities through the mid-1940s. | |||||||||||||
Jan Musty, niece of August Andersen, occasionally speaks. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lila Johnson. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
OH 170.2 | Oral history interview with Eugenie Moore Anderson, May 14, 1971. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (40 minutes), 2 submaster audio files: WAV, and 2 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (26 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include Minnesota political activities in the mid-1940s; Hubert Humphrey; and Anderson's appointment as Ambassador to Denmark by President Truman. | |||||||||||||
Jan Musty, niece of August Andersen, occasionally speaks. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lila Johnson. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
OH 170.3 | Oral history interview with Eugenie Moore Anderson, May 21, 1971. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 4 minutes), 2 submaster audio files: WAV, and 2 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (27 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include career as U.S. Ambassador to Denmark. | |||||||||||||
Jan Musty, niece of August Andersen, occasionally speaks. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lila Johnson. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
OH 170.4 | Oral history interview with Eugenie Moore Anderson, May 28, 1971. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (46 minutes), 2 submaster audio files: WAV, and 2 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (29 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include leaving Denmark, political activities in Minnesota in the mid-1950s; 1960 presidential primary; appointment as Minister to Bulgaria; world travels; Anderson's family; and career in Bulgaria. | |||||||||||||
Jan Musty, niece of August Andersen, occasionally speaks. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lila Johnson. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
OH 170.5 | Oral history interview with Eugenie Moore Anderson, June 19, 1971. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 36 minutes), 2 submaster audio files: WAV, and 2 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (31 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include career as U.S. Minister to Bulgaria. | |||||||||||||
Jan Musty, niece of August Andersen, occasionally speaks. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lila Johnson. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
OH 170.6 | Oral history interview with Eugenie Moore Anderson, June 25, 1971. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 2 minutes), 2 submaster audio files: WAV, and 2 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (29 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include career in Bulgaria; resignation as Minister; President Johnson; and appointment as delegate to United Nations. | |||||||||||||
Jan Musty, niece of August Andersen, occasionally speaks. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lila Johnson. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
OH 170.7 | Oral history interview with Eugenie Moore Anderson, July 8, 1971. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 34 minutes), 2 submaster audio files: WAV, and 2 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (28 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include career in United Nations as well as Anderson's visits to Africa and Vietnam. | |||||||||||||
Jan Musty, niece of August Andersen, occasionally speaks. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lila Johnson. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
LOUIS BENSON
Biographical Information: Louis Benson is the brother of Governor Elmer A. Benson.
OH 170.8 | Oral history interview with Louis Benson, March 15, 1977. 1 master audiocassette (54 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (14 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include early life and family history; origins of the Farmer-Labor Party; conflicts between farmers and laborers; radical politics; Charles A. Lindbergh (1859-1954); Arthur Charles Townley; and the North Dakota Non-Partisan League | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Steve Trimble in California. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
JOHN TOUSSAINT BERNARD
Biographical Information: John Toussaint Bernard (1893-1983) was born in Corsica. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1907. He worked as an iron miner and enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I. Bernard was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1936. He was noted for casting the sole vote in opposition to an arms embargo against Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Later in life Bernard openly professed membership in the Communist Party USA (CPUSA).
OH 170.9 | Oral history interview with John Toussaint Bernard, 1968. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (35 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (5 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include activities in the Farmer-Labor Party; term as a U.S. congressman from the 8th district (1937-1939); involvement in the labor movement, particularly in organizing miners; and various stories about labor unions and political figures. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by James Shields in Long Beach, California. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
OH 170.10 | Oral history interview with John Toussaint Bernard, 1969. 4 master audiocassettes (4 hours, 54 minutes), 10 submaster audio files: WAV, and 10 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (3 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include activities in the Farmer-Labor Party; term as a U.S. congressman from the 8th district (1937-1939); involvement in the labor movement, particularly in organizing miners; and various stories about labor unions and political figures. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Irene Paull. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
OH 170.11 | Oral history interview with John Toussaint Bernard, 1977. 5 master audiocassettes (4 hours, 25 minutes), 5 submaster audio files: WAV, and 5 user audio files: MP3. | ||||||||||||
There is no transcript available. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
VLADIMAR BJöRNSON
Biographical Information: Val Björnson (1906-1987) was born in Minneota. During World War II he served in Navy intelligence, stationed in Iceland. He was a writer and newspaper editor for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch. During the 1950s and 1960s Björnson was state treasurer. As a Republican, Björnson lost the 1954 U.S. Senate election to Hubert Humphrey.
OH 170.12 | Oral history interview with Vladimar Björnson, August 20 - September 4, 1974. 3 master audiocassettes (hour), 3 submaster audio files: WAV, and 3 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (8 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include family background and education; Minneota Mascot; working in the newspaper business; growing up Icelandic in Minnesota; campaigning against Hubert Humphrey; beginnings of the Farmer-Labor Party; Harold Stassen; Floyd Olson; C. Elmer Anderson; Ed Thye; Frank Kellogg; Theodore Christenson; Luther Youngdahl; the Republican Party; Elmer L. Anderson; Stafford King; journalism; Minnesota politics in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s; Björnson’s attempt at the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 1960; his role as state treasurer; taconite amendment; and Reserve Mining Company. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Warren Gardner. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
WALTER DAY
Biographical Information: Walter Day (1880-1969) was born in Castle Rock Township. He was a Minnesota legislator for approximately 40 years, first running for office in 1918.
OH 170.13 | Oral history interview with Walter Day, November 27, 1967. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 37 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (18 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include early life; his Civil War veteran father; Pillsbury Academy; Owatonna around 1900; homesteading in Bagley Township; working odd jobs before getting into politics; Charles A. Lindbergh (1859-1954).; the Nonpartisan League; strong legislators in the 1910s; Spelbrink and W.I. Norton; how special interests or “dictatorship” ran the legislature; liquor lobbyists, grain milling interests; steel trust; lumber lobbyists; railroad tycoons; nepotism; electing a speaker of the House; Harold Stassen; and Floyd Olson. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Russell Fridley in Bagley. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
ROY E. DUNN
Biographical Information: Roy E. Dunn (1886-1985) was a state representative from 1925 to 1931 and again from 1933 to 1967 from Otter Tail County.
OH 170.14 | Oral history interview with Roy E. Dunn, August 18, 1966. 4 master audiotape reels: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (59 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (9 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include his long political career; minority and majority leader in the State House of Representatives; membership on the Republican National Committee (1936-1952); and Dunn’s opinions on Minnesota governors Theodore Christianson, Floyd B. Olson, Elmer A. Benson, and C. Elmer Anderson. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by James Bormann. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
ROBERT E. GOFF
Biographical Information: Robert E. Goff was born in 1936. He was the personal secretary to Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Governor Karl F. Rolvaag (1964-1967).
OH 170.15 | Oral history interview with Robert E. Goff, October 1965. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 38 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (26 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include working at the St. Paul Athletic Club; career as a governor’s aide; his relationships with Luther W. Youngdahl, C. Elmer Anderson, Orville Freeman, Elmer L. Anderson, Karl F. Rolvaag, and Harold LeVander; racism in St. Paul; famous boxers in St. Paul; and the tradition and legacy of the job. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Russell Fridley. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
CHARLES A. GRAHAM
Biographical Information: Charles A. Graham was born in 1905. He was an aide to governors Luther W. Youngdahl, C. Elmer Anderson, Orville Freeman, Elmer L. Anderson, Karl F. Rolvaag, and Harold LeVander.
OH 170.16 | Oral history interview with Charles A. Graham, 1968. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 8 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (22 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include the gubernatorial election in 1962; Rolvaag’s administration; DFL leadership meeting at Sugar Hills Resort, Itasca in 1965; labor movement in Minnesota; future of the DFL Party; and personal relationships with statewide politicians. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Russell Fridley, Robert Goff, and Lila M. Johnson. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
GERALD W. HEANEY
Biographical Information: Judge Gerald W. Heaney (1918-2010) was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) in 1966 and served in the federal court system until 2006.
OH 170.17 | Oral history interview with Gerald W. Heaney, November 30, 1967. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 35 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (15 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include entrance into politics; Smith-Hoover campaign for the presidency of 1928; service in World War II; education at the University of Minnesota; short career with the state of Minnesota’s Securities Commission; work with the DFL, and the Democratic National Committee as finance director and national committeeman; political issues of education, fair employment practices, taconite amendments; Vietnam War; political associates such as Orville Freeman, Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, John Blatnik, Adlai Stevenson, John F. Kennedy, and Estes Kefauver. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Helen M. White in the Federal Building in Duluth. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
SUE M. DICKEY HOUGH
Biographical Information: Sue M. Dickey Hough (1890-1980) was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She attended Central High School in Minneapolis and the University of Chicago Law School. She was one of the first women to serve as a Minnesota state representative from 1923-1925. After her political career she worked for the Minnesota Department of Public Welfare from 1939 to 1959.
OH 170.18 | Oral history interview with Sue M. Dickey Hough, 1975. 1 master audiocassette (39 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (13 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include family background and early life; Hough's decision to run for the legislature and the campaign; interests in legislation; and the legislative process. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Ramona Burks. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
MORRIS HURSH
Biographical Information: Morris Hursh was born in 1906 and raised in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He received his law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1930. From 1931-1939 he was executive secretary to governors Floyd B. Olson, Hjalmar Peterson, and Elmer Benson. From 1939-1945 Hursh was with the Minnesota Welfare Department. He worked in Wisconsin in the field of welfare from 1945-1955. In 1955 Hursh was appointed Commissioner of Welfare in Minnesota by Orville L. Freeman.
OH 170.19 | Oral history interview with Morris Hursh, October 15, 1968. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 5 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (12 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include Hursh's background and education; career as executive secretary to governors Floyd B. Olson, Hjalmar Petersen, and Elmer Benson; and local and national politics in the 1930s and 1940s. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lila Johnson. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
FRANCIS A. JOHNSON
Biographical Information: Francis A. Johnson is the son of Magnus Johnson (1871-1936), who served in the State House of Representatives from 1915 to 1919, State Senate from 1919 to 1923, U.S. Senate (filling Knute Nelson’s term) from 1923 to 1925, and U.S. House of Representatives from 1933 to 1935. Magnus Johnson was the unsuccessful Farmer-Labor candidate for Governor in 1922 and 1926. Francis A. Johnson is credited with rolling the world’s largest ball of twine.
OH 170.20 | Oral history interview with Francis A. Johnson, July 24, 1973. 1 master audiocassette (1 hour, 5 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (16 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include his father Magnus Johnson’s political career; his father’s early life; A.C. Townley; radical politics; farming; his father being elected to the U.S. Senate in a special summer election; politics in 1920s and 1930s; Charles A. Lindbergh (1859-1954); Robert M. La Follette; Tennessee Valley Authority and Rural Electrification Administration; Floyd Olson; A.F. Teigen; Henrik Shipstead; Paul John Kvale; Hjalmar Petersen; having politicians over for supper; cooperative creameries; Farmer-Labor Party; George Loftus; the Johnson family; and rolling the world’s biggest ball of twine. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Bruce Larson in Darwin. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
STAFFORD KING
Biographical Information: Stafford King (1893-1970) was born in Minnesota. King served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican border dispute in 1916 and in World War I. He was elected as state auditor in 1930 and held the position until 1969.
OH 170.21 | Oral history interview with Stafford King, May 27, 1968. 3 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (3 hours, 53 minutes), 3 submaster audio files: WAV, and 3 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (47 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include King's family history and growing up in South Haven, Minnesota; building of the King School; education at University of Minnesota; working in North Dakota as an accountant; working in the South Pacific as a botanist; serving as intelligence officer for U.S. Air Force in South Pacific; serving in the Army in the Mexican border dispute; service during World War I; education at St. Paul College of Law; and membership in the American Legion. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lucile M. Kane and Lila M. Johnson in the State Administration Building, St. Paul. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
JARLE B. LEIRFALLOM
Biographical Information: Jarle Leirfallom (1913-1997) was a career official in Minnesota state government. Leirfallow served in many roles including Division of Social Welfare (1940-1952); director of public institutions (1952-1953); commissioner of public welfare (1953-1955), executive secretary of state Republican Party (1954-1955), owner and operator of nursing homes (1945-1967); and commissioner of conservation (1967-1970).
OH 170.22 | Oral history interview with Jarle B. Leirfallom, April 20, 1971 . 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 35 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (12 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include Leirfallom's career in Minnesota state government as Commissioner of Conservation; the establishment of Voyageurs National Park; management of parks and forests in Minnesota; Harold LeVander’s administration; Crane Lake Recreation Area; Boundary Waters Canoe Area; Senator Hickel; dangers of opening recreation areas to outsiders; parks advocate Udert W. (Judge) Hella; Minnesota tourism; border relations with Canada concerning national parks; and federal government land ownership and acquisition in Minnesota. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Newell Searle and Robert Wheeler. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
OH 170.23 | Oral history interview with Jarle B. Leirfallom, May 4, 1971. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (59 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (13 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include mostly references to the contemporary vote in the Minnesota State Legislature that approved land donation to provide for the Voyageurs National Park. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Newell Searle and Robert Wheeler. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
BERNHARD LEVANDER
Biographical Information: Bernhard LeVander (1916-2008) received his bachelor's degree from Gustavus Adolphus and law degree from the University of Minnesota. He was a member of the Harold Stassen for Governor campaign (1938), special assistant to Stassen (1940-1942), Director of Social Welfare (1943), chairman Republican State Central Committee (1946-1950), and director of Stassen for President campaign (1946-1948). Bernhard is the younger brother of Minnesota Governor Harold LeVander.
OH 170.24 | Oral history interview with Bernhard LeVander, August 22, September 4 and 18, 1974. 4 master audiocassettes (3 hours, 23 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (48 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include LeVander's early life and education; involvement in politics; Harold Stassen; Stassen’s gubernatorial campaign; Stassen for President campaign; the Republican Party in Minnesota; Warren E. Burger; and Minnesota politics in the 1940s and 1950s. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Warren Gardner and James (Jim) Mulrooney in office of Bernhard LeVander. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
FRANK A. LINDBERGH
Biographical Information: Frank A. Lindbergh (1870-1966) is the brother of Charles A. Lindbergh (1859-1954). He was an attorney in Little Falls, Morrison County, Crosby County, and Crow Wing County.
OH 170.25 | Oral history interview with Frank A. Lindbergh, June 26, 1964. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (37 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (11 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include Charles A. Lindbergh’s (1859-1954) political career; the Sixth Congressional District in Minnesota; the Nonpartisan League; and Governor Knute Nelson. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Bruce Larson in Crosby. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
SARA L. F. LUTHER
Biographical Information: Sara (Sally) L.F. Luther was born in 1918 in Minneapolis. She was a state representative from 1951 to 1963 and from 1963 to 1967 she served as executive assistant to Governor Karl F. Rolvaag.
OH 170.26 | Oral history interview with Sara (Sally) L. F. Luther, March 30, 1975. 3 master audiocassettes (2 hours, 14 minutes), 3 submaster audio files: WAV, and 3 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (52 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include Luther's legislative experience; Coya Knutson, first U.S. congresswoman from Minnesota; and the gubernatorial election of 1966. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Arvonne Fraser. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
FRED MARSHALL
Biographical Information: Fred Marshall (1906-1985) was born near Grove City where he lived most of his life. He farmed and was state director of Farm Security Administration from 1941 to 1948. Marshall was a DFL member of the U.S. Congress from 1948-1962.
OH 170.27 | Oral history interview with Fred Marshall, June 10, 1970. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 24 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (17 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include Marshall's family background and early life; his father’s job as a county agricultural agent and Farm Security Administration; Fred’s introduction into politics; DFL Party vetting process; his first campaign; Harold Knutson and the people of the Sixth Congressional District; being critical of military expenditures; going to Washington D.C.; Harry Truman; congressional committees; Dwight Eisenhower; John F. Kennedy; internal workings of Congress; Sam Rayburn; John McCormack; split in Congress between Party and relations between the North and South; and the decision not to seek reelection in 1962. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lila M. Johnson, John Massman, and Jean Choate. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
JOHN NEWTON PEYTON
Biographical Information: John N. Peyton (1885-1975) was a banker, like his father, in Duluth and in Minneapolis. He also served as state commissioner of banks from 1931 to 1933.
OH 170.28 | Oral history interview with John Newton Peyton, October 9, 1967. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (25 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (6 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include Peyton's family history and education; his and his father’s careers in banking; term as commissioner of banks for Minnesota; Floyd B Olson; banking reform; banking in the 1930s; and working for the Federal Reserve Bank; | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Lila M. Johnson. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
PETER S. POPOVICH
Biographical Information: Peter Popovich (1920-1996) was born in Crosby. After earning his law degree from St. Paul College of Law, Popovich served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1953 to 1963. Popovich was appointed as the secretary of the Minnesota delegation to the 1956 Democratic National Convention.
OH 170.29 | Oral history interview with Peter S. Popovich, 1956. 1 master audiocassette (16 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (6 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include the 1956 Democratic National Convention; Hubert Humphrey’s vice presidential campaign; election of Estes Kefauver as vice presidential candidate; Hubert Humphrey’s civil rights record; chaos at the convention; burned ballots; DFL Party; Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO); Minnesota Delegate Robert Short; Ione Hunt; and Adlai Stevenson. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by James Bormann. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
EMIL L. REGNIER
Biographical Information: Emil L. Regnier (1902-1980) was a Farmer-Labor state senator from 1931 to 1933.
OH 170.30 | Oral history interview with Emil L. Regnier, March 15, 1974. 1 master audiotape reel: analog, 3 3/4 ips; 7 in. (1 hour, 22 minutes), 1 submaster audio file: WAV, and 1 user audio file: MP3. Transcript (25 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include assisting Magnus Johnson, U.S. congressman in 1933; Farmer-Labor campaign platform including topics like chain monopoly systems, corporation farming, deficiency judgments; abolishing ROTC at the University of Minnesota; investing in hydroelectric power; his work as campaign manager for the Farmer-Labor Party in 1932 and 1934; and Governor Floyd B. Olson. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Warren Gardner. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
THEODOR S. SLEN
Biographical Information: Theodor S. Slen (1885-1986) worked as an attorney, a state legislator (1935-1941), and municipal, probate, and county judge (1951-1973) from Lac qui Parle County.
OH 170.31 | Oral history interview with Theodor S. Slen, January 14, 1982. 2 master audiocassettes (2 hours, 5 minutes), 2 submaster audio files: WAV, and 2 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (25 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties of Minnesota and the 1944 merger; his opinions on governors Floyd B. Olson, Hjalmar Petersen, and Elmer A. Benson, Albert Quie, Rudolph Perpich, and Hubert H. Humphrey; changes in the Democratic and Republican Party philosophies from the 1940s through the 1970s; comments on the American judicial system and the Minnesota legislature; the University of Minnesota Law School; and changes in rural Minnesota. | |||||||||||||
Theodor's wife, Lyla Slen, occasionally speaks. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by James E. Fogerty . | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
DONALD O. WRIGHT
Biographical Information: Donald Orr Wright (1892-1985) was born in Minneapolis. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1927 to 1935 and the Senate from 1935 to 1971. In 1953 Wright assumed the office of Lieutenant Governor for one term until 1955.
OH 170.32 | Oral history interview with Donald O. Wright, January 25, 1974. 2 master audiocassettes (2 hours, 16 minutes), 2 submaster audio files: WAV, and 2 user audio files: MP3. Transcript (33 pages). | ||||||||||||
Topics discussed include Wright's background and education; Republican politics; career in legislature; Floyd B. Olson; Farmer-Labor Party personalities; Elmer Benson; Social Security Act; Mortgage Moratorium Act; Vincent Day; A.J. Rockne; welfare programs; Teamsters Strike of 1934; Edward Thye; Luther Youngdahl; Harold Stassen; and Harold LeVander. | |||||||||||||
Interviewed by Warren Gardner and James Mulrooney. | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
![]() |
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Ambassadors -- United States.
- Diplomatic and consular service, American.
- Legislators -- Minnesota.
- Women -- Political activity -- Minnesota.
- Women in the civil service -- United States.
- Persons:
- Anderson, Eugenie M. (Eugenie Moore), 1909-1997, interviewee.
- Benson, Louis, interviewee.
- Bernard, John T. (John Toussaint), 1893-1983, interviewee.
- Björnson, Val, 1906-1987, interviewee.
- Burks, Ramona, interviewer.
- Day, Walter, interviewee.
- Dunn, Roy E., 1886-1985, interviewee.
- Fridley, Russell W., interviewer.
- Goff, Lila Johnson, interviewer.
- Goff, Robert E., interviewee.
- Graham, Charles A., interviewee.
- Heaney, Gerald W. (Gerald William), 1918-2010, interviewee.
- Hough, Sue M. Dickey, interviewee.
- Hursh, Morris C., interviewee.
- Johnson, Francis A., interviewee.
- Kane, Lucile M., interviewer.
- King, Stafford, 1893-1970, interviewee.
- Larson, Bruce, interviewer.
- LeVander, Bernhard, 1916-2008, interviewee.
- Lierfallom, Jarle B., 1913-, interviewee.
- Lindbergh, Frank A. 1870-1966, interviewee.
- Luther, Sara L. F. (Sally), interviewee.
- Marshall, Fred, 1906-1985, interviewee.
- Paull, Irene, interviewer.
- Peyton, John N., 1885-, interviewee.
- Popovich, Peter S., 1920-, interviewee.
- Regnier, Emil L., interviewee.
- Shields, James, interviewer.
- Slen, Theodor S., 1885-, interviewee.
- Trimble, Steve, interviewer.
- White, Helen M. (Helen McCann), 1916-, interviewer.
- Wright, Donald Orr, interviewee.
- Organizations:
- Minnesota. Legislature.
- Minnesota. -- Officials and employees.
- Places:
- Minnesota -- Politics and government -- 1918-1945.
- Minnesota -- Politics and government -- 1945-1980.
- United States -- Politics and government.
- Document Types:
- Audiocassettes.
- Audiotapes.
- Interviews.
- Oral histories (document genres)
- Sound recordings.