Historian gathering stories of west central Minnesota leadership in Farm Crisis protests in 1980s

Jun. 24—GRANITE FALLS

— For some, their memories of the Farm Crisis of the 1980s begin with a knock on the door on Christmas Eve, and a man delivering a letter informing them they have 30 days to leave the land that has been in their family for generations.

For others, it can be the day they chanted "no sale" on the stairway of the Lac qui Parle County Sheriff's Office, and watched as law enforcement officers physically tossed some of the protesters to the ground when they tried to disrupt the foreclosure sale.

And yet for others, it can be somber conversations around the kitchen table with fellow farmers, newly appointed as advocates, who helped them weed through their finances and lending laws with an eye toward saving their family farm.

Jim Roe has heard these stories and many more. Soon, he will be telling them with exhibits at the historical societies in 10 area counties, all part of the

West Central Minnesota Historical Association

.

Roe is a St. Paul-based historian and independent consultant who operates as

Museum Planning

. With support from the state's Clean Water, Land and Legacy Fund, the association contracted with Roe to develop the presentation. He offered an early preview in Granite Falls on June 8.

In his audience were a number of those who shared their stories with Roe. They included Richard Kvols, a former University of Minnesota Extension educator, who witnessed the skirmishes at the Sheriff's Office in Madison in 1985.

"We've got to find a way to get these parties talking to one another," Kvols decided.

What he witnessed motivated him to help develop what became the farmer-lender mediation program offered through the University of Minnesota beginning in 1986.

Wayne Kling was also among the audience. Kling, who farms outside of Granite Falls, and his late wife, Lou Anne, were instrumental in bringing attention to the farm crisis. They, along with Anne and Chuck Kanten, plowed down an acre of their grain fields on July 4, 1980, as TV cameras recorded for state and national audiences.

Both Lou Anne Kling and Anne Kanten became close friends and played instrumental roles in promoting farm mediation efforts. They eventually worked as part of state and federal government agencies.

That the West Central Minnesota Historical Association should take an interest in this important history is only fitting. Roe pointed out that the counties have an activist history on behalf of farmers dating to the

Nonpartisan League

in the 1910s and to the

farm holiday movement

in the 1930s. (The farm holiday movement got its start in Atwater.)

As a point of fact, he discovered that a number of the leaders of the 1930s-era farm movement served as mentors to the new generation taking up the protest in the 1980s.

Clint Haroldson, of Atwater, was among them. He played the lead actor's role in the movie "Foreclosure." It was filmed by James Gambone in Milan in 1982. Using local actors and scenery, the film linked the farm struggles of the 1980s to those of the Depression years.

Roe said his work was not designed to identify the causes of the Farm Crisis of the 1980s, but to tell its stories. Its causes are easy to understand on an economic level — farm commodity prices tanked after the 1981 grain embargo against the Soviet Union and surplus crop production.

Before commodity prices dropped, the government had encouraged farmers to take out loans and modernize. The land values on which those loans were based plummeted by as much as half during the 1980s, said Roe.

The national inflation rate was 14% in 1980, and interest rates rose to 20%. Roe interviewed some who paid 21% interest. Some took on loans to cover the interest on their original loans.

"It was really tough," he said.

In 1982, almost one half of Minnesota farmers with Farmers Home Administration loans were in delinquency, according to Roe. With dropping land values, the lenders and agencies that had loaned money "now said 'hey, you don't have the assets to back up the loans, so give us our money back now,'" said Roe.

West central Minnesota has a tradition of speaking up, and it did, according to Roe. Wayne Kling was among those who drove 900 tractors and vehicles in the cold of February to Washington, D.C., to call attention to the plight of farmers in 1979.

Roe said the peak of the activity occurred in 1985 in Minnesota, when more than 10,000 people rallied at the State Capitol. Then-Gov. Rudy Perpich was among the supporters, displaying a red bandana on his sleeve. It had become the symbol of the movement, as it had at the penny auctions during foreclosure sales in the 1930s.

An early flash point in the crisis that captured much of the attention in a negative way occurred in 1983, when a father and son lured two bankers to the land they had lost to foreclosure and fatally shot them.

Roe said he initially intended to avoid telling the story of the Ruthton murders. But, after talking to lenders from the 1980s for his research, he realized he had to include the story. The killings sent shock waves through the lending community, shifting attitudes while putting fear in many bankers' hearts, he explained.

What happened during the 1980s played a major role in shaping the agricultural landscape known today. When Roe asks his subjects what are the most visible changes, two answers are almost automatic. There are no animals on the landscape, as they are now raised in buildings. And not surprisingly, many point out how farm tractors and equipment are so much larger now than in the 1980s.

Ruth Ann Karty, of Clarkfield, who was among the leaders of the 1980s protests, pointed out the most important change in a recorded interview Roe played for his audience. While the protest effort helped save farms, many farmers left the land. Farms today are much larger, and the rural population is smaller, she said.

The culture has changed too. Farmers recognize today that farming is not only their heritage, but it is a business.

"Farmers have learned to be better at business," Karty said.

Roe and the West Central Minnesota Historical Association will be announcing dates for presentations and exhibits once his work is completed. The association members include the historical societies in the counties of Big Stone, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Renville, Redwood, Swift and Yellow Medicine.