ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202
COLLECTION: OGL #1350
DATES: 1935-1989
SIZE: 12.75 linear feet
ACQUISITION: The LeRoy Erickson Papers were deposited into the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Lila Erickson, Fargo, North Dakota on August 21, 1997 (Acc.# 97-2146).
ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
Kenneth LeRoy Erickson was born May 15, 1926 in DeLamere, North Dakota. After graduating from high school in 1944, he began farming with his father. He married Lila Moxness in 1946. Erickson began his long record of community service the next year by serving on the Council of Immanuel Lutheran Church in DeLamere and as a Township Supervisor for Hall Township, North Dakota. He took flying lessons from Paul Bennet of Milnor, North Dakota and purchased his first airplane at the age of 21. He then served as a volunteer on the local Civil Air Patrol (CAP). His CAP duties included search and rescue operations, transporting patients to hospitals, and delivering groceries, fuel, mail and machinery repair parts to snowbound individuals.
Erickson had a distinguished political career. In 1966, he campaigned as a Republican candidate to the North Dakota House of Representatives and was elected to the 1967-69 legislative session. During the 1969-71 legislative session, he worked as a lobbyist for the North Dakota Stockmen's Association. He was a delegate to the North Dakota constitutional convention in 1972 and served again in the North Dakota House in 1973-81. In three legislative sessions, he served as Chairman of the House Transportation Committee. In 1980, Erickson was elected to the North Dakota Senate, where he served during the 1981-85 sessions and was a member of the Senate Education Committee.
Outside of the legislature, Erickson served his state and community in many other ways. He was an active member of the Sargent County School Reorganization Board, Red Willow Lutheran Bible Camp, Concordia College C-400 Club, North Dakota Farm Bureau, Immanual Lutheran Church Council and the Milnor, North Dakota Parent Teachers Association. Erickson was an officer in many of these organizations, often serving terms as president or vice-president.
Kenneth LeRoy Erickson died on January 14, 1997. He was survived by his wife Lila; two daughters and their husbands, Marsha and David Susag of Fargo and Kim and John Mund of Milnor and four grandchildren.
Source: LeRoy Erickson Funeral Service Bulletin. Milnor Lutheran Church, Milnor, North Dakota, 1997.
The LeRoy Erickson Papers have been arranged into three series, and then by subject within each series. Series are as follows:
This series contains biographical information on Erickson and materials documenting his political campaigns and activities in various organizations, including the Immanuel Lutheran Church, the Concordia College C-400 Club, the Sargent County School Reorganization Board and the North Dakota Republican Party.
Items conveying biographical and personal information on Erickson include an interview transcript, his handwritten notes, newspaper clippings, correspondence and a flyer relating to the auctioning of his farm in 1989. The interview transcript pertains mostly to Erickson's political career. Many of his handwritten notes are of speeches that Erickson gave. Newspaper clippings generally refer to Erickson's political activities, including speeches and public appearances as well as his efforts in the North Dakota legislature. One file documents Erickson's work on the Milnor Centennial Sod House Committee, which worked to erect a sod house commemorating Milnor's "sod busting" pioneers.
Erickson was an active member of Immanuel Lutheran Church of DeLamere, North Dakota. Items pertaining to Immanuel include a constitution, annual reports, budgets and lists of members and contributors. The series also includes a 1966 annual report of Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Fergus Falls, Minnesota and a 1965 annual report of Milnor Parish, which consists of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Milnor Lutheran Church and Concordia Lutheran Church.
The Concordia C-400 Club supports Concordia College of Moorhead, Minnesota. "C-400" refers to the club's initial goal to raise $400,000 for the construction of Concordia's Carl B. Ylvisaker Library. The library was built, but C-400 continued its efforts on Concordia's behalf. Newsletters, correspondence, membership directories and brochures document Concordia C-400 activities, including fund-raising, membership drives, meetings and events such as dinners, and featured speakers.
Sargent County School Reorganization Board materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, reports and public hearing notices. These items document efforts in Sargent County, North Dakota to reorganize school districts to create an equal distribution of tax revenue per student. These efforts were motived by declining population figures and rising costs of education.
Remaining items in the Personal/Biographical/Political series concern the North Dakota Republican Party. These document the party's conventions, platforms, financial information, fund-raising activities and political campaigns. Campaign materials relate to Erickson and also to other Republican candidates for state and national offices, including President of the United States.
LeRoy Erickson served in the North Dakota House, 1967-69 and 1973-81 and served in the North Dakota Senate, 1981-85. This series documents Erickson's activities in the North Dakota state legislature. Subseries are as follows:
Correspondence. Correspondence spans the years 1963-1984. The vast majority is with constituents and concerns certain issues or legislative bills. Some relates to other topics, such as speaking engagements or public appearances, and there is also correspondence with other legislators and political officials. Correspondence dating before 1966 (the year of Erickson's first election to the North Dakota State Legislature) consists of two 1963 letters on education and one 1964 letter on flood control of the Sheyenne River.
Legislative Council. This subseries consists of newsletters, reports, correspondence, calendars and other items designed reporting North Dakota legislative activities.
Finance and Taxation. This subseries consists of correspondence and reports, arranged chronologically by legislative session, relating to finance and taxation legislation.
Locks and Dam 26. Locks and Dam 26 was a Mississippi River dam complex near Alton, Illinois. In 1976, the United States Army Corps of Engineers reported that the dam had deteriorated and required a replacement. U.S. Congressional debates centered on whether to block or facilitate the building of a new dam complex. Many environmentalists and railroad companies, who competed with Mississippi river barges, were opposed. Many grain farmers in North Dakota and other states favored construction, as much grain was shipped by water. Erickson favored a new dam complex and worked to generate support for it. In the North Dakota legislature, he worked to pass a resolution supporting construction of a new dam complex. His papers contain correspondence with U.S. Senators Quentin Burdick (Dem., ND) and Milton Young (Rep., ND), and U.S. Representative Mark Andrews (Rep., ND) regarding the issue. He also corresponded with private citizens and public and private organizations. Besides correspondence, subseries materials also include newspaper and magazine articles, brochures and pamphlets, reports from public agencies and private organizations on both sides of the issue and copies of proposed legislation. Erickson represented North Dakota at a Council of State Governments hearing on the issue. The hearing was held in Clayton, Missouri in 1976. Hearing reports are included in this subseries.
Education. Erickson served on the North Dakota Senate Committee on Education in 1981-85. This subseries documents committee activities and includes meeting minutes, correspondence, committee reports and some background material on education in North Dakota. Additional materials, including correspondence, reports and newsletters pertain to Erickson's involvement in the Educational Commission of the States (ECS). ECS is an interstate agency of educational and political officials aimed at improving the quality of education.
Transportation. Erickson served on the House Transportation Committee during his time in the North Dakota House of Representatives, serving as Committee Chairman for three legislative sessions. Transportation files contain correspondence, committee minutes, reports, essays and other items concerning transportation issues in North Dakota. Many modes of transportation are represented, including railroad, water, automobile, motorcycle and airline transportation. Erickson also served as Chairman of the State Intermodal Transportation Team (SITT) and two files relate to this service. SITT was formed in 1977 to develop state railroad and general transportation plans. Members represented various agencies concerned with transportation issues, including the North Dakota House and Senate, the Public Service Commission, the North Dakota Joint Legislative Board of Railroad Brotherhoods and the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute.
Mental Health Services. Erickson was active in mental health issues. For twenty years, he served on the board of the Southeast Regional Mental Health and Retardation Center, a North Dakota state agency. He also served on the board of the non-profit Red River Human Services Foundation, an organization committed to improved mental health services. This subseries contains material on these two organizations, including meeting minutes, reports, correspondence, financial records, by-laws and lists of board of directors members. Additional material, including correspondence and copies of bills, relates to legislation on mental health.
Agriculture. Published articles, correspondence, reports, booklets and other items concern agricultural issues in North Dakota. Erickson's activities as a legislator, as a lobbyist for the North Dakota Stockmen's Association and as a member of the North Dakota Farm Bureau are documented.
Legislative Miscellaneous. This subseries documents various issues and events of Erickson's terms in the North Dakota state legislature. Materials include correspondence, newsletters, reports, brochures, copies of bills and lists of legislators. Subject matter includes Indian Affairs, abortion, Garrison Diversion Project, Capital Grounds Planning Commission, public speeches by legislators and North Dakota water and electric systems.
This series documents the 1972 North Dakota constitutional convention. Erickson was a delegate to this convention and served on its Finance and Taxation Committee, although the collection includes meeting minutes and reports of other committees, as well as Finance and Taxation. Committees began meeting before the actual convention was held, and some materials document these meetings. Other items in this series include convention rules, definitions and organizational charts, proposals, correspondence with citizens, state officials and other delegates, and newspaper articles.
SERIES I, PERSONAL, BIOGRAPHICAL, POLITICAL
Box 1
Folder
Churches
Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
Sargent County Schools
Personal Miscellaneous
Political - Campaign
Political - Republicans
Box 2
Folder
SERIES II, LEGISLATIVE
Correspondence
Box 3
Folder
Legislative Council
Finance and Taxation
Locks and Dam 26
Box 4
Folder
Education
Box 5
Folder
Box 6
Folders
Transportation
Box 7
Folder
Box 8
Folder
Mental Health Services
Box 9
Folder
Agriculture
Legislative Miscellaneous
SERIES III, CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
Box 10
Folder
Box 11
Folder
SEPARATIONS RECORD
4 oversized folders and an oversized poster were separated from this collection.
Oversized folders are labeled as follows:
The poster is stored next to the collection in an oversized tube and is labeled: "GOP Elephant"
| Special Collections Home Page | Contact Special Collections | Chester Fritz Library Home Page |
|---|