Title: Harvey L. Dueholm Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1914-1978

Creator:

• Dueholm, Harvey L., 1910-1980

Call Number: River Falls Mss CS; River Falls Micro 13; Micro 1051

Quantity: 4.0 c.f. (3 record center cartons and 3 archives boxes) and 1 reel of microfilm (35mm)

Repository:

Housed at the University Archives and Area Research Center, Chalmer Davee Library, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, ; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-River Falls, Chalmer Davee Library / River Falls Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Legislative papers of a Democratic assemblyman (1959-1978) from Luck, Wisconsin, who was noted for his wit and his advocacy of liberal political positions. The collection consists of personal and constituent correspondence, subject files, bill files, and microfilmed biographical material. Prominent correspondents include William Osborne Hart, Hubert Humphrey, Gaylord Nelson, David Obey, Walker K. Wyman, and John Wyngaard. The subject files also include newsletters, press releases, form letters, and speeches. There is some material pertaining to reelection campaigns. Although the collection offers incomplete coverage of Dueholm's long tenure in the Assembly (1959-1978), the paper documentation is supplemented by an extensive, separately-catalogued oral history interview.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-rf00cs

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Farmer-legislator Harvey L. Dueholm was born in Bone Lake, Wisconsin, on January 29, 1910. Although he ultimately won a statewide reputation as a legislator, Dueholm never strayed far from his rural Wisconsin roots. He continued to reside throughout his life on land that his family owned (he did not retire from farming until 1964), and he carried through the 1970's the Progressive political philosophy that he learned from his Danish immigrant father.

Harvey Dueholm attended Luck High School but left before graduation so that he could begin farming in 1927. In 1930 Marius Dueholm, his father, was elected to the Assembly as a Progressive Republican, and Harvey assumed much of the responsibility for the farm. After Marius' death in 1936 Harvey took over the operation of the homestead. Although he was encouraged by many Progressives to seek his father's seat, Dueholm declined for financial reasons and devoted himself to building up the farm. At its peak in 1964, he owned over 500 acres.

Nevertheless, Dueholm did find time for participation in local politics. In 1938 he was elected ASCS committeeman, a post that he held until 1953. In 1940 he made an unsuccessful campaign as a Progressive candidate for sheriff; in 1942 he lost in a race for Bone Lake town chairman. He was successful in 1945 in a second attempt at that post, serving until 1959. From 1957 to 1959 he was also chairman of the Polk County Board. As a staunch Progressive, Dueholm supported Robert La Follette, Jr., when he attempted to lead his supporters back into the Republican Party in 1946. However, Dueholm was disenchanted by subsequent political events, and in 1954 he became a member of the reorganized Democratic Party.

In 1956 Dueholm campaigned unsuccessfully for the Assembly, losing as a local journalist put it, because of his “wild antics” and his membership in the “very far left wing of the Democrat Party.” In 1958 he made a second attempt and was successful, in large part due to the statewide Democratic resurgence and Gaylord Nelson's coattails. In nine subsequent elections Dueholm widened his victory margins, and he was only seriously challenged during years when his health intervened.

In the Legislature, Dueholm quickly won a reputation for his sense of humor. Although Dueholm's wit was earthy and often self-deprecating he used it with keen political skill to advance his points. So great was his ability as a humorist and raconteur that it sometimes overshadowed his accomplishments as a legislator and his advocacy of liberal causes. Dueholm traditionally received high ratings in the Capital Times' public interest poll, and on several occasions he was the only legislator to receive a 100% rating. He was particularly well known for his stance on conservation, mental health, consumer protection, and senior citizens. Dueholm was also a staunch supporter of the University of Wisconsin at a time when many legislators favored cutting appropriations in order to end the anti-war student violence.

In 1969 Dueholm was one of only a few legislators who opposed the treatment of Father Groppi after the welfare mothers march.

Over the years Dueholm served on most important committees in the Assembly. A complete list of these assignments is included in the biennial editions of the Wisconsin Blue Book. He stated in 1978 that he considered his work as chairman of the Legislative Council's Special Committee on Mineral Taxation to be his greatest accomplishment.

In 1959 Dueholm was diagnosed as having cancer. In subsequent years he underwent several operations and was treated with medication, and the disease went into remission. It reappeared, however, in 1977 after Dueholm announced that he would not seek reelection. After his retirement Dueholm returned to his home in Bone Lake and died on May 29, 1980 of complications resulting from cancer surgery. Dueholm was survived by his wife Hazel, who was an unpaid assistant in his legislative office for many years, and by four sons.

Although Harvey Dueholm served in the Wisconsin Legislature for twenty years, the Dueholm Papers donated to the Historical Society represent only a small portion of his papers. The collection chiefly pertains to the period 1974-1978, and it is presumed that the majority of the earlier documentation was destroyed. Although the paper documentation inadequately covers his long career, Dueholm was interviewed extensively for the Wisconsin Agriculturists Oral History Project, and this separately-catalogued interview covers his career in the Legislature and that of his father Marius Dueholm, as well as his early farming career and his Progressive political philosophy. Dueholm also retells many of the stories and anecdotes for which he was famous concerning political issues and other legislators.

Included in the Dueholm Papers are constituent correspondence, subject files, bill files, and biographical material.

The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL includes vitas and resumes, voting records, memorabilia, a 1967 student interview, and microfilmed biographical clippings. Correspondence between the Society and Dueholm referred to the existence of career scrapbooks prepared by Mrs. Dueholm when she worked in his legislative office. The clippings received by the Society, however, consisted of several cartons of loose materials, and it is unlikely that they were the documentation referred to in the correspondence. These clippings are available only in microfilmed form.

The CORRESPONDENCE is of two types. First, there is general constituent correspondence arranged alphabetically which documents the period 1974-1978. A second correspondence file consists of letters from the period 1959-1978 which were received unfoldered. This section, which has been titled personal correspondence, includes references to local politics, congratulations, and some additional constituent correspondence. Prominent correspondents found here include William Osborne Hart, Hubert Humphrey, Gaylord Nelson, David Obey, Walker K. Wyman, and John Wyngaard. Also of note is a copy of a testimonial speech concerning Gaylord Nelson given by Hubert Humphrey in Clear Lake, Wisconsin, in 1967 and a 1967 statement of Dueholm's political philosophy.

The alphabetical SUBJECT FILES include correspondence, memoranda, background and reference material and genre files of form letters, speeches, extensive numbers of newsletters and press releases. The file also includes a sample of a large volume of congratulatory letters sent out by Dueholm to his constituents and friends. There are also letters, advertisements, reports, and publicity materials concerning several reelection campaigns. Files dealing with legislative issues are somewhat miscellaneous and incomplete even for the 1974-1978 period.

Two boxes of BILL FILES contain distributions in bill number order from lobbyists, advocacy groups, state agencies, and others concerning legislation introduced during the 1977-1978 session.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Harvey Dueholm, Luck, Wisconsin, 1978-1979. Accession Number: M78-262, -478, -594 and M79-46

Processing Information

Processed by Carolyn J. Mattern, 1985.

River Falls Mss CS	Series: Biographical Material
Box   1 Folder   1	Biographical miscellany, interviews, 1967-1977
Box   1 Folder   2	Memorabilia, 1914-1970
River Falls Micro 13/Micro 1051 Reel   1	Biographical clippings, 1956-1978
River Falls Mss CS	Series: Correspondence	⇧
	Constituent correspondence, 1974-1978
Box   1 Folder   3-16	A-N
Box   2 Folder   1-10	O-Z
Box   2 Folder   11-14	Personal correspondence, 1959-1978
	Series: Subject Files	⇧
Box   2 Folder   14a	Abortion, 1977
Box   2 Folder   15	Administration, Department of, 1976
Box   2 Folder   16	Aging, Division of, 1976-1978
Box   2 Folder   17	Agriculture, 1975-1977
Box   2 Folder   18	Assembly Rules Committee, 1977-1978
Box   2 Folder   19	Barron County, 1973-1978
Box   2 Folder   20	Burnett County, 1974-1978
Box   2 Folder   21	Business Development, Department of, 1976
Box   2 Folder   22	Columns (Wyngaard), 1977
	Campaigns
Box   2 Folder   23	Advertisements, 1970-1974
Box   2 Folder   24	Correspondence, 1974-1976
Box   2 Folder   25	Expenses and reports, 1974-1976
Box   2 Folder   26	Leaflets, bumperstickers, etc., 1966-1976
	Caucus
Box   2 Folder   27-28	Correspondence drafts for HLD, 1967-1974
Box   2 Folder   29	General, 1977
Box   2 Folder   30	Informational memoranda for HLD, 1971-1976
Box   2 Folder   30a	Congratulatory letters (Letter A sample only), 1976
Box   2 Folder   31	Danbury Bridge, 1978
Box   2 Folder   32	Democratic Party, 1973-1977
Box   2 Folder   33	Democratic Party, Third District, 1975-1977
Box   2 Folder   34	Dresser, 1977
Box   2 Folder   35	Education Committee, 1974-1977
Box   2 Folder   36	Family Planning Plan, 1978
Box   2 Folder   37	Form letters, 1976-1978
Box   2 Folder   38	Frederic, 1978
Box   3 Folder   1	Groppi, Father, 1969
Box   3 Folder   2	Insurance, Liability, 1977
Box   3 Folder   3	Internal Management Committee, 1976-1978
Box   3 Folder   4	Laetrile, 1977-1978
Box   3 Folder   5	Legislative Audit Bureau, 1976-1977
Box   3 Folder   6	Legislators, Correspondence with, 1975-1978
Box   3 Folder   7	Lucey, Patrick J., 1974-1977
Box   3 Folder   8	Luck, 1976
Box   3 Folder   9	Metallic Mining Council, 1978
Box   3 Folder   10	Mineral Taxation, Special Committee on, Ladysmith hearing, 1975
Box   3 Folder   11	Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission, 1976-1978
Box   3 Folder   12	Natural Resources, Department of, 1975-1978
Box   3 Folder   13-20	Newsletters, 1967-1978
Box   3 Folder   21	Polk County, 1973-1978
Box   3 Folder   22-25	Press releases, 1965-1978
Box   3 Folder   26	Public Service Commission, 1974-1978
Box   3 Folder   27	Regional planning, 1975-1976
Box   3 Folder   28	Questionnaires, 1974
Box   3 Folder   29	Rules Committee, 1974-1978
Box   3 Folder   30	School districts-28th District, 1974
Box   3 Folder   31	Small Business, 1977
Box   3 Folder   32	Speeches and interviews, 1968-1975
Box   3 Folder   33	State Elections Board, 1977-1978
Box   3 Folder   34	Taxation Committee, 1975-1977
Box   4 Folder   1	Taxes, Continued
Box   4 Folder   2	Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, 1976-1978
	Series: Bill Files, 1977-1978	⇧
Box   5	Assembly bills, 88-1272
Box   6	Senate bills, 9-708