Henry R. Martinson Photograph Collection
Collection
Identifier: Photo 447
Scope and Content
The Henry R, Martinson Photograph Collection contains 4 items. They are all snapshots with identifying information typed or handwritten on the back sides. The first image is identified as a Model T Ford used to sign up Nonpartisan League members. The second photo shows two men, L. L. Griffith (assistant to A. C. Townley) and Henry R. Martinson. The third photograph is of Henry R. Martinson at desk in office. The fourth photograph is of R. H. Walker and his wife.
Dates
- 1910s-1950s
Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSU Archives.
Copyrights
Copyrights to this collection remain with the creators.
Biography
Henry R. Martinson was born March 6, 1883 at Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Norwegian immigrants Gilbert C. and Catherine Martinson. Shortly after his birth the family moved to Sacred Heart, Minnesota where Henry grew up. He attended the local schools and in 1905 graduated from the School of Agriculture at the University of Minnesota. In 1906 Henry and two friends went to northwestern North Dakota near Bonetrail to homestead with only Henry staying. But, unable to raise money for equipment, Henry moved to Minot where he became a painter and decorator, a trade which he had learned from his father. There, his interest in politics was awakened and he became an active member in the Socialist Party of North Dakota in1908. He later became editor of its newspaper The Iconoclast until the party went broke in 1916. The rise of the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota, picking socialist ideas, saw the demise of the Socialist Party. By 1918 Henry being broke joined the League as an organizer, working in North Dakota and Minnesota until 1919. In 1920 he taught at the Crookston, Minnesota Agriculture School and in 1921 he moved to Fargo where he worked as a painter. In 1932 and 1933, Mr. Martinson was a W.P.A. adult education instructor and also the supervisor from 1933 to 1934. In 1937 he became Deputy Commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Agriculture and Labor, an office he held until 1965. He then moved back to Fargo maintaining his interest in the labor movement by being Recording Secretary for the Fargo-Moorhead Trade and Labor Assembly, of which he was a past president, and a business representative for the Fargo painter's union.
Politics was not Henry's only interest. He wrote poetry, was business manager for the North Dakota poetry magazine Prairie Wings, and in 1967 was named Fargo's honorary poet laureate. Henry also published several magazine articles and books including Old Trails and New (1958), Comes the Revolution (1969), History of North Dakota Labor (1970), Village Commune Barefoot Boy (1976), and 135 Funny Stories. In addition, he has been an active member in the Sons of Norway since 1920. In the 1970s an interest was taken in Henry Martinson's active career and involvement with the Socialist Party and Nonpartisan League. The results were four movies in which Martinson was involved. They include Prairie Fire (1976), Northern Lights (1979), Survivor (1980), and Rebel Earth (1980).
Mr. Martinson married Melba L. Mitchell, a Lyon Mountain, New York native, born June 20, 1883. She was a musician and also active in the musician's union. She died in Bismarck on April 1, 1958. He died at Fargo November 20, 1981, and buried at Bismarck, N.D.
Politics was not Henry's only interest. He wrote poetry, was business manager for the North Dakota poetry magazine Prairie Wings, and in 1967 was named Fargo's honorary poet laureate. Henry also published several magazine articles and books including Old Trails and New (1958), Comes the Revolution (1969), History of North Dakota Labor (1970), Village Commune Barefoot Boy (1976), and 135 Funny Stories. In addition, he has been an active member in the Sons of Norway since 1920. In the 1970s an interest was taken in Henry Martinson's active career and involvement with the Socialist Party and Nonpartisan League. The results were four movies in which Martinson was involved. They include Prairie Fire (1976), Northern Lights (1979), Survivor (1980), and Rebel Earth (1980).
Mr. Martinson married Melba L. Mitchell, a Lyon Mountain, New York native, born June 20, 1883. She was a musician and also active in the musician's union. She died in Bismarck on April 1, 1958. He died at Fargo November 20, 1981, and buried at Bismarck, N.D.
Extent
4 Photographic Prints
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Socialist who joined the Nonpartisan League before beginning a career as a poet and movie consultant.
Provenance
Donated by Henry R. Martinson, Fargo, N.D., 1953, 1961 (Acc. 129).
Separation Record - Papers
The Henry R. Martionson papers are housed in Institute for Regional Studies collection Mss 30.
Property rights
The NDSU Archives owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Henry R. Martinson Photograph Collection
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository
Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu