Lynn J. Frazier: A Political Unknown
A PROFILE OF THE NEW GOVERNOR
Hoople
December 1, 1916
“Who is Frazier and is Hoople a place or a disease?” That is the question asked by many North Dakotans when Lynn J. Frazier was nominated for governor last March. Now the answer is, “Frazier is governor and Hoople is his hometown.” When the NPL endorsed Frazier, the NPL endorsed a real farmer, not a politician. Frazier, a life-long Republican, was born on a farm in Rice County, Minnesota, on December 21, 1874. When he was seven years old in 1881, his father moved to near Hoople where he homesteaded. Young Frazier attended country schools and graduated from Grafton High School.
Lynn J. Frazier. Courtesy of D. Jerome Tweton.
He taught rural school for two years, saving his money in the hope that someday he could attend medical school. He attended the normal school at Mayville for a year and then taught country school for two more years. In 1897 he entered the University of North Dakota. In 1901 he graduated with high honors and a letter in football, dreaming still of a career in medicine. The dream never materialized. His brother, who had taken over the farm after the death of the father, died suddenly. Not wishing to lose the homestead, Frazier’s mother asked him to return to the farm. He gave up his dream and became a farmer. At 42 Frazier is a physically rugged man, a bit portly and quite bald. He is a family man who has never smoked, drank, or uttered an off -color word.
His nomination came as a complete surprise. When Mrs. Frazier answered the telephone call from Fargo, the call that would tell him that he had been nominated for governor, she responded: “He’s out slopping the hogs.”
He changed his clothes and headed for Fargo. There Townley introduced him to the delegates as one of the first cases since George Washington where the office had sought the man rather than the man seeking the office.
By Dr. D. Jerome Tweton
Source
Originally published as The North Star Dakotan student newspaper, written by Dr. D. Jerome Tweton and supported by the North Dakota Humanities Council.
Grade Level
3-4, 9-12
Subject Matter
Social Studies
