Warren E. Stofferahn Book Collection

Stofferahn dedicated his life to helping farmers

Family memorializes activist with gift to NDSU Libraries

The children of the late Warren E. Stofferahn, pioneer in several farmers' movements in the Dakotas and Minnesota and organizer for the National Farmers Organization, have donated several books on agrarian actions to the North Dakota State University Libraries in their father's memory.

Stofferahn's children are all NDSU graduates: Curtis Stofferahn, BS '75, social science; Mary Jo Prouty, BA '75, music; and Scott Stofferahn, BS '80, soil science.

Curtis Stofferahn, a professor of rural sociology at the University of North Dakota, said that while NDSU probably has the most complete collection in the state on the farm movement, there were some important titles missing. The Stofferahns donated "Angry Testament" and "Holding Action," both by Charles Walters, and "Rural Radicals: From Bacon's Rebellion to the Oklahoma City Bombing," by Catherine McNicol Stock.

The siblings want to donate books regarding agrarian movements in which their father played integral roles. Prouty, who sells cosmetics and is the music director at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Evans, Ga., said, "Dad was very much an activist. He believed in farmers being treated fairly, so he dedicated is life to helping others in that way."

Curt Stofferahn said the donation commemorates a man who loved life, was honest to a fault and, as a lifelong student, devoured books on agricultural policy and political history. "We thought this would be a good way to remember Dad, as a memorial, especially since all three of his children graduated from NDSU. We grew up during that time. It's very much part of our family history and experiences."

Scott Stofferahn is the director of the federal Farm Service Agency in North Dakota. "Farm activism in North Dakota has a rich history, dating back to the Non-Partisan League and even before that," he said. "There's a strong populist tradition, and the belief that you can affect your government, affect your circumstances, is very important. There is a valuable history of farm activism that students need to be able to access."

Warren E. Stofferahn was born March 24, 1927, in Worthington, MN. He grew up on farms in the Round Lake and Lakefield, MN. area. His family moved to Humboldt, S.D., in 1942. Stofferahn completed two years at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D., before returning to the farm. In 1950 he married Louise Strand, a nurse at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D. After a stint in the U.S. Air Force, Stofferahn returned with his family to South Dakota. In 1957 he began farming the land homesteaded by his grandfather.

In 1962, during difficult times in agriculture, Stofferahn was shown a brochure about the National Farmers Organization. He joined the NFO and began organizing farmers to bargain collectively. In 1964, he became a full-time organizer for the NFO in California, Arizona and Nevada, and was later elected national director of the NFO for South Dakota. Stofferahn went on to help organize cooperatives and became a member of the Dakota Resource Council, where he taught younger members how to organize. He died January 24, 1998.

The Stofferahn family intends to continue contributing books as they become available to expand the farm movement collection