7/28/2008:
Brynhild Haugland, former member of the North Dakota House of Representatives, was born on this day July 28, 1905, to Norwegian immigrants on a farm near Minot, North Dakota. Haugland received her Elementary Certificate from Minot State Normal School, now Minot State University, in 1924, and taught in Ward County for two years before returning to the family farm to assist in its operation.
In 1938 Ms. Haugland was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives as a Republican, a position she would hold for the next 26 legislative sessions, or 52 years. Throughout her career as a state legislator, Representative Haugland cast an estimated 22,000 votes, assisted in the creation of numerous bills, and sat on a number of important committees. She worked for better funding of the state’s schools; promoted economic, industrial and agricultural development, and was instrumental in passing legislation providing better accessibility for the physically disabled. In the 1940’s, while working in the Human Services and Public Health Departments, she helped craft a medical care program that has became a model in other states throughout the nation.
Her tireless effort to better the state she loved was recognized on the national level. Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of late Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt, crossed party lines and lauded Haugland’s legislative accomplishments; stating that if one should “go down the list of laws passed by the North Dakota legislature in the last 15 years to help meet the farmer’s problems and improve his living conditions…you will find that Brynhild Haughland had a hand in every one of them.”
In addition to her tireless efforts on behalf of the state, Haugland worked hard to better her home community. Her legislative work assisted Minot State University in the acquisition of 10 new buildings, including many of the current residence halls, the university Dome and the school’s library.
After a lifetime of work dedicated to the improvement of North Dakota, Brynhild Haugland retired to her farm in 1990 and donated her collection of papers and memorabilia to Minot State University. On March 20, 1995, the state of North Dakota recognized Brynhild Haugland’s lifetime of public service awarding her the state’s highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Roughrider Award.
Brynhild Haugland passed away in 1998, having lived a life of service to her community and her state.
Written by Lane Sunwall
Sources
"Brynhild Haugland 1905-1998", The State of North Dakota http://governor.nd.gov/awards/rr-gallery/haugland.html (accessed June 23, 2008).
"Brynhild Haugland - Short Biography Taken from the Gordon B. Olson Library Dedication Brochure", Minot State University http://www.minotstateu.edu/library/pdf/ecoll_bh.pdf (accessed June 23, 2008).
"Brynhild Haugland Papers", University of North Dakota, Grand Forks http://www.und.nodak.edu/dept/library/Collections/og492.html (accessed June 23, 2008).
Brynhild Haugland, former member of the North Dakota House of Representatives, was born on this day July 28, 1905, to Norwegian immigrants on a farm near Minot, North Dakota. Haugland received her Elementary Certificate from Minot State Normal School, now Minot State University, in 1924, and taught in Ward County for two years before returning to the family farm to assist in its operation.
In 1938 Ms. Haugland was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives as a Republican, a position she would hold for the next 26 legislative sessions, or 52 years. Throughout her career as a state legislator, Representative Haugland cast an estimated 22,000 votes, assisted in the creation of numerous bills, and sat on a number of important committees. She worked for better funding of the state’s schools; promoted economic, industrial and agricultural development, and was instrumental in passing legislation providing better accessibility for the physically disabled. In the 1940’s, while working in the Human Services and Public Health Departments, she helped craft a medical care program that has became a model in other states throughout the nation.
Her tireless effort to better the state she loved was recognized on the national level. Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of late Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt, crossed party lines and lauded Haugland’s legislative accomplishments; stating that if one should “go down the list of laws passed by the North Dakota legislature in the last 15 years to help meet the farmer’s problems and improve his living conditions…you will find that Brynhild Haughland had a hand in every one of them.”
In addition to her tireless efforts on behalf of the state, Haugland worked hard to better her home community. Her legislative work assisted Minot State University in the acquisition of 10 new buildings, including many of the current residence halls, the university Dome and the school’s library.
After a lifetime of work dedicated to the improvement of North Dakota, Brynhild Haugland retired to her farm in 1990 and donated her collection of papers and memorabilia to Minot State University. On March 20, 1995, the state of North Dakota recognized Brynhild Haugland’s lifetime of public service awarding her the state’s highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Roughrider Award.
Brynhild Haugland passed away in 1998, having lived a life of service to her community and her state.
Written by Lane Sunwall
Sources
"Brynhild Haugland 1905-1998", The State of North Dakota http://governor.nd.gov/awards/rr-gallery/haugland.html (accessed June 23, 2008).
"Brynhild Haugland - Short Biography Taken from the Gordon B. Olson Library Dedication Brochure", Minot State University http://www.minotstateu.edu/library/pdf/ecoll_bh.pdf (accessed June 23, 2008).
"Brynhild Haugland Papers", University of North Dakota, Grand Forks http://www.und.nodak.edu/dept/library/Collections/og492.html (accessed June 23, 2008).