9/18/2009:
.... continuing with school-related themes on this Education Week.
When the janitor of Drake public school tossed a pile of books into the building's furnace in 1973, he did not do so as a symbolic act or a political statement. The school always burned its waste, and the thirty-two copies of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five were not being used by the students. But what the janitor did not realize was that those few insignificant books would become the fuel for a great controversy.
It all began when a new English teacher in Drake's public school, Bruce Severly added three books to his students' reading list: James Dickey's Deliverance, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, and an anthology of short stories by such authors as Steinbeck, Hemingway and Faulkner. When one student pointed out the offensive four-letter words in the books, some parents were furious and brought the issue before the school board. Members of the board unanimously voted to remove the books from the reading list, and the unused reading materials were disposed of in the furnace without another thought. Yet in that seemingly unimportant act, the people of Drake earned themselves an infamous reputation as "book-burners." Nothing could prepare them for the storm of outrage that waited beyond the town limits.
It wasn't long after the alleged "book burning" that newspaper and television reporters flocked to Drake to get the scoop on this controversial story. Much to the dismay of its citizens, the tiny North Dakota town was thrust into the spotlight. Letters and phone calls poured into the school board and Bruce Severy's home. It seemed as though the whole nation wanted to put in their two cents worth. The Drake school board was mercilessly compared to Nazis, fascists, and the book-burning characters of Ray Bradbury's novel, Farenheit 451.
Naturally, the citizens of Drake were upset by the negative press and the intrusion on their everyday lives. "This was not meant to be nationwide," said disgruntled resident, Ida Kemper. "It was for our little town. We have our standards and we will stick to them. The others can do what they want." The little town of Drake is still remembered in histories of censorship and book-burning today. But whether or not they deserve this mark of infamy is debatable. As School Board member, Mel Alme pointed out, "If the book hadn't been burned, if it had just been put away, none of this would have happened."
Dakota Datebook written by Carol Wilson
Sources
Morning Pioneer, December 16, 1973.
Morning Pioneer, June11, 1974.
Morning Pioneer, February 7, 1914.