The Political Meeting in the Barn
The Political Meeting
With the upcoming November elections drawing nearer, I am reminded of an article I found in the Door County Advocate, Letters to the Editor, 1894, describing a political meeting held in my grandfather Ted’s old barn. At the time of the meeting, the barn was owned by Joseph Cornell. The bottom floor of the barn was shelter for the live stock and the upper floor, “threshing floor”, was occasionally used for gatherings, weddings, dances and Indian medicine shows.
A small group of politicians came from Sturgeon Bay to meet with Islanders making the total of persons nearly 300, the article stated, “It was well lighted, clean and warm, and the private boxes, that is the hay mow, well filled.”
The writer continues, “After three and a half hours of speech making - we realized what an intelligent, reading people had given us audience. Their quickness in seeing bits and points and prompt heartiness in responding thereto, contrasted favorably with any meeting I have had.”
"The attendance of women was large, as was their interest in the proceedings." This was amazing to me as women didn’t have the right to vote until 1920.
The Old Barn
My great grandfather, Arni Gudmundsen was noted in the article as attending the meeting and years later my grandfather Ted Gudmundsen courted my grandmother, escorting her to the dances. After they were married he purchased the barn in 1916.
The old barn was a mysterious old relic when I was growing up. I know that it played an interesting role in our Island history and an important part in my family stories.
In 2008, I decided to share some of these and other Island stories. Photographs were scarce at this time, so I created my own sketches. This was the beginning of including figures in my artwork and publishing the collection of stories in my book Harbor Tales: Washington Island Through the 1800’s.
Although my grandpa Ted’s barn is long gone, there is a bandolier bag at Jacobsen’s Museum that was found in the rafters of the barn which we can all enjoy.
