09/01/2026
Yesterday we posted an artifact from the Walter Day Estate. Who was Walter Day?
Walter Day - born May 31, 1880 – Died December 14, 1969.
Walter was born in Dakota County to Levi and Ellen Day. He attended the Pillsbury Academy in Owatonna, graduating in 1900. After his graduation he came to Clearwater County to be a schoolteacher. He taught for one year and then decided to become a farmer. He farmed for a few years in Clearwater, then went to Montana to work for the Kalispell Flour Mill Co. for a few years. He met his wife Nora there and they married in 1906.
They returned to Clearwater County in 1909.
He served in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 40 years, serving from 1919- 1960. In 1934 he lost in a recount, even though he had received more votes, the Conservative Party refused to seat him. He won his seat back 2 years later. When he died he was the longest serving State Representative.
Day was a member of the Mayflower Descendants – his direct ancestors landed at Plymouth in 1620. He was active in many of the cooperatives in the region- serving on the boards of the Co-op Elevator from 1912 to 1930. He served on the first board for the Farmer’s Independent newspaper from 1918 to his death and when he died he was the president of the Garden Valley Telephone Company board, where he had served since 1935. Walter died on December 14, 1969 and is buried at the Bagley City Cemetery. His two sons Maurice and Evan survived him. His wife Nora died in 1961.
