Ole J. Kvale

Ole J. Kvale
Portrait by Harris & Ewing c. 1923–1929
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Minnesota's 7th district
In office
March 4, 1923 – September 11, 1929
Preceded byAndrew Volstead
Succeeded byPaul J. Kvale
Personal details
BornOle Juulson Kvale
(1869-02-06)February 6, 1869
Winneshiek County, Iowa, U.S.
DiedSeptember 11, 1929(1929-09-11) (aged 60)
Otter Tail, Minnesota, U.S.
Cause of deathHouse fire
PartyFarmer-Labor
SpouseIda Simley
Children6, including Paul John
Alma materLuther College
Luther Theological Seminary
University of Chicago

Ole Juulson Kvale (February 6, 1869 – September 11, 1929) was a Lutheran minister and U.S. representative from Minnesota.[1] After an unsuccessful candidacy as an Independent Republican in 1920, in 1922, he was elected under the Farmer-Labor banner to represent the 7th district in western Minnesota. He served for six and a half years until his death in a fire at his summer home.

Background

Ole Juulson Kvale was born near Decorah, Iowa. He was one of six children born to Jule Qvale (1836-1918) and Gro Qvale (1833-1910), a farmer, both of whom were immigrants from Norway. He inherited his family name from the Kvåle farm in Vestre Slidre Municipality in the Valdres valley district.[2] He attended rural schools in Winneshiek County, Iowa. He graduated from Luther College in Decorah in 1890, where he played the snare drum and was involved in theater.[3] Later, he received degrees from Luther Theological Seminary, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1893 and from the University of Chicago in 1914. He was ordained to the Lutheran ministry in 1894 serving parishes in Orfordville, Wisconsin, from 1894 to 1917 and in Benson, Minnesota. In 1917, he became the secretary of the Norwegian Synod.[4]

Career

Kvale was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary for election to the 67th U.S. Congress in 1920. Despite getting 17,000 votes in the primary compared with 15,000 for opponent Andrew Volstead, a judge ruled him ineligible due to a state law against making false statements about political opponents and alleged violations of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act.[5][6] Volstead claimed that Kvale had called him an atheist.[7]

The next was elected as a Farmer-Labor candidate to the 68th, 69th, 70th, and 71st congresses and served from March 4, 1923, until his death.[8] At the time of his death, Kvale was the only Farmer-Labor representative in Congress.[9] He was succeeded by his son, Paul J. Kvale, also from the Farmer-Labor party.[10]

Kvale ran both times in opposition to Andrew Volstead, architect of the Volstead Act that started Prohibition in the United States. He was a prohibitionist himself, but opposed the Volstead Act for privileging the rich,[11] calling it "the greatest tragedy ever witnessed by civilization."[9] Kvale advocated for a national referendum on Prohibition and a greater focus on enforcement against the wealthy.[7] In June 1929, when a Prohibition agent near the Canadian border shot a Minnesota merchant named Henry Virkula, to death,[12] Kvale condemned the agents responsible,[9] but did not join other members of the Minnesota delegation in calls to punish the agent responsible.[13]

Personal life

He was married to Ida Tonette (Simley) Kvale (1876-1926). They had six children including United States Representative Paul John Kvale. Ole Kvale died in a fire in his summer house near Otter Tail Lake, Minnesota, on September 11, 1929. His interment was in Benson Cemetery, Swift County, Minnesota.[2][14] His wife had died three years earlier.[15]

Primary source

  • United States Congress. "Ole J. Kvale (id: K000349)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kvale, Ole Juulson (1869-1929)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  2. 1 2 “Kongresmand Kvale omkommer i Ildebrand”, Nordisk Tidende (published in New York), 19 September 1929, p. 1–2.
  3. ↑ Tyllstrom, Paul (December 16, 1923). "Rev. Ole Kvale, Successor to Volstead". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Kvale, O. J." Nordic, Norwegian-American Digital Library. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Strong Comments on Ousting of Rev. Kvale". Willmar Weekly Tribune. July 28, 1920. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Volstead Among the Losers". The Kiester Courier. July 28, 1920. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Appel, Jacob M. (2008). ""Physicians Are Not Bootleggers': The Short, Peculiar Life of the Medicinal Alcohol Movement". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 82 (2). 358. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Andrew J. Volstead And Family". Minnesota Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 TIME (September 22, 1929). "National Affairs: Trail's End". Time. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  10. ↑ "KVALE SUCCEEDED FATHER IN CONGRESS; Farmer-Laborite, Who May Hold Balance in Next House, Is 34 Years Old". The New York Times. November 7, 1930. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  11. ↑ "KVALE TELLS HOUSE DRY LAW IS A FARCE; Volstead's Successor Denounces the Volstead Act as Giving the Rich Plenty of Liquor". The New York Times. January 13, 1924. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  12. ↑ "LIQUOR GUARDS KILL A MINNESOTA MAN; Merchant Was Driving Home With Family in Automobile Near the International Border". The New York Times. June 10, 1929. p. 17. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  13. ↑ "ON KILLING; Schafer, Scoring Shooting of Minnesota Man, Urges "Murderers" Be Punished. PITTENGER SEEKS INQUIRY E.J. White, Who Fired Fatal Shots at Auto With Family, Held for Manslaughter. Calls Killings a Scandal. Dry Officer Faces Charge. HOUSE DRYS SILENT IN ATTACK ON KILLING Bullets Passed Over Children". The New York Times. June 11, 1929. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Kvale, Paul John (1896-1960)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  15. ↑ House of Representatives (1930). "Memorial services held in the House of Representatives of the United States, together with remarks presented in eulogy of Ole J. Kvale, late a Representative from Minnesota. Seventy-first Congress, second session. 71st Cong., 2nd sess.,". Congressional Record. 76. U.S. Congress: 71–502.
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