36 Nebraskaland • July 2020
oup City may be one of the last places you'd expect a riot.
But the central Nebraska town was not immune to bitter
confl ict during the Great Depression.
By 1934 Nebraska had struggled for several years under
the combined weight of economic depression and prolonged
drought. President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs
were underway, but some people were turning to more radical
solutions. The Farm Holiday Association encouraged farmers
to withhold their products from the market in the hope
of driving up the prices they received. Some farmers even
temporarily blockaded highways in Nebraska and Iowa to
keep other farmers from selling.
Some of the Farm Holiday leaders had ties to other
radical leaders, such as Ella Reeve "Mother" Bloor, who
was a national speaker and organizer for the Communist
Party U.S.A. The 72-year-old Bloor led farmer strikes in
the Midwest and spent time in Nebraska. She and other
communists were highly critical of the New Deal, arguing
that it was
merely an
attempt to save
capitalism by
blunting its worst eff ects.
Loup City's largest employer was the local Fairmont
Creamery. The company also operated a poultry plant where
female workers plucked chickens. Complaining of long hours,
low pay and bad working conditions, the "chicken pickers"
planned to strike.
Farm Holiday leaders, including Mother Bloor, organized
a Loup City rally in support of the strikers. It was set for
Flag Day, June 14. Truckloads of farmers from neighboring
counties arrived and gathered on the courthouse lawn.
Meanwhile, local business owners were alarmed that
"communist agitators" were coming to their community. The
local sheriff hastily deputized 40 extra men. They were said
to be young men who knew how to fi ght.
By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska d b k
Riot in Loup City
Demonstrators gather outside the creamery building. History Nebraska RG2543-4-17
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