Mary Anderson (mayor)

Mary "Polly" (Pavlovich) Anderson (June 8, 1915 – October 24, 2007) was an American political figure on the Iron Range. Described as “feisty” and someone who “personified the spirit of the Iron Range,” she worked tirelessly to improve the lives of her neighbors as an active DFLer and the mayor of Kinney, Minnesota.

Life

She was born in Chisholm, Minnesota on June 8, 1915, to tavern owners Bude and Mildred (Vukadinovich) Pavlovich.^[1] Anderson graduated from Buhl High School and the nursing program of what has become Virginia Regional Medical Center. After traveling to Alaska and California as a young person, she settled back in Kinney to work at her father's tavern in 1944, which she renamed "Mary's Bar" when he died in 1958.^[2] Over the years, Mary’s Bar played host to numerous campaigns and fund raisers for Minnesota Democrats, including such luminaries as Jim Oberstar, Hubert Humphrey, Paul Wellstone and Rudy Perpich.

She is most well known for her tenure as mayor of Kinney, Minnesota from 1973 to 2002,^[2] and her (unofficial) proposal to have Kinney secede from the United States as the Republic of Kinney to protest a lack of government services, which she sent as a town resolution to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance.^[3] The proposal yielded a great deal of publicity for the small town of 250 residents, and ultimately earned the town a new water system.

She died on October 24, 2007, in Chisholm, Minnesota.^[2]

References

1. ^ Nemanic, Mary Lou (2007). One day for democracy: Independence Day and the Americanization of Iron. Athens: Ohio University Press. pp. 54, 165. ISBN 0-8214-1730-4. http://books.google.com/?id=kWAUPmfrWAIC. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Cohen, Ben (2007-11-01). "Mary Anderson, an Iron Range institution". Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/obituaries/11605691.html. Retrieved 2008-06-13. 
3. ^ "Where's The Money This Week? Let's Just Secede!". Politics in Minnesota 3 (45). 2008-05-09. http://www.politicsinminnesota.com/the-weekly-report/politics-minnesota-the-weekly-report-vol-3-issue-43-592008. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 

Other sources

• Kuzma, Scott (2007). Republic of Kinney. Fargo, ND: Forum Communications Printing. ISBN 0979670608.  (First Edition).
• Bloomquist, Lee. "Mary Anderson, mayor of 'Republic of Kinney,' dies," Duluth News Tribune, 24 October 2007.
• "Mary P. Anderson," Hibbing Daily Tribune, 27 October 2007.
• Hanna, Bill. "Mary Anderson's life is feted in her work, city history," Mesabi Daily News, 28 October 2007.
• Tyssen, Linda. "Appropriate Farewell: Mary Anderson's Life Celebrated in Serbian Style," Mesabi Daily News, 29 October 2007.
• Bloomquist, Lee. "Politicians, constituents, friends gather for funeral of Iron Range institution," Duluth News Tribune, 30 October 2007.

External links

• WorldCat
• Hibbing Daily Tribune
• City of Kinney, Minnesota

Persondata
Name	Anderson, Mary
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 8, 1915
Place of birth
Date of death	October 24, 2007
Place of death