In March 1936, 150-200 out of the high school’s 350 students staged a two-day strike to protest the school board’s acceptance of the resignation of Principal J.W. McNeal. McNeal had resigned over “differences” with School Board Superintendent N.H. McKay, who threatened not to reinstate seven teachers (they eventually were all reinstated). Students and parents also demanded the reinstatement of the teachers. Students – about half the student body and mostly juniors and seniors) trudged two miles in the slush to McNeal’s house, ignoring the blanket suspension.
The Minneapolis Star reported that there were strangers wearing “574” buttons, which may have been members of Teamsters Local 574, the group that staged the infamous 1934 Minneapolis truckers’ strike. The paper called them outside agitators. The paper also reported that some teachers shoved members of the press.
A meeting was held and the strike ended, apparently with the students gaining nothing. A letter dated March 30, 1936, was sent to Supt. McKay by the Supt. of the Mound School District, “expressing his gratitude” at the action to fire McNeal, “considering the breadth and depth of his demands.” He went on to say “Their decision will have immense effect upon the status of the authority of boards an superintendents with an according effect upon school morale.”
Superintendent N.H. McKay as pictured in the Minneapolis Star, March 24, 1936 (courtesy Minnesota Historical Society). Caption: “He tried to win them over.”