McCook praised in an unlikely place

I can’t say that I am a regular reader of Daily Kos, but I am when it talks about George Norris.

As an editor, I keep a number of ongoing internet searches running for keywords associated with McCook. I call them my “bird dogs,” and George Norris is among those search terms. I was surprised when one of those searches barked at me from an unlikely corner of the web.

For those unfamiliar, Daily Kos is a progressive political blog and online community founded in 2002. It publishes news, commentary and grassroots activism pieces from a decidedly liberal perspective – not a place one would expect to find a story about McCook.

The article in question came from Dennis Crawford, a Lincoln attorney, author, activist and one-time Democratic nominee for Nebraska’s First District. In the article, Crawford turns his attention to a fascinating moment in the 1972 presidential primary and how George McGovern came to meet the widow of George W. Norris here in McCook.

It’s a story worth retelling. Nebraska had played a starring role in the presidential races of 1960 and 1968, and once again in 1972, the state was thrust into the national spotlight. By the time the contest narrowed to George McGovern and Hubert Humphrey, the stakes were high and the mood tense. Both men promised an end to the Vietnam War, but the former friends fought each other with vicious campaign tactics before McGovern went on to be trounced by Richard Nixon.

McGovern’s campaign found its high point in a whistle-stop tour across Nebraska on May 6, modeled on the one Robert F. Kennedy had taken four years earlier. McGovern, who considered Kennedy a mentor, rode the rails into towns big and small, shaking hands, giving speeches, and drawing energy from crowds that still remembered the slain president’s own hopeful visit. The tour ended in North Platte, where McGovern boarded a plane for McCook.

Here, the story takes on a distinctly local flavor. In McCook, McGovern met voters at the National Guard Armory and a 4-H carnival. Before boarding his bus, he asked then “local reporter” Gene Morris of the McCook Gazette whether Norris’s widow still lived in town. When told that she was across the street at Hillcrest Nursing Home and “sharp as a tack” at 98, McGovern’s eyes lit up. He left the bus behind, walked across the street with Frank Morrison and Morris and asked permission for a visit. Mrs. Norris welcomed him gladly. The normally confident South Dakotan grew tongue-tied, standing like a student before a revered teacher. It was history meeting history, and in that moment, McGovern was humbled by the memory of Norris, whom he admired deeply.

It’s a powerful story on its own merits, but Crawford offered something extra – a tribute tucked into his description of our hometown. As he put it:

“It is impressive that this tiny town of approximately eight thousand inhabitants is the adopted hometown of George W. Norris, Ralph Brooks, and Frank Morrison. Moreover, Nebraska Governor and U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson was born and raised in McCook. This tiny burg also produced a Nebraska State Senator and Lincoln Mayor Bill Harris. There is perhaps no other small town in the country with such a legacy.”

How can we not smile when we read that in such an unexpected place? Better still, what are we doing today to live up to such a proud history?