Elmer KelmThe home of Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party founding father Elmer Kelm was demolished in Chanhassen last week.

None other than Hubert H. Humphrey called Kelm the “principal architect” of the merger of the Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties.

It might be seen as an attempt by Chanhassen to embark on a little spring cleaning before the upcoming National Republican Convention. After all, the county has voted Republican for every presidential candidate since 1936 and Chanhassen has voted Republican since 1976.

The real reason is less sinister – the house was purchased by St. Hubert’s Catholic Church a few years ago and the parish decided it was too costly to rehabilitate. The site, next to the St. Hubert’s Cemetery (where Kelm is buried), will probably be annexed by the graveyard.

Kelm is one of the biggest political anomalies in the forever-Republican Carver County. He was first elected chair of the Carver County Democratic Party in 1928, according to “Chanhassen: A Centennial History.” One of his first acts was delivering a rousing Chanhassen victory for Al Smith, the first Catholic presidential candidate. The largely Catholic village voted 70-0 for Smith.

He later became chair of the state Democratic Party. According to “Centennial History,” in 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt summoned Kelm to Washington, D.C., and asked him to unify the party to assure him a victory in Minnesota. 

So, as chairperson, Kelm worked closely with Humphrey and other party officials to merge the moderate Democratic Party with the leftist Farmer-Labor party (a Minnesota political powerhouse at that time).

It wasn't easy. In his book, "The Education of a Public Man,” Humphrey noted that former Gov. Elmer Benson, a Farmer-Laborite, pronounced, “Kelm is a Fascist. So is Humphrey. This is absolutely no good. But we must unite.”

When the parties merged in 1944, Kelm became the first chairperson of the DFL Party.

At a tribute dinner in 1955, the Herald reported that “Senator Humphrey paid a glowing tribute to Kelm as he went back thru memory lane and the days when the former chairman led him around by the hand in his early days in politics. … He praised Kelm for his philosophy on politics, ‘fight hard for the party, but without hatred.’”

Kelm began as cashier at Chanhassen State Bank, and later purchased the business. Kelm’s ability to keep a level head was illustrated during a 1931 bank robbery.

The robber ordered Kelm to lie on the floor, and then drive the getaway car.  The Herald reported that, “The cashier took the entire affair with a commendable degree of coolness. Mr. Kelm jocularly told him that had he known he was going to be held up while wearing a new suit, he would have had the bank floor cleaned.”

Later in life, Kelm was appointed by President Harry Truman to an internal revenue position. It probably didn’t hurt that he met Truman during the 1944 presidential campaign, when he let him drive his Chrysler from Minneapolis to St. Paul, “just to get the feel of fluid drive.”

Kelm died in 1957. He left behind a few generations of behind-the-scenes political junkies. His son Thomas was chief of staff to Gov. Wendell Anderson. His grand-daughter Michele Kelm-Helgen is chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller. She recently stepped down from the District 112 (Chaska) school board.

Those still seeking DFL history in Chanhassen can can still drive by his childhood home, at the northeast corner of 78th Street and Frontier Trail.

His home may be history, but his DFL legacy lives on, in one of America’s most Democratic-leaning states.

After his 1968 presidential nomination, Humphrey told a crowd, “If it hadn’t been for a small-town banker from Chanhassen, I would never have had a chance. He gave me the opportunity.”

The Elmer Kelm house was demolished last week.