Ruth Youngdahl Nelson with daughters Mary and Elizabeth, 1954

On February 15, 1973, a national organization called American Mothers announced that it had chosen Minnesotan Ruth Youngdahl Nelson as its National Mother of the Year. Mrs. Nelson was a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, the wife of a Lutheran minister, and the mother of four grown children. She was, by all accounts, a really swell mom.

An aside: Minnesota has not fared particularly well in American Mothers’ annual competition. Only one other Minnesotan—the 1940 honoree—has won the award. Could it be that the women of Minnesota don’t properly embody the group’s goal of “strengthening the moral and spiritual foundations of the family and home”? Golly, I hope not.

Photo via ELCA Archives