Fred Blair
Encyclopedia
Fred Basset Blair was born the son of a coal miner in Berlin, Wisconsin
in 1906. His family, of French-Canadian heritage, has lived in the state for more than 150 years. He had worked as a sand farmer, in the stone quarries of Red Granite, as a tannery worker, on the railroads, and in many factories. He had been a member of the Longshoreman's Union, the Furniture Workers, Railway Clerks, and Paper, Pulp and Sufite Workers Union.
Blair attended the University of Wisconsin as a Zona Gale
scholar.
Becoming active in left wing politics, he joined the Communist Party USA
in 1929 running for governor in 1930, 1932, 1940, 1942, 1966, and 1974. He also ran for U.S. Senator for Wisconsin in the 1938 election. Blair survived multiple investigations into his activities in the 1940s and 50s and remained as the head of the Communist Party of Wisconsin well into the 1970s. In the Governor's race in 1974, he received 3,617 votes.
Blair and his wife Mary ran "Mary's Bookshop" in Milwaukee for 13 years; Blair was well known for his poetry and love of literature.
In November 1966, there was an attempt on Blair's life when a 17 year old Brookfield Wisconsin youth entered Mary's Bookstore and tried to shoot Blair with a handgun. Blair was not wounded although a customer in the store was shot during a scuffle with the assailant.
Berlin, Wisconsin
Berlin is a city in Green Lake and Waushara Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 5,305 at the 2000 census. The city is located mostly within the Town of Berlin in Green Lake County; only a small portion of the city extends into the Town of Aurora in Waushara...
in 1906. His family, of French-Canadian heritage, has lived in the state for more than 150 years. He had worked as a sand farmer, in the stone quarries of Red Granite, as a tannery worker, on the railroads, and in many factories. He had been a member of the Longshoreman's Union, the Furniture Workers, Railway Clerks, and Paper, Pulp and Sufite Workers Union.
Blair attended the University of Wisconsin as a Zona Gale
Zona Gale
Zona Gale was an American author and playwright. She became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama, in 1921.-Biography:Gale was born in Portage, Wisconsin, which she often used as a setting in her writing...
scholar.
Becoming active in left wing politics, he joined the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
in 1929 running for governor in 1930, 1932, 1940, 1942, 1966, and 1974. He also ran for U.S. Senator for Wisconsin in the 1938 election. Blair survived multiple investigations into his activities in the 1940s and 50s and remained as the head of the Communist Party of Wisconsin well into the 1970s. In the Governor's race in 1974, he received 3,617 votes.
Blair and his wife Mary ran "Mary's Bookshop" in Milwaukee for 13 years; Blair was well known for his poetry and love of literature.
In November 1966, there was an attempt on Blair's life when a 17 year old Brookfield Wisconsin youth entered Mary's Bookstore and tried to shoot Blair with a handgun. Blair was not wounded although a customer in the store was shot during a scuffle with the assailant.