Front and back of a Ray Gesell political campaign card from 1944.
Collection of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County

“It all started as a joke,” Ray said.  One day, while talking politics over beers, two of Ray Gesell’s friends told him he should run for office.  Ray, jokingly, said he would.  Within a few days, his friends were actively campaigning on his behalf.  “I tried to back out and I couldn’t.”

Ray Gesell served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1945-1951.  Again, he found himself following in the footprints of his grandfather Randolph Probstfield, a poor but respected farmer who served as a Minnesota State Senator.