For former Mower County Sheriff Wayne Goodnature, the Hormel strike of 1985 represents more than a labor dispute — it represents a climactic period of time in his life-long career in law enforcement.

Immersed in a month-long national FBI training school hundreds of miles away, Goodnature’s dreams were cut short in January of 1985 when he received word from the Mower County Sheriff’s Office that situations surrounding the Hormel strike had gotten ugly.

“It got quite intense around that time,” Goodnature said. “It was always rumbling, but it started to explode while I was out there.”

The mayor at the time, Tom Kough, was rumored to have plans to exercise his authority over local law enforcement departments and order police off the front strike lines. The only other person in a position to overrule the mayor was Goodnature.

When Goodnature returned home, there was trouble. With strike-related politics in play in nearly every sector of the city, Goodnature resumed his post to assert authority over local law enforcement and make a statement to those who sought to exert power in his domain.

“He was going to sort of try to put a coup together and keep the police from doing that,” Goodnature said of Kough’s supposed plans. “He worked there (Hormel) and was a part of the whole thing. The sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county — no one had that authority.”

As it turned out, Kough never did attempt to order police officers off the front line. According to Goodnature, the presence of the sheriff in town was enough to cause Kough to back down.

“I just think coming back helped,” Goodnature said in a phone interview with the Herald from his home in Arizona.

It also may have helped that Goodnature was known for standing firm in his role as sheriff.

“I was a very strong sheriff and very, very adamant about doing my job and doing it correctly,” he said. “I didn’t take any prisoners.”

Goodnature did return to Virginia to attempt to finish the FBI training program, but was once again called back due to the escalating situation in Austin.

The strike, carried out by the P-9 union, created a scenario in which more than 1,000 workers walked off the job — and they weren’t happy.

While Goodnature was away, Garry Ellingson, chief deputy at the time of the strike, was Goodnature’s eyes and ears on the ground.

“I kept a low profile and did what we had to do,” Ellingson said.

The struggles for Ellingson weren’t all that different from those that confronted Goodnature. Living in a close-knit community that was in the midst of a rather tumultuous battle was difficult enough for most. Enforcing the law, which meant dealing with friends and neighbors on both sides of the strike, was not always a popular position to be in.

“I had a neighbor who had threatened me,” Ellingson said. “I told him if he continued, he’d be incarcerated.”

The conflict, violence and propensity for disaster surrounding the strike necessitated the presence of the National Guard, ordered in by Gov. Rudy Perpich. At that time, Hormel had hired replacement workers, causing the emotions of those on the picket lines to escalate.

At one time, Goodnature recalls there were more than 1,000 troops on the ground in Austin — that included National Guard members, law enforcement officials from around the state, and the local police and sheriff’s departments.

“There were literally hundreds of folks who we really had never worked with,” he said. “It was exemplary the way everyone handled themselves. I think everybody realized the whole nation was watching us. In the end, I think everybody did a great job.”

That doesn’t mean officers didn’t deal with struggles that stretched them beyond their daily expectations.

Goodnature recalls an incident when acid was thrown on officers, which, for law enforcement officials, changed the game. Those who were suspected of throwing the acid weren’t Austin residents, but sympathizers who traveled to the area to join demonstrations, Goodnature said.

“There was an out-of-area group that was down there that threw acid on our guys once. We were all on edge that something beyond our control was going to take place,” he said. “There was so much anger and resentment that, to this day, I’m astounded that there weren’t some real situations involving our people.”

Goodnature, who was in charge of the department’s budget at the time, said the amount of overtime required was unlike anything he had ever experienced. At any given time, at least 100 people filled the jail — a facility only equipped to handle 30 or 40 people.

“We had constant contact with the Department of Corrections — we always had more people in jail than we could handle,” Ellingson said.

Mass arrests were a common occurrence, most commonly for civil disobedience. An Austin native, Goodnature wound up face-to-face in the jail with people involved in the strike who were imprisoned.

“The strikers behaved quite well, usually, when we had to arrest them — at least as well as could be expected,” he said.

A lighter side

Though the strike generally fills Goodnature’s mind with images of chaos, he’s also managed to tuck away some memories that, to this day, bring a smile to his face.

During the height of the conflict, the Rev. Jesse Jackson made a trip to Austin to address the union. Along with a public address, Jackson also sought admittance to the jail, where he would have the chance to meet with the strikers in prison.

“I don’t remember how many I had in, but it was a lot,” Goodnature said. “I’m sure it was for media flash — he tried to maximize his media coverage. Things were getting really, really intense on the line, officers were down and I think all of us were very fearful that something terrible was going to happen, so I made a deal with him.”

The deal involved Jackson devoting a portion of his speech to explain to union members that law enforcement officials weren’t the enemies — that they were union members, too, just trying to do their jobs.

After the terms of the agreement were met, Jackson was admitted to the prison, where he met many union strikers and one very special 12 year-old girl: Susan Goodnature.

“She was very charming,” Goodnature said of his daughter.” She literally charmed the pants off him. She was very verbal and very social.”

It was Susan who led Jackson from the entrance, down the hall and to the jail cells, where he met with strikers.

“Off they went down the hallway — the two of them went holding hands,” Goodnature said. “I have always remembered that as a very great event.”

After the strike

All together, Goodnature served four terms as Mower County Sheriff.

While one may think that the campaign following the strike would have been a tough one for local politicians, with strong feelings on both sides of the issue, Goodnature walked away from his post-strike election with the largest margin of victory of his four elections.

“I had always had a lot of competition, so I think when the smoke cleared, most people saw the job that law enforcement had done as just being really extraordinary,” he said.

In the end, officers walked away seemingly unharmed — a tremendous accomplishment, Goodnature said.

“There were unbelievable situations,” he said. “In the end, nobody got hurt and we didn’t get sued.”

There was also a tremendous feeling of relief for those who worked through the strike.

“I was worked over 20 hours a day,” Ellingson said. “I was tired.”

The same went for Goodnature, who could once again resume business as usual in the county.

“I was elated,” he said. “It was nice when it started to settle down, but it was still really tragic.”

In the end, most people didn’t walk away with a sense of satisfaction. Sure, there may have been relief, especially for those who lived in the Austin community, but, to this day, Ellingson said the effects of the strike in Austin can still be felt.

“It was a difficult situation — no one really wins in a strike,” Ellingson said. “There are always hard feelings, even years down the road. I still hear rumblings about it now.”