Title: Myron H. Bright Political Photographs and Ephemera
Dates: 1960-2008
Collection Number: MSS 11075
Quantity: ca. 4 feet
Abstract: Collection consists of photographs of politicians and political events attended by Myron Bright. Some of the notable people in the photographs include Myron Bright, John F. Kennedy, Quentin Burdick, Stuart Symington, Byron Dorgan, Kent Conrad, Earl Pomeroy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and William Guy. Several photographs are signed and have written personal messages to Bright. Also included are a signed letter from Kennedy to Bright and invitations to the 1992 inaugural ball and parade for President Clinton. The March 14, 2012 accession consists of a photograph of Judge Charles J. Vogel signed "to the Honorable Myron Bright with respect and affection. Charles J. Vogel 11-25-69."
Provenance: The collection was donated to the State Historical Society of North Dakota by Judge Myron Bright on June 10, 2011. An additional item was donated in January 2012.
Property Rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to this collection.
Copyrights:
Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnote and bibliographic references.
Transfer:
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Myron H. Bright was born on March 5, 1919, to Morris and Lena Bright, in Eveleth, MN. He completed elementary school and high school in Gilbert and Eveleth, MN, and received his B.S.L. from the University of Minnesota (U of M) in 1941. Judge Bright served as a U.S. Army Air Corps Captain during World War II, and attended law school at the U of M. He met Frances “Fritzie” Louise Reisler (1924-2000) at the University, and they married in 1946. The Brights moved to Fargo after Myron was admitted to the ND Bar in 1947. He went into private practice at the firm of Wattam, Vogel and Vogel (later Wattam, Vogel, Vogel, Bright and Peterson), where he remained until 1968.
On April 25, 1968, Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Judge Bright to a seat on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, where he was the first Jewish member. Prior to this appointment, Bright was finance chairman for Cass County Democratic-NPL party and worked closely with Governor William Guy, President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Quentin Burdick on their winning elections.
Beyond the Courtroom, Judge Bright served on the Judicial Conference committees for Administration of the Probation System, 1977-1983; Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules, 1989-1990; and International Judicial Relations, 1996-2003. Judge Bright wrote several publications, including “The Ten Commandments of Oral Argument,” “Appellate Briefwriting: Some ‘Golden’ Roles” and the book Objections at Trial (with Ronald L. Carlson).
Judge Bright is a member of the Bar Association of Metro St. Louis, Cass County Bar Association, American Bar Association, ND State Bar Association, and American Judicature Society. Judge Bright has pursued many professional activities since taking senior status in 1985. These activities include teaching courses at St. Louis University, and sitting by designation on federal appellate panels and district courts in other circuits. He has lectured at most law schools in the Midwest, and in 2007, traveled to the Middle East to discuss judicial education with representatives of international courts. He received Certificates of Appreciation from the Institute of Advanced Legal and Judicial Studies, Dubai, and the University of Sharjah College of Law, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, in recognition of his participation in the seminar “The Constitutional Rights of the Criminal Defender.”
Myron and Fritzie had two children, Dinah Ann and Joshua Robert. In 2009, Myron H. Bright became the longest-serving working judge on the Eighth Circuit Court of appeals. He has heard over 6,000 cases during his 41 years of service. Bright’s awards and honors include an Honorary Doctorate from North Dakota State University (NDSU) (2008); the Liberty Bell Award from the State Bar Association of North Dakota (2008); Distinguished Alumni Award, MN Law Review (2007); Herbert Harley Award from the American Judicature Society (2000); scholarship endowments at the U of M Law School (2008), and University of North Dakota (UND) Law School (1993); the Francis Rawle Award, presented by ALI-ABA Committee on Continuing Professional Education (1997); and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UND School of Law (1998).
SOURCES
“Judge Myron H. Bright: The Eighth Circuit’s Longest-Working Judge.” U.S. Courts Library, 8th Circuit. http://www.lb8.uscourts.gov/pubsandservices/histsociety/bright_booklet.pdf. Accessed 13 June 2011.
“Judge Myron H. Bright, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.” North Dakota Supreme Court News, Judicial Profile. http://www.ndcourts.gov/court/news/profiles/bright.htm. Accessed 13 June 2011.
Myron H. Bright Political Photographs and Ephemera. MSS 11075. Correspondence with donor
(see case file). North Dakota State Archives.
“Spotlight Speaker Series: Myron H. Bright, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, November 16, 2006.” University of North Dakota School of Law. http://web.law.und.edu/News/spotlight/f06Bright.php. Accessed 13 June 2011.
INVENTORY
Box 1:
11075-05a&b Invitations to the inaugural ball and parade for President William Jefferson Clinton, January 20, 1993
11075-07 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: The welcome car from MN
neighbors
11075-08 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Senator Stuart Symington and Congressman Quentin Burdick at a morning press conference. Standing are Jan Burdick (daughter) and Daphne Nygard (with hat) (Democratic National Committeewoman from ND)
11075-09 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Congressman Quentin Burdick and Senator Stuart Symington visit Veterans’ Administration Hospital in Fargo, ND
11075-10 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Senator John F. Kennedy greets the crowd on arrival at the Fargo airport
11075-11 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: James Symington (son of Stuart) and Ms. North Dakota sing for the crowd. John and Jan Burdick at left standing. Jenny and Jesse Burdick seated next to Congressman Quentin Burdick. James Symington later became a member of Congress
11075-12 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Congressman Quentin
Burdick speaking to crowd. On the platform behind him are the Burdick children (front row left) and dignitaries left to right: Senator John F. Kennedy, Senator Stuart Symington, Governor James Burns (HI) (representing Lyndon Baines Johnson), Usher Burdick, and Manny Marget, a well-known radio personality and master of ceremonies
11075-13 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Myron Bright, Senator John F. Kennedy and Joe Poer, a teamster of Fargo, leaving the fairgrounds after the birthday party
11075-14 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: James Symington singing. On the platform behind him are the Burdick children (front row left) and dignitaries left to right: Senator John F. Kennedy, Senator Stuart Symington, Governor James Burns (HI) Usher Burdick, and Manny Marget
11075-15 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Senator Stuart Symington speaking. Congressman Quentin Burdick and family to the left
11075-16 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Birthday cake with James Symington and Ms. ND singing. Burdick family in the background
11075-17 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Senator John F. Kennedy speaking. High school band from Casselton, ND, and Burdick family in background
11075-18 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Senator John F. Kennedy speaking
11075-19 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Congressman Quentin Burdick and family cutting his birthday cake. Senators John F. Kennedy and Stuart Symington to the right
11075-20 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Senator John F. Kennedy and Frank Knox (ND lawyer) departing the fairgrounds
11075-21 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Senator John F. Kennedy, William Guy, and Congressman Quentin Burdick in car
11075-22 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Senator John F. Kennedy and Congressman Quentin Burdick at Fargo City Auditorium
11075-23 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Congressman Quentin Burdick and family at fairgrounds
11075-24 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Senator John F. Kennedy speaking
11075-25 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Jenny and Jan Burdick in Native American attire
11075-26 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: (Front row): Myron Bright, Congressman Quentin Burdick, Senator John F. Kennedy, John Murphy holding pamphlet)
11075-27 Burdick Birthday party, June 19, 1960: Fargo radio/tv personality Marv Bossart interviewing Usher Burdick
11075-31 MN Senators Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar with Myron Bright,
autographed, May 2007
11075-32 Congressman Earl Pomeroy, Senator Byron Dorgan, Myron Bright,
Senator Daniel Akaka (HI) and Senator Kent Conrad, Washington, D.C., May 2007
11075-33 Myron Bright and Janet Napolitano, Director of Homeland Security, May
2007
Box 2:
11075-01 Governor William Guy portrait, signed “to Mike and Fritzy Always there when the chips are down! Bill Guy”
11075-02 Congressman Quentin N. Burdick, Senator Robert Wagner, Jr. (NY),
Anderson (Bismarck lawyer, prominent in ND politics in the late 1950s-early 1960s), James Jungroth (ND lawyer), and Myron H. Bright, early 1960s
11075-03 Senator Quentin N. Burdick, signed “To my good friends Fritzie and Mike
with appreciation and warm regards Quentin Burdick U.S.S.”
11075-06 Letter to Myron Bright from Senator John Kennedy, June 23, 1960
11075-28 Myron Bright, Senator John F. Kennedy and Joe Poer, a teamster of Fargo
and helper at the birthday party for Congressman Quentin Burdick, at the fairgrounds in Fargo, June 19, 1960
11075-29 Fritzie Bright, Myron Bright, Senator Quentin Burdick and President
Lyndon Johnson at the White House at the time of Bright’s appointment hearing, June 1968
11075-30 Myron Bright and Byron Dorgan at 40 years on federal bench celebration
at Burdick U.S. Courthouse, Fargo, ND, signed “To Judge Bright, you make all of us proud! Byron L. Dorgan, U.S.S.” August 2008
11075-34 Patricia Shaughnessy (US Supreme Court Fellow from Sweden), Myron
Bright, Senator Kent Conrad, and Senator Conrad staff member
11075-35 John Murphy, unidentified, Myron Bright, April 4, 1960
11075-36-38 At Fargo post office at a preliminary time in the Burdick/Guy campaign of
1960 with some of the democratic workers. Pinning a button on Congressman Burdick’s lapel was Ms. Hunter (now Mrs. Halgrimson), the other woman is unidentified
11075-39 Senator Stuart Symington portrait (MO) when he was a presidential
candidate, signed “To Myron Bright from Stuart Symington U.S.S.” ca. 1960
11075-41 Charles J. Vogel portrait signed “To the Honorable Myron H. Bright with
respect & affection, Charles J. Vogel 11-25-69”
Box
3:
11075-04 John F. Kennedy portrait, signed “To my fellow sustaining member of the
Democratic Party – John Kennedy,” ca. 1960
OVERSIZE
11075-40 Governor William Guy, President Lyndon Baines Johnson and
Quentin Burdick, probably taken in Washington, D.C. following the 1964 presidential election (a gift to Judge Bright in 1964, the source is unknown)
Address:
612 East Boulevard Ave.
Bismarck, North Dakota 58505
Get Directions
Hours:
State Museum and Store: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. M-F; Sat. & Sun. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
We are closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. We are closed at noon Christmas Eve if it falls on Mon.-Thurs. and are closed all day if it falls on Fri.-Sun.
State Archives: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. M-F, except state holidays; 2nd Sat. of each month, 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Appointments are recommended. To schedule an appointment, please contact us at 701.328.2091 or archives@nd.gov.
State Historical Society offices: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. M-F, except state holidays.
Contact Us:
phone: 701.328.2666
email: history@nd.gov
Social Media:
See all social media accounts
