Every kid gets two nickels

In 1932, George Marvin of Marvin Cedar & Lumber Company started a Warroad tradition that continues today. On the Fourth of July, kids in Warroad get nickels.

“If you have a nickel in your pocket, you’re not broke.” At least that’s the way George Marvin saw it during the Great Depression.

Several years ago I visited the Wm S. Marvin Training and Visitor Center in Warroad. This private museum opened in 1985 and is named after George Marvin’s son, Bill, who led the lumber company into manufacturing windows after WWII.

Among the many historical artifacts on display there, I noticed an exhibit dedicated to the Fourth of July Nickel Registration. To my amazement, the names of children who received nickels over the many years had been kept and were available for viewing.

My Uncle Al’s name popped out at me. Alton Bolton was on the Nickel Registration as an eight-year-old on July 4, 1936. Al (1929-1993) grew up in Warroad and married my mother’s sister, Audrey Kling (1931-2024).

I turned the page and saw more familiar Warroad surnames: Stoskopf, Wurden, Carlson, Heppner, Fish. Three names caught my attention.

Albert Angus, James Thunder, and Robert K(akaygeesick).

Robert Kakaygeesick (1922-1998) was the grandson of Kakaygeesick, known as “Everlasting Sky”. Robert was born in 1922. Although his age is listed as 10, he would have been age 14 in 1936. He grew up in Warroad, served in WWII, married Florence Cobiness and had seven children. Robert is the father of Don Kakaygeesick.

Albert Angus (1932-1978) was also Kakaygeesick’s grandson. Albert’s mother, Mary Kakaygeesick, was married to John Angus. Four-year-old Albert and Robert were cousins.

Sandwiched between Robert and Albert is the name James Thunder. Thunder is an English word for the Ojibway name Animikeese. Animikeese was Kakaygeesick’s brother, the chief at Buffalo Point after their father died.

James Thunder was the son of Sarah Conover and the adopted white step-son of Tom Thunder. While I have been unable to find documentation of a legal adoption, there is little doubt from various accounts that Tom Thunder treated James like his son. Finding his name here as a five-year-old in 1936 confirms his social adoption.

James Thunder (1930-2024) became chief of Buffalo Point First Nation in 1969 and served until 1997, when he passed on the role to his son John, the current chief.

In 1936, James Thunder, Albert Angus, and Robert Kakaygeesick were three boys celebrating the Fourth of July like every other kid in Warroad by registering for two nickels. It was enough to buy an ice cream cone.

I’m not sure you can buy anything for ten cents today. Even gumballs cost a quarter. But Marvins still gives kids nickels on the Fourth of July ninety-four years after George began the tradition. This year, the ice cream cones were free.