Redfield Clipper Mills (1891-1965)

From the Iowa State Red Book.

  Iowa makes its first appearance on the site for 2021 with Redfield Clipper Mills, who was twice a state senator from the state's 17th district. The first veterinarian to be accorded a profile here, Mills returned to politics in 1948 with his unsuccessful run for Iowa lieutenant governor. A lifelong Iowan, Redfield Clipper Mills was born in Redfield, Dallas County, on January 22, 1891, the son of John Henry and Sarah Alice (Duck) Mills. A newspaperman, John Henry Mills was the publisher of the Redfield Record, which he purchased in 1889. Following its purchase, he renamed it the Redfield Clipper, and upon his son's birth in 1891 bestowed upon him the same name!

   A student in both the country and town schools, Mills graduated from the Redfield High School and for three years farmed in North Dakota. Deciding upon a career in veterinary medicine, Mills enrolled at the Kansas City Veterinary College and graduated in 1915. Following graduation, he opened his practice in Redfield and after American entry into WWI enlisted for service. For two years he served with the U.S. Veterinary Corps and attained the rank of First Lieutenant.

  After his return stateside Mills recommenced with his practice in Redfield and married in Dallas County on December 30, 1920, to Ella Frances Shaw (1902-1999). The couple's forty-four-year marriage produced six children: Clipper Eugene (1923-1994), Milton Locke (1925-2003), John Paul (1927-2018), Mary Alice (1928-2008), Donald Thurston (1932-2018), and Janet Elizabeth (1934-2016). 

  In addition to his veterinary practice, Mills was active in the Knights of Pythias Lodge and the American Legion. An active Republican in his region, Mills would attend "every precinct, district, and county Republican convention since 1920." He first pursued elective office in 1924 when he sought the Republican nomination for state senator from the 17th district. Following his win in the Republican primary, Mills went on to oppose Democratic nominee J.W. Morris, and that November defeated him by a vote of 11,646 to 6,246. He took his seat in January 1925 and during the 1925-27 session was named to the committees on Agriculture, the Board of Control, Dairy and Food, Fish and Game, Highways, Labor, Pharmacy, and the Suppression of Intemperance. He also chaired the Committee on Military Affairs.

From the 1925-26 Iowa State Red Book.

  A successful candidate for reelection in 1926, Mills was named to two new committees for the 1927-29 session, Mines and Mining, and Police Regulations. He again chaired the Military Affairs Committee and was named vice-chair of the Committee on Labor. Mills was defeated in his bid for a third term in the June 1928 Republican primary, losing out to Frank Bissell (1878-1970), 4,514 votes to 3,478. Mills would again seek his old senate seat in the June 1932 Republican primary but was defeated by George M. Hopkins (1866-1940), who went on to win the general election in November.

   In 1933 Redfield Mills returned to government service when he took on the post of chief doorkeeper for the Iowa state senate, and continued to serve until at least 1935. In 1945 he was named as a vice commander of the Iowa American Legion at its 47th annual convention, and in 1948 returned to politics when he announced his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa. In a Dallas County News writeup on his candidacy, Mills's WWI service and terms in the senate were highlighted, with the News remarking:

"Mills is Dallas county's only candidate for state office  in the 1948 election, and is receiving numerous pledges of heavy support in his home county. He is well known throughout the state, but is particularly anxious that the vote in his home county be heavy as a tribute to his long service to Dallas County agriculture and the Republican party."

From the Cedar Rapids Gazette, March 9, 1948.

From the Dallas County News, April 28, 1948.

  One of three candidates vying for the Republican nomination, Redfield Mills lost out in the June primary, polling 88,098 votes to incumbent Kenneth Evans's winning total of 156,620. Two years following his loss he was named as an inspector for the U.S Poultry Association, and in the twilight of his life was a resident of the Iowa Soldier's Home in Marshalltown. He died there on June 12, 1965, aged 74, and was survived by his wife and six children. Ella Mills survived her husband by over thirty years and following her death at 97 in 1999, was interred alongside him at the East Linn Cemetery in Redfield. 

From the Dallas County News, June 16, 1965.