“Harlan J. Bushfield & Vera S. Cahalan”

Harlan J. Bushfield, born August 6, 1882 in Atlantic, Iowa, came to Miller in 1883. He earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1904 and returned to Miller to practice law. In 1912, Bushfield married Vera Cahalan, a fellow Miller native. The Bushfields were community leaders in Miller and both served on many boards. Harlan also served as Hand County State’s Attorney and as state chairman of the South Dakota Republican Party. Harlan was elected South Dakota Governor in 1938. He led the state through the beginning of World War II. He reduced state spending, cut sales and property taxes, and lobbied to end the state income tax. He promoted regional plans for Missouri River development, which led to the Pick-Sloan plan for dam construction. In 1942, Harlan was elected to the U.S. Senate. He suffered a stroke and died in 1948 before the end of his term. Vera was appointed to her husband’s seat, making her the second woman to represent South Dakota in Congress. Harlan and Vera Bushfield were public servants who carried small town values from Miller, to Pierre, and onto Washington, D.C.

Hand County, inside the city of Miller along Highway