Woonsocket Post Office Dedicated and Renamed for Eleanor McGovern

SIOUX FALLS, SD —A ceremony to dedicate and rename the Woonsocket, SD Post Office for Eleanor McGovern, wife of former Senator George McGovern, is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. at the Woonsocket Community Center, 102 S. Dumont Ave.

The dedication ceremony will include the unveiling of a plaque to designate and rename the Post Office building at 202 S. Dumont Av. for Eleanor McGovern. Speakers for the event include Sen. McGovern; U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, sponsor of the renaming legislation; and Dr. Robert Duffett, President of Dakota Wesleyan University, where Eleanor McGovern attended college and met her future husband.

The public is invited to attend.

Eleanor Stegeberg was born Nov. 25, 1921 in Woonsocket and grew up on a nearby farm during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. She graduated as class salutatorian from Woonsocket High School and attended Dakota Wesleyan University before leaving to work as a legal secretary in Mitchell.

On Oct. 31, 1943 she married George McGovern. The couple raised five children — Ann, Susan, Teresa (now deceased), Steven and Mary. Throughout the hectic years of her husband’s lengthy career in politics, Eleanor provided a stable environment that supported his service to the nation.

As the wife of a presidential nominee, Eleanor McGovern broke new ground by campaigning on her own across the country. An accomplished speaker, she stirred crowds and appeared frequently as a guest on network television and radio discussions dealing with national and international issues.

As a longtime volunteer for the Child Development Center, she provided in-home education for parents of underprivileged infants and young children in Washington, D.C. She founded the Martha Movement and was a development officer for the Child Development Associates Consortium. Eleanor and her family also established the McGovern Family Foundation in Washington, D.C., to receive and disburse funds for research on alcoholism.

Her highly regarded memoir, "Uphill: A Personal Story," was published in 1973. In recognition of her enduring spirit and commitment to service, Dakota Wesleyan University named her an Outstanding Citizen in 1975 and awarded her an honorary doctorate in humane letters in 1997.

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