“In the summer of 1876, grasshoppers nearly destroyed the crops in Minnesota. So in the spring of 1877, farmers were worried. They believed that the dreadful plague would once again visit them and again destroy the rich wheat crop, bringing ruin to thousands of people.
The situation was so serious that Governor John S. Pillsbury proclaimed April 26 as a day of prayer and fasting. He urged every man, woman and child to ask God to prevent the terrible scourge. On that April day all schools, shops, stores and offices were closed. There was a reverent, quiet hush over all the state.
The next day dawned bright and clear. Temperature soared to what they usually were in midsummer, something that just never happened. The people were devastated as they discovered millions of grasshopper larvae wiggling to life. For 3 days the unusual heat persisted, and the larvae hatched. It appeared that it wouldn’t be long before their feeding frenzy started and the result would surely be the destruction of the wheat crop.
On the fourth day, however the temperature suddenly dropped, and that night frost, covered the entire state. Result – it killed every one of those creeping, crawling pests as surely as if poison or fire had been used. It went down in the history of Minnesota as the day God answered the prayers of the people.”
