FAMILY STORIES

   Alden Nelson, son of Gust and Marie Nelson, was born on a farm near Valparaiso. He graduated from Ceresco High School. He has been bookkeeper for the following firms -- Anderson Chevrolet, Burmeister Bros. Insurance Agency, and Thege Agency. He always enjoys working with figures. Many still refer to him as "My income tax man."

Left to Right: Alden Nelson, Janice Gustafson, Joan Nordstrom, Myrtle Nelson.

   Myrtle Jacobson-Nelson, daughter of David and Bertha Jacobson was born on a farm near Newman Grove. She graduated from Luther Academy in Wahoo and then taught in a country school near St. Edward for three years. She continued her education, graduating from Luther Junior College, and received Teacher's certificates from the Normal Department and the Music Department in both piano and organ. She taught 2nd and 3rd grades for six years at West Ward in Wahoo and then two more years in the Kindergarten Department. The old Chart Grade was terminated and the Kindergarten took over in the fall of 1935. She was at North Ward in the morning with 22 lively five-year olds and at West Ward in the afternoon with another 22 lively five-year olds. (PLEASANT MEMORIES)

   Alden and Myrtle were married on May 23, 1937 in Wahoo. This terminated the teaching profession, as in those days when a teacher got married she was not allowed to teach any longer.

   The Nelsons have two daughters -- Joan Marie and Janice Lucille, both in the music field. Joan is married to David Nordstrom of Wausa. He is the Associate Pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Holdrege. They have three children -- Richard, Rachel and Russell. Joan is organist at their church and also teaches music in the Public Schools at Funk and Republican City. Janice is married to Douglas Gustafson of Ithaca, now residing in Mead. Doug is employed by the University of Nebraska at the Mead Laboratory. They have three daughters Diane, LeAnne and Marcia. Janice is teaching both piano and organ and also directs the Junior Choir and the Bell Choir in their church. Submitted by Mrs. Alden Nelson

   Alfred Nelson was born in Shane, Sweden on February 2, 1872. When he was 17, he decided he wanted to sail to the United States.

The Alfred Nelson Family

   He wrote to an aunt and she sent him the money. He sailed all alone, leaving his mother, father, three sisters, and a brother.

   When he came to Wahoo, his aunt and uncle were there to meet him. They took him to their home and he stayed with them, helping with the farm work. That way he could pay them for the money sent to him.

   On Sunday he would walk over to Dahlman's place. He knew them from Sweden. They would play cards or go outside and pitch horseshoes.

   Bothilda Rosewall was born in Shäne, Sweden on September 29, 1870. She came to Wahoo, as she knew the Dahlmans. She stayed with them for a short while, then went to Omaha and got a job in the County Poor Farm as a nurse's aid. She worked there for several years. On her day off she would come out to Dahlmans and visit. There she met Alfred Nelson and they were friends for quite some time. On March 18, 1895 they were married in Wahoo by Rev. Resdahl. They made their home in Wahoo. Alfred worked for S.P. Wahlstrom as a carpenter. They built many of the large homes, also the Lutheran Church, the Catholic Church and School, the Lutheran Churches in Mead, Malmo, Swedeburg, and Ceresco.

   Roland Nelson was born to them on May 8, 1907. He was the first baby baptized in the new church. The folks joined the church at that time and were members until death.

   Inez was born March 15, 1898 in Wahoo. She attended West Ward and High School, graduating in 1918.

   On June 11, she married David Adolphson -- they lived on his farm the first year and, in 1920, they moved to Wisconsin.

   On June 11, 1969, they celebrated their 50th anniversary. Inez passed away the same year on October 8, 1969. Dave passed away in 1974.

   Judith was born November 22, 1901 in Wahoo. She attended West Ward and High School and Luther College.

   On February 14, 1934, she married John Nielsen of Yutan. They made their home in Yutan where John had his own barbershop. Hair cuts were twenty-five cents and a shave five cents, quite different from the prices now.

   Roland married Dorothy Langfelt in 1931. They had two children: Ronald Lee and Lois Jean. They are both married and each have 5 children and three grandchildren. They all live in Omaha.

   Mrs. Nelson passed away December 27, 1953, Mr. Nelson on March 19, 1949. By Judith Nielsen

   Greetings from Audrey Roselyn Nelson: My father Alfred (1884-1964) was four when his family arrived from Sweden. At that tender age his mind was deeply impressed with the hardships of the passage, and as children we were never allowed to complain about food: what we took on our plates we were compelled to eat. On board ship his mother's food supply moulded from the ever present dampness; they gratefully ate mouldy bread. They bought their farm in 1887, Section 8, Richland Precinct. I wonder what destiny brought me to this same Section where Dennis and I bought our farm.

   Alfred's mother, Ellen Nelson, married my grandfather, John Nelson. I married John Dennis Nelson in 1946. There is no kinship in these relations.

   I study the portrait of Dad's family: Nels, Alfred, Harriet, Anna, Ella, Selma, Joe, and Minnie. When they arrived in America, they were evidently a prospering farm family, beautifully clothed. A later portrait portrayed girls dressed from the same bolt of material. I surmise they had not found the promised riches of America.

   Dad was ten, with four years schooling at District 56, when his father died. He and Nels assumed the responsibilities of manhood. I recall Dad telling how he plowed at that age. Not being able to push down on the handles of the walking plow, he had to reach up and pull down to keep the plow in the ground and how his arms ached. They paid for the farm by self-denial and hard work. Dad grew intensely strong in determination and will.

   Dad used to tell of the deer that ranged the area. Opening the barn doors one morning, following a blizzard, startled deer dashed out with irretrievable harness on their antlers. He loved hunting and fishing, practicing rules of sportsmanship and conservation through life.

   After the children left home, Grandmother married Thelander Bengston, a neighbor. Ruth was born to this union.

   In 1910 Alfred married my mother, Florence Carlson. In 1915 they bought the home place south of Ceresco. Dad was a builder; in a few years all of the many buildings were new or rebuilt. He was a good operator and a successful livestock feeder. Driven by honest ambition he and Mother prospered, reaching determined goals. He served his community as a good neighbor and friend. His grandchildren lovingly referred to him as the second Johnny Appleseed.

   We three children, Ralph of Elkhorn, Marjorie, and myself, were born at home. Ralph was five when I was born in 1919. I was two and a half when Marjorie was born. I remember being roused early May 3, 1922 (died 1962) to see the Flowering Almond, and the mixed emotions of shyness, timidity, and curiosity I felt when I was introduced to our baby sister, who through life I adored.

   Alfred and Florence retired to Ceresco in 1945. Retirement wasn't in Dad's vocabulary. He continued working hard, still driving himself in his last years of failing health. (See Florence Nelson history.)

   On December 9, 1950, Donald Leroy Jansa and Fern Mae Nelson were married in Wahoo at the Presbyterian Church.

Randall Jansa, Fern Jansa, Lori (Jansa) Williams, and Don Jansa, taken July 17th 1982 on Lori's wedding.

   Donald was the youngest born to George and Helen (Matousek) Jansa. The family included George, Irene (Mecum), Evangeline (who died at age two with a tooth problem), Leonard, and Dennis.

   Fern was the eldest born to Gordon and Sylvia (Siemsen) Nelson; her sisters are Mrs. Joyce Kucera and Linda Semrad.

   Don and Fern lived in Wahoo and Don drove a truck for Blue Star Foods. He hauled poultry from different produces to Wahoo. In 1951, we moved to Omaha and he hauled crude oil to Omaha from Kansas and Nebraska. (He was employed by Ervin Nelson.)

   In 1952, we moved back to Wahoo. I worked at the dime store and City Cafe and Don trucked. In October, we moved to a farm one mile west of Malmo and our son, Randall James Jansa, was born on Nov. 11, 1952 at Lincoln. When Randy was about eight months old, an oven exploded and put me in the Wahoo hospital with burns on my arms and legs. We moved in with my parents for a few months until I could hold Randy. We then moved to Weston and have resided here for 29 years.

   Don purchased the trucking business and hauled Economy bins to parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, South and North Dakota and

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brought grain from Minnesota and Iowa to Nebr. He hauled cobs from farms to Omaha and also gravel and rock to farmers and townships. At first, cobs were loaded by scoop, shoveling cobs into an elevator (which they had to pull from farm to farm.) Gradually, a front loader was put on a tractor and lifted them above the racks.

   In 1968, a tractor upset on Don and pinned him for over an hour. He was told he would never walk again, but with a lot of effort, he is all right. He purchased the trucking business and Randy became his partner.

   On July 22, 1960, Lori Lee Jansa was born in Lincoln. (She weighed the same identical weight as Randy - seven lbs.-3½ ounces.)

   Lori and Randy went to Weston Public school. Randy graduated from Weston and Lori from Wahoo.

   Randy married Elizabeth Sheets from Oxford, Penn. on April 10, 1976. They had two daughters: Rhianon Jean born December 23, 1977 and Sarah Gail born Jan. 2, 1981. Randy and his family reside in Weston.

   Lori married Jon Williams on July 17, 1982 and they have two lovely children, Jon Jr. and Meloni (by Jon's previous marriage). They reside on a farm by Wahoo, but are building an earth home in Weston.

   Having cancer in 1960, I became active in the Cancer Society and have worked with Stanley Home Products since 1964. We both were active in Fire Dept. and I helped organize the Auxiliary.

   In 1978, I was the first woman elected to the Weston town board and am serving a second term. Submitted by Fern Jansa (See Nelson family history -- page 343)

   Greetings from Audrey Roselyn Nelson: My maternal grandparents John and Anna Carlson immigrated from Sweden. Six children, Alida, Florence, Charles, David, Anna, and Walter were American-born. Settling at Moline, Illinois, Grandfather was employed as a pattern maker for John Deere Implement. There he invented a knotter on the checkline of corn planters; this invention was manufactured without change until recent years. Florence, my mother, was born at Moline, 1883. She died in 1962.

   Grandpa's health was fragile. They were ever on the move, seeking a more healthful climate. In Sweden, he was a Master Mason, thoroughly educated in the skills of masonry. This skill was used building a home at nearly every location. At Lindsburg, Kansas, he established a foundry but his partner absconded with his savings. Then they lived at Cheyenne, Wyoming. At Omaha he then plied his trade in the building of Fort Crook; the smokestacks were his creation. At Potter, Nebraska, they homesteaded. Mother and Alida, six and seven, wearied of carrying clothesline poles for defense from rattlesnakes. They had one week of schooling in two years. Grandmother, a skilled seamstress, raised and marketed canaries for a living in this sod house. Buffalo chips kept the homefires burning. Grandpa had a clock and watch repair shop at Little Falls, Minnesota. The father of Charles A. Lindberg, pilot, often visited there. At the age of forty-two years, Grandpa was given only six months more to live. The year was 1896 at Mead after extensive moves. Grandpa had tuberculosis and suffered severe lung hemorrhages. In prayerful desperation, he mixed a special concoction, healing his remaining lung. He recovered and lived to 81 years of age. This medication was patented and healed others. Testimonial was given by many including the prominent Lincoln lawyer, C. Petrus Peterson. Dentist William Kling, Wahoo, in our last conversation, inquired if I knew the formula of this miraculous healer. Kling's family lived in Mead. He remembered as a boy visiting my dying grandfather. Kling's father had said, "Carlson, you're using some awfully strong drugs." Grandpa replied, "I'm going to die anyway, so why not try." I have a standing offer of $100 for an empty bottle of John Carlson's Lung Gas, label intact. Grandpa then moved to Wahoo, building the big square house on No. Broadway. He established a jewelry, clock, and watch repair on Fifth Street. My mother graduated from Omaha Optical Institute in 1903 with a degree of Opthalamic Optician, was associated with Grandpa in the business, practicing her profession and managing her millinery shop. The remnants of her millinery shop were of special delight to me. As a child, I loved my adventures to the attic where trunks held beautiful ribbons, plumes, artificial fruit, and flowers. These adventures nourished my yearnings for beauty.

   Following the passing of Grandmother, Grandpa and Mother moved their business to Ceresco. There Mother met Alfred Nelson. They were married in 1910.

   Mother brought her enterprising spirit to the farm, developing her own genetic strain of Buff Minorca, marketing breeding stock and eggs, interstate as well as regional.

   Oh, Perfect Love, thy name is Mother. (See Alfred B. Nelson history.)

   Oscar and Hilma (Anderson) Nelson were the parents of: Edla, Lennard, Dennis, Dorine, and Rosalie. Dennis was born in 1915. A small farmstead directly west of Grace Lutheran Church, rural Swedeburg, was his birthplace. He attended school at District 56 and Swedeburg.

   Dennis persevered in spite of his father's premature death, a great depression, drouth, and many adversities, to become the owner and operator of his 260-acre farm in Richland Precinct. He has raised hundreds of cattle and hogs for many years. However, sheep are his favorite livestock, and thousands have passed through his feedyard. For many years he was recognized as Saunders County's largest sheep feeder by U.S.D.A. The partnership of Lennard and Dennis in commercial trucking and farming dissolved when Lennard entered the service in 1941.

   In 1946, Dennis married Audrey Nelson, daughter of Alfred and Florence (Carlson) Nelson. Audrey was born at the farm home near Ceresco in 1919. She graduated from Ceresco High in 1936. Then she attended Dickinson Secretarial School, Lincoln. Prior to marriage, she was employed by the War Manpower Commission and the Farm Security Administration. Her life's career had been a close association with Dennis, sharing a vital interest in daily farm and livestock problems. Her pursuance of the fine arts of creative writing and various mediums of painting have brought County and State recognition. She was recognized by Who's Who in Published Poetry in 1978.

   A daughter, Karen Marjorie, was born in 1947. Karen loved all aspects of farm life, including the work. Karen is a third generation graduate of District 56, and a graduate of Wahoo High. She attended Nebraska Wesleyan University, Kansas State University, and was a special student at Montgomery County College, Gaithersburg, Maryland, receiving a 4.0 average. In 1979, she received the United States Commendation for outstanding performance by the Civil Service Board.

   Karen married Dr. Norman R. Schneider in 1968. Norman was born at Ellsworth, Kansas in 1943. He grew to manhood at the family ranch near Dorrance, Kansas. Their lives in the Air Force brought them to many places of interest: Goose AFB, Labrador; Washington, D.C.; and Ohio. Best of all in 1979 they were brought home, when Norman accepted a faculty position in the Department of Veterinary Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He and Karen built a beautiful home of Kansas postrock, which re-established an old homesite that was originally homesteaded in 1875 by Joseph C. Gruver. They have a beautiful son, Nelson "R" Schneider born 1 August 1979 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

   John Nelson was born in Finja Parish Kristianstads Lan, Province of Skane, Sweden, Sept. 9, 1843. He lost his parents while very young and grew up as an orphan in custody of the State Church. It was customary to "farm" the boys out to help care for livestock, etc. John spent part of his growing-up years herding hogs in the fields all day. Their sleeping quarters were often in the building where they were kept. He told of sleeping with the hogs on bitterly cold nights to keep warm. Often their evening meal consisted of cold baked potatoes, bread and milk, which was usually sour. Bread, too, was often moldy. (As a granddaughter, I often wondered how he managed but then mold contains penicillin and perhaps that kept him healthy.)

Mr. and Mrs. John Nelson

   In 1868, at age 25, he came to America. He and many others worked their way west on the railroad, out of Chicago. He remained for sometime at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, among Swedish people and attended the Swede Bend Church near Manson, Iowa. This is the first Mission (Covenant) Church built in the U.S.

   He moved to a homestead 5 miles south of Wahoo in 1869, living in a dug out hut. Here the Pony Express came by and left mail for them to deliver. Mail day was an exciting one. He soon gave up this homestead moving to Kearney, Nebraska and again worked for the B&M Railroad.

   Here he met Amelia Kinman and they were married at Kearney, Nebraska, May 31, 1879. In 1881, they moved to a farm south of Swedeburg, located just north of the Grace Lutheran Church. They had 11 children: Carl, who with his wife served as Missionaries in China, 1906-1923; Oscar; Anna (Mrs. Fred Martinson); Ida (Mrs. Emil Mattson); George; Hulda (Mrs. Herman Trued); David; Emma (Mrs. Elmer Gustafson); Harry; Elvera (Mrs. Herman Keeker); and Elmer, who passed away when a child. There were 33 grandchildren of which 4 have passed away. Mrs. Nelson passed away in 1915.

   John Nelson served as postmaster in Swedeburg from 1881 to 1886, just after the railroad came through. He was interested in the church and was among the first group beginning the Swedish Evangelical Covenant Church and served in many ways in the church. One of his children and grandchildren took care of him until his death on January 25th, 1934 at the age of 91 years. During the last years, he spent much time praying for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

   Joseph (Joe) Nelson was born in 1899 on the family farm home near Valparaiso. He is the son of Gust A. Nelson (1855-1916) and Mary Nelson (1863-1951). In 1883, Gust had immigrated to the United States from Smaland, Sweden, settling in Omaha by 1887. He was a laborer. He married Mary Johnson, another Smaland immigrant working in Omaha as a housekeeper. He had known her in Sweden.

   In 1893, the Nelsons purchased 80 acres of land in Saunders County, one mile north and a mile east of Valparaiso. The couple farmed and had five

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