BioA: Nelsen, Mr. & Mrs. Clarence A. (Gold – 1966)

Contact: Dinah Reinke
Email: dinah@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Nelsen, Briggs, Weddig, Maes

------ Source: Tribune-Phonograph (Abbotsford and Colby, Clark Co., Wis.) 0x/0x/1966

------ Nelsen, Mr. & Mrs. Clarence A (Gold - 18 OCT 1966)

Mr. and Mrs. Clarence A. Nelsen, Colby, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Tuesday, Oct. 18, with an afternoon and evening open house at the Colby Methodist church.

The open house celebration followed a family observance which had been held on August 13, arranged by the couple’s children. A total of 86 relatives and 30 members of the immediate family were present for the August 13 observance.

Clarence A. Nelsen and Julia N. Nelson were married Oct. 18, 1916, at Waupaca. They had both been born and raised in Waupaca, and received their early education there. Mr. Nelsen attended Marquette university, where he received his degree in pharmacy in 1912.

Immediately following their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Nelsen lived for about one year in Chicago. They then moved to Superior, where they lived a year.

Mr. Nelsen entered the army in 1918 at Camp Grant, Ill., and was discharged in 1919.

Mr. and Mrs. Nelsen came to Colby January 1, 1920, where they have made their home ever since. Upon settling in Colby, Mr. Nelsen purchased the Colby drug store from O. R. Briggs, and ran the store until 1954 when he retired and sold the business to Henry Weddig.

Mr. and Mrs. Nelsen have traveled extensively since their retirement, both in this country and abroad.

Their children, all of whom were born in Colby, are Marjorie, who is now a secretary in Chicago; Clarence, an electronics engineer with IBM in San Jose, Calif.; Carl, an aeronautical engineer with Boeing Aircraft Corp. at Seattle, Wash.; Mrs. Earl (Sara) Maes; Milwaukee, and Ronald, a chemical engineer with General Electric Corp. at DeKalb, Ill. They also have 17 grand children.