Valfrid Augustinius (Wilfred August) Nelson
extensive information in Nelson Family Tree (Ancestry.com)

GRACE AND WILL
by Donna Nix

Wilfred A, Nelson left Sully County, South Dakota, and went to Carrington, ND, in 1891. He broke sod and plowed fire guards with oxen. He homesteaded south of Pettibone in 1897 and raised cattle and horses. He used the Pettibone property for a cattle pasture after he moved to Wells County. His registered brand for cattle was a circle with an "X" through it. He shortened this brand to just the "X" in the 20's and early 30's. He shipped many carloads of cattle to Chicago and used to take a train to Chicago at the same time in order to sell his stock.

Gloria remembers that her father told her he danced around the maypole in the town square in Motola, Sweden, when he was a young boy. Gloria also recalls the story Will told about when one of his friends put a skunk. in his food storage dugout. He also told stories about cooking prunes in slough water when he lived in a dugout type shack when he was a bachelor. He told us about an incident that happened when he lived in the Pettibone area. One of his friends had some cowboys over for a meal after they had helped at a neighborhood round-up. The host had made soap and it had a nice light color, so the friend sliced it and served it as cheese. I think Will ate a piece and never batted an eye. Some of the people Will mentioned when telling about early days at Pettibone are, Hugh Marston, the Dahlstrons, the Hingers and the Dells.

It may be about this time, too, that during a round-up a frightened steer ran straight at Will and he scaled a six-foot fence in one jump. This is quite a feat considering his height was five feet, three inches.

In later years during one of the trips Earl Kruschwitz took with Will to the Pettibone area, Will told Earl that he had homesteaded on a quarter section near Round lake, which is on the highway east west a mile north of Pettibone and mile east. He also told Earl that one time his brother, Charles, gave Will $1,700 to buy cattle at Wheaton, MN. He lost all the money in a poker game, so he went by train to Carrington, mortgaged his holdings for $1,700, and went back to Wheaton and bought the cattle. He started another poker game, won $1,700 and paid off the loan at the bank. On another occasion during a card game he won a saddle horse, a blanket, a bridle, and a gun. He gave the horse back to the loser and much later gave the gun to Earl who still has it.

Grace Chilberg, along with her mother, her stepfather, Fred Rossing, and her younger sisters, moved to Pettibone in 1905. At that time Will was living on a ranch south of town, and east of the Rossing homestead. Grace and Will were married In Jamestown, ND, In Edith Brown's home, on November I4, 1907. They went to Minneapolis on a trip and came back to the farm in Wells County and lived
in the three-room house that had been moved from Round Lake property and later moved to section 11, Kidder County, which Will owned and farmed for many years. This same house was moved back to the farmstead in Wells County in the spring of 1938, after Dave and Libus came back from Oregon. They lived In it for about a year. The house is now situated in the city of Sykeston, north of the Mack house, across the street west of the school where David, Vae, Donna and Gloria graduated from high school.

Later, in 1912, the house that we grew up in was built. David remembered that he was about four when it was built. We had gas lights at first and we pumped water by hand from a well in the basement for the running water in the faucets and the toilet. The Delco light plant was installed later, about 1920, as Vae remembers sitting on the basement steps watching the proceedings.

During the winter of 1919-20, Grace, Will and Vae went on a trip to California. G.S. Newberry wrote a letter of introduction for Will to take on this trip.

A few years after Grace and Will were married, Edna was visiting and she tells this story. Will had been in town or someplace with some friends for a few drinks. When he came home he had his team of horses on the run and they galloped right into the barn, wagon and all.

Will was a very good provider. Their home was the first to have modern conveniences. Grace always had help with the housework when she needed it, however, she put in full days of work herself. She was a marvelous cook, kept a clean, attractively furnished home, and still had time to read to her children.
The stories about Will playing poker happened while he was still a bachelor and the times when he had a drink were few and far between. Most of the time he was a very hard working man, but when he had time and money to spend he loved to see that everybody had a good time. He took an active part in county affairs and never failed to see that his family voted in all national and local elections.

Johnson Township was organized on March 23, 1896, with Herman Rolluitz, Wn. Boehlke and Fred Hildebrand, directors, Olaf Johnson, clerk, Griffith Lewis, treasurer. Organized as Johnson Civil Township on April 28, 1910, with W. Nelson, Wm. Hannes, and Michael Stern, supervisors; F.E. Wilson, clerk, Geo. A. Swanson, treasurer; Olaf Johnson, constable; Frank Butts, justice. Named in honor of Ole Johnson and son, Olaf, first and long time only settlers in the township. (From Wells County History)

David went to the school east and north of the farm until Vae was old enough to go to school, then they went to Johnson # 2, south two miles and a mile west, When David was through eighth grade he drove to Sykeston in the fall and spring each day to go to high school and then roomed with the DeVoices In Sykeston in the winter. When David started high school, Donna started first and second grade, so Vae and Donna drove to school in a cart drawn by one horse. In the winter, Will built a box to fit on the cart frame to protect us from the cold.

Mrs. Grace Hollingsworth was the teacher when Donna started school. Later Annette Kenne from Valley City and Gladys Evans from Sykeston taught us. Mrs. Hollingsworth was interested in the cultural development of her students. The programs she produced, musical and dramatic, were well known in the area and very much appreciated by the parents and other residents of Johnson district.

The family went to Roosevelt Sunday School in the early days. Some of the other families were, Mr. and Mrs. Holt, Roscoe and Nellie Harris, Chris Hanson family, Mr. and Mrs. George Swanson, Paul and Emma Swanson, Froelichs, Rasmussens, Eva and Bill Guenther. We also went to Bible School in the summers.

There was a literary society that met at Johnson school in the winter time. Grace did some dramatic readings at this time. On one occasion when we were very young, the folks had a costume party and Mrs. Swanson dressed up as "Maggie" and Will as "Jiggs", characters in the funny papers at that time.

We had a Brunswick phonograph and Grace had a nice collection of records, Including songs by Caruso, Galll-Curci, Henry Burr, Sir Harry Lauder, and a violin solo by Fritz Kruschwitz. Earlier, Grace and Will had a cylinder Phonograph with a morning glory horn, an Eatson, but it was before our time. We remember seeing it in the attic.

Visits of relatives in the summer were an important part of our growing up memories. Auntie Hilda and family came out each summer by train. Visits by the South Dakota relatives were a yearly occasion as well as trips by us to South Dakota to see Grandma Nelson and cousins there. Grandma Nelson always gave Vae and Donna each a dollar as we were leaving. Mama bought us a Bible one time and
another time silver napkin rings. Grandma and Aunt Emma made a trip to see Grace and Will one summer by buggy and a team of horses, I don't know how long it took. They stayed overnight along the way with settlers as there were no hotels or motels at that time. We had an automobile by the time I remember trips.

We usually made a trip to Valley City in the fall of the year to buy clothes or material for Grace to sew into clothes for the children for school. This was after we had a car. The first car I remember hearing about was a Reo. We also had Studebaker and a Model A Ford later.

During the summers in the mid-20's, Don Hoster and I used Pig Latin when talking in the presence of Gloria so she wouldn't understand and tag along. "Et's-lay uck day aby-bay," was an expression used a lot. We had many haystacks to climb, a bit of jumping off the barn to do, and a water fight or two to take care of, and couldn't have Gloria slowing the fun.

When Vae finished eighth grade, we moved to Sykeston in the fall of 1928. The house Will and Grace bought was a block south of the school and in the same block as the Catholic school and church. We moved back to the farm each summer and made sure that the piano was moved back and forth, so the girls could practice their lessons summer and winter. There was usually a lot of swearing and tobacco spitting by Will when it was time to load the piano.

Gloria started first grade in Sykeston and continued through high school. When she was in seventh grade, her sister, Vae, was her teacher. Vae had graduated from high school in 1932 and later receive her teaching degree from Valley City State Teacher's College In 1934. When Gloria started high school, Grace and Will moved back to the farm with all the furniture and rented out the house in Sykeston to John Nelsons and later to Mercks. Gloria then roomed and boarded with them in exchange for rent.

I have very pleasant memories of growing up on the farm. By the mid-30's we were short of money but everybody was short of money and we survived.