Knute Nelson

Today is Knute Nelson's 165th birthday. If you know who Knute Nelson is you are either: A) from Douglas County, B) a Minnesota History Buff, C) also named Knute.

Growing up between the towns of Alexandria and Nelson (yes, named for Knute) I was aware of the name. I'm sure somewhere in my childhood someone told me who he was. Leading to my disinterest was the fact that one of the local nursing homes bears his name. A nursing home is not something a 13-year-old wants to associate with.

Besides the nursing home and the town, a ballpark (pictured) and the local historical society are named for him. In fact, the historical society is his old home. It was moved from it's original site to a spot along the railroad tracks (he was elected to get these extended to Alex) on Nokomis. In college I had to stop there to work on an assignment for a college professor who wanted us to research how our hometowns' helped the WWII effort (the old Northwest Creameries produced powdered milk and canned chickens). The building is huge and smells like a house that has out-lived generations of people.

Beyond that, I knew he was a poltician but little else so I checked out Wikipedia.

According to what I read, he accomplished a lot in his life. Besides the epic tale of immigration (loss, sacrifice, adventure*) Nelson worked his butt off to get an education, served in the civil war, and worked his butt off to become a lawyer.

According to Wiki he moved to Wisconsin, practiced law, and became a politician. He married and then headed to Alexandria, MN.

In Minnesota he set up practice and was elected to the Legislature. Tragically he lost three of his five children in May 1877 to a diphtheria outbreak. Imagine that. One month you come home to a house full of children, the next month you've buried three of them.

Despite this he became governor of Minnesota and later a U.S. Senator. Which lead to name a town. ballpark, and nursing home after him.


*(Brokaw should write about this generation- it's difficult to comprehend the courage and/or desperation it would take to make that journey)