Uncle Dave

Dave Nelson was my great-uncle, brother to my grandmother Esther. He was "Uncle Dave", not just to me by to an entire town.  With his brother-in-law, Ole Hoplin, he purchased a hardware, implement, furniture & mortuary business in Lowry, Minnesota in 1916 that became known as Hoplin & Nelson,  a business was in continuous operation for 65 years. (see Hoplin & Nelson post)

Dave was the most generous of persons, but always insisting on anonymity. Many a young married couple, down on their luck, got incredible deals on appliances at H&N. He was a humble man, cheering on the underdog, the disadvantaged and the physically handicapped. He was conservative politically and in his personal life, but liberal with those in need.

Dave broke a hip falling from a tree in 1915. The bone was not properly set and the bones healed misaligned. As a result one leg was shorter than the other. He spent many months in Gillette Hospital in Minneapolis. He wore a special corrective shoe with a built-up sole, but he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. He was often bedridden from the back pain that was a side-effect of his injury. He had a special spot in his heart for the handicapped and provided a model for the Hoplin children with his treatment of the disadvantaged. 

Nevertheless, he managed to get into the army in WW I by jumping over a table, demonstrating to the draft board that his disability would not affect his ability to be a solider. He was accepted for limited duty and served at Fort Snelling in a clerical capacity. This was on his third try at enlisting. He was intensely patriotic. He was discharged December 24, 1918.

Dave loved sports, especially baseball and I believe managed to visit every Major League ballpark of the day except two, including a special trip in 1947 to see Jackie Robinson break the color barrier. In those days, there were no Major League baseball teams west of the Mississippi, except the Cardinals, unless you count the St. Louis Browns. He was the driving force behind the establishment of the Lowry Town Baseball team of the Resorters League, which included Lowry, Brandon, Evansville, Hoffman, Kensington, Millerville, Holmes City, Miltona. Later Lowry switched to the Pomme de Terre league which included Cyrus, Starbuck and Hancock. There were some darn fine ballplayers hiding out in the countryside. Kids knew Dave for the nickels he gave for foul balls retrieved. Adults knew him for anonymous charity. He loved to play golf and was one of the pioneers developing the Minnewaska Golf Course, planting trees, and other improvements. He was on a bowling team with Bob Bennett and other Lowry luminaries.

He was often teased about being an eligible bachelor. In the 20’s, Pope County was proposing to build a new court house. Dave was certain it would never happen. He said, “When that courthouse opens, I’ll be the first to buy a marriage license.” The courthouse opened in 1928. He claimed he couldn’t get a license because he had asked every eligible female in the county and they all turned him down. He never married – although pursued by several – a bachelor for life, he adopted a town.

He was stoic, shy and stubborn, had a wry sense of humor with a mischievous side. His list of his pranks is long. Legend has it that: 1) There was a local braggart, named Mitchell, just discharged from the Great War, who claimed he was the best shot in the county. Dave set up a contest with targets against some hay bales. Unbeknownst, Dave had positioned a few sticks of dynamite behind the bulls-eye. 2) Hank Applequist was a traveling salesman and every time he arrived in Lowry he invariable rushed to the basement to use the hardware’s toilet facilities. On one occasion he discovered the toilet set covered with what turned out to be peanut butter.

Dave was convinced a vehicle not black and a Buick was showy. He made only one mistake and that was trying a black Oldsmobile in 1960. My father ended up getting a good deal on that car.







On August 31, 1967, Dave was honored by the Lowry community, much to his embarrassment. People came from near and far on that day. Old colleagues, Jack Hite, Dr. Hagebeck, and even a few politicians, gathered in the Lowry Town Hall to honor the man. It was said, “There are few men who have given more of themselves to a community and yet fought so hard to stay in the background.” “I never heard him raise his voice in anger, although he would have been justified on many occasions”. In response, Dave said: “They overdid it of course. People I’ve always regarded as upright and honest, told a lot of lies today. They weren’t true, but it was nice. I like to see people taken care of, and I think some of them like me.” {Editor note: The understatement of the century}.

Interestingly, Dave’s brother Olaf had been honored similarly by the City of New London 10 years prior. “But he was a lot smarter than I was.”

Dave lived with his sister Esther and her family for his entire life.

It was Dave who planted the majestic elm trees that lined the boulevards of Lowry, until they were devastated by Dutch Elm disease.















{Editor note: Although this life is an impossibly high standard, the responsibility of upholding the inherited title “Uncle Dave” has kept me on the straight and narrow – for the most part – and has cost me a lot of dinner tabs.}

Copyright © 2016 Dave Hoplin