Arner David Nelson was born in Polk County, Wisconsin, on October 6, 1907, one of three children of David and Ingo Lambert Nielsen. His father changed his name to "Nelson" and, in 1914, moved with his family to a homestead claim near Flatwillow, Petroleum County, Montana. Arner grew up working on the homestead and, on November 25, 1935, married Teresa Lucas and moved to Roundup, Montana, where he worked as a cement contractor. The couple had two sons: Arner Edward in 1947 and David Louis in 1948. Arner died at Roundup on December 3, 1972.
The Arner D. Nelson reminiscence, titled "Recollections of Homestead Days," recalls Nelson's boyhood on his father's homestead claim in southern Petroleum County, Montana. Nelson describes a trip with his mother and sisters on the train from Spokane, Washington, to Roundup, Montana, and then overland in a wagon to the Flatwillow area of Petroleum County. He also describes life on the new homestead, his family's first car, and school experiences. The manuscript includes a brief addendum by his sister, Jennie Nelson Rorabeck.
This collection is open for research.
An original typed boyhood reminiscence by Arner D. Nelson was donated to Montana State University by his brother-in-law, David Rorabeck, College Place, Washington, on April 9, 1968.
This collection was processed 2012 June 27
[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT