Grandfather Carl Johan HERMAN Nelson posing with his milk wagon (1910)
Paul Fanland opines:
For those unfamiliar with Rockford’s story, the city’s early years were strongly influenced by Swedish immigrants, many of whom were expert furniture-makers.
But Rockford’s halcyon days were the 1940s through most of the 1970s, when the city’s big factories were humming and workers could earn excellent middle-class livings, raise families, own houses and cars, and enjoy economic security on a single income.
Most dads on my block carried lunchpails and served in World War II, quintessential Greatest Generation guys. That picture, like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting, changed abruptly after I left for college.
Rockford was among the prominent casualties in the collapse of the American manufacturing economy. All of the statistical measures indicating a healthy community — crime, family income, unemployment, school achievement — worsened.
Nelson family home at 1815 Charles Street (August 1939)
On the front porch of 1815 (June 1950)
Left to right: unknown laddie, Dad, cousin Dick holing 9-month-old Retiring Guy, cousin Anita
The site of the former John Nelson Elementary School, where Dad and his 6 siblings attended. All they had to do was cross the alley behind the house.
Photo by Retiring Guy (June 17, 2023)
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