2007.01.22: January 22, 2007: Headlines: COS - Somalia: Obituaries: Architecture: Historical Preservation: Pioneer Press: Obituary for Somalia RPCV Charlie Nelson
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Somalia:
Peace Corps Somalia :
The Peace Corps in Somalia:
2007.01.22: January 22, 2007: Headlines: COS - Somalia: Obituaries: Architecture: Historical Preservation: Pioneer Press: Obituary for Somalia RPCV Charlie Nelson
Obituary for Somalia RPCV Charlie Nelson
After a tour together in the Peace Corps, the Nelsons -- who met while earning their degrees at the University of Minnesota -- went house shopping. He wanted a Victorian that was "untouched," Angie Nelson recalled Sunday, but he discovered the real estate agent was steering the couple clear of a fatigued section of North Minneapolis, where Nelson ended up finding a house he loved so much he purchased it on sight. "When we moved in, Minneapolis was tearing everything down around us," she said of the neighborhood. "We recruited our friends to come in and buy them up." And so began the Old Highland Neighborhood Association. Nelson joined the Historical Society that same year and supervised the statewide survey for the National Register of Historic Places. In 1974, he became the state architectural historian and in 1978, the historical architect.
Obituary for Somalia RPCV Charlie Nelson
Obituary Charlie Nelson, 61 / Historical architect knew state, loved job: Master of compromise had far-reaching influence
Jan 22, 2007
Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Jan. 22--No matter where you are in Minnesota, there's a historic log cabin within 50 miles.
And Charlie Nelson has been there.
From remote cabins to the State Capitol to St. Paul's Irvine Park, Nelson's presence can be found on nearly every historic preservation project in the state for the past 30 years.
Nelson, 61, died early Saturday from illness tied to a years- long struggle with cancer, friends and family said.
On Sunday, they recalled the longtime state historical architect with the Minnesota Historical Society as a tireless preservationist and a master of compromise -- in a field where compromise is often as valuable as knowledge and passion. And he had those, too.
"He knew every road in this state -- dirt road, paved road -- he knew every significant structure," said Nina Archabal, executive director of the Historical Society, who worked with Nelson from the late 1970s until his retirement in 2004. She said no one else knew more. "When we lost Charlie Nelson, we lost wisdom and knowledge that -- of course we hope will be replaced -- is an enormous loss for the entire state. He was a rare blend. He knew the buildings, he knew the people. But he also knew that living was the art of compromise."
For example, when a 1991 fire ravaged the then-110-year-old Washburn Crosby Mill in Minneapolis, "There were many people who thought it was a fool's errand to do something with this enormous pile of rubble," she said. Not Nelson. Still, when a developer with a commercial interest in the site offered to preserve part of it but also wanted a modern steel-and-glass elevator thrusting up from the ruins, many preservationists winced.
"Some could argue that that glass elevator is an intrusion," Archabal said. "Charlie didn't see it that way. He saw the value in the views it would offer. He also saw the value of compromise. It went a long way to saving the mill."
Today, the site, just upstream from the new Guthrie Theater, hosts the Mill City Museum and remains a National Historic Landmark.
Nelson's need to "save" started at a young age, growing up in historic Old Mill Creek, a northern Illinois architectural estate managed by his father.
When he was 8, he was wandering through the remains of a burned building, said Angie Guggenberger Nelson, his wife of 38 years.
"He found an architectural piece: an old griffin made out of old oak," she said. "He rescued it. That was his first save."
Hardly his last.
After a tour together in the Peace Corps, the Nelsons -- who met while earning their degrees at the University of Minnesota -- went house shopping. He wanted a Victorian that was "untouched," Angie Nelson recalled Sunday, but he discovered the real estate agent was steering the couple clear of a fatigued section of North Minneapolis, where Nelson ended up finding a house he loved so much he purchased it on sight.
"When we moved in, Minneapolis was tearing everything down around us," she said of the neighborhood. "We recruited our friends to come in and buy them up."
And so began the Old Highland Neighborhood Association.
Nelson joined the Historical Society that same year and supervised the statewide survey for the National Register of Historic Places. In 1974, he became the state architectural historian and in 1978, the historical architect.
"He loved architecture and he loved history, and it was just that simple," said David Nystuen, a friend and coworker at the Historical Society who often road-tripped with Nelson around the state, where his work ranged from preserving the Joyce Estate in Itasca County to educating property owners about restoring their log cabins. "He'd watch the History Channel in some hotel at night. Next morning, he'd tell me all about the history of the (Ford) Edsel or the Boer Wars."
Active in the Masonic Temple, Nelson founded the Minnesota Masonic Historical Society and Museum.
He won numerous awards. In 1995, the U.S. Forest Service gave him a National Award for Excellence for his work on the Joyce Estate, an old hunting camp north of Grand Rapids. In 2005, shortly after his health forced him to retire, both the St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission and the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission awarded him their highest honors.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Billman-Hunt Funeral Chapel in Minneapolis. Donations can be made to the Old Highland Neighborhood Association, the Minnesota Masonic Historical Society and Museum and the Charlie Nelson Fund for Historic Preservation.
Dave Orrick can be reached at dorrick@pioneerpress.com or 651- 228-2171.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: January, 2007; Peace Corps Somalia; Directory of Somalia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Somalia RPCVs; Obituaries; Architecture
When this story was posted in March 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Pioneer Press
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Somalia; Obituaries; Architecture; Historical Preservation
PCOL36453
31