On my mother's side, my great grandfather Nels K. Nielsen was born in Denmark and at the age of two his parents and five siblings traveled on a boat to the United States. Their original plan to get to the United States was to come over on the Titanic but my great great grandmother became ill and they were unable to travel. Their trip then got pushed back for two weeks and once she was healthy they boarded a different boat for their long journey to New York. It was a very long boat ride, consisting of about two weeks. Once they ported in New York they made their long journey to Minnesota, the great state of 10,000 lakes. My great grandma Denise, Nels wife, was born here in Minnesota. Her parents originally came from Denmark right before she …show more content…
She was born on a farm just outside of Manchester, to Urla and Freemond Waldmar. Julie was one of 5 children. She worked hard to get through graduation and met Robert in high school, high school sweethearts. They dated and married, when it was time to start a family they moved in to a house on the Waldmar farm, as the kids grew, Julie and Urla both were working outside in the garden one day when a crop duster flew over and was spraying the crops, some over spray must of came over to the farm and a few short months later they both had cancer, so a mother and daughter team fighting cancer together, in the end Urla did not make it. It has been about 30 years and Julie is still cancer free, this experience had changed life for the whole family. Moving from Manchester to Alden, hoping for a fresh start, the kids were 8, 11, and 14. Two boys and one girl stuck in the middle of the two to stop the bickering. Julie worked for many years at the nursing home in Albert Lea, and when life needed a little change she moved out to a factory until she retired about 7 years ago. Spending time with the family and working in the garden is what makes her smile