Handy Andy And All

The Scandinavian heritage of woodworking talents is alive and well throughout all generations of the Nelson family. It's not known if Andrew "Andy" Anderson was handy or not, but he certainly brought with him the "handy andy" genes from the Swedish side of the Nelson ancestry. Bernie brought with him the naturally clever, handy talents from the Norwegian side of the Nelson ancestry. Of Bernie's six boys, only the oldest and youngest -- Bob and Howie -- showed no interest in anything related to building construction, remodeling, or handyman projects.

Warren, who majored in Structural Engineering at Brooklyn Tech, put his talents to use with several remodeling projects beginning with the initial purchase of 367 56th Street with his father Bernie. From there it grew to turning the Pinecliff Lake cottage into a year-round house by adding a two-car garage and master bedroom suite, designed by kid-brother Gene, who studied Architectural Drafting and Design at Brooklyn Tech.

Warren's son Ken became a self-taught house builder while living in Richmondville, NY. He taught both his sons Kenny and Danny how to build. After moving to Spencer, NC, Ken joined the Rowan County Schools Maintenance Department. In 1999 he bought property in the county and with the help of his sons built his own house. He later added a workshop where he built flag cases and display cases that he sold at craft shows.

Ken's son Kenny has become one of the most prolific wood millwrights in North Carolina. He works out of Winston-Salem building specialty wood products, often using plans only where required by code; otherwise, he follows the plans he sees in his vision. His workmanship is impeccable.

Bernie's third son, Dick was always interested in remodeling. He began with a part-time venture doing odd-job renovations for some of his Schrafft's customers after work. Every house he ever owned bears his remodeling signature. After retiring from Schrafft's, Dick moved his family to Spencer, NC, where he began a short career of working for himself in the remodeling business. After a while he joined the Rowan County Schools Maintenance Department, where he was influential in getting Ken a job. In addition to spending generations remodeling his old Spencer house, Dick bought two other houses that he remodeled and sold to his sons, Greg and Jeff. Dick’s remodeling pranks became posthumous news in the local newspaper.

Greg continued in his father's footsteps by remodeling his New Jersey home. He found some old oak flooring that was removed from an old building, and he built all of his kitchen cabinets from the oak. Greg's livelihood is as an electrician in the building trade industry.

Jeff carried the remodeling theme to Swiss watch making precision. His penchant for perfection drives some people crazy, but the end results of his efforts are nothing short of showroom quality. Jeff is also an electrician who was in the building trades, but is currently in the maintenance department of a furniture manufacturer in Salisbury, NC.

Allen, Bernie's fourth son, was the first in the family to wander from the Brooklyn nest. He moved his family way upstate New York to a little town called Richmondville, forty miles west of Albany. Allen started in the remodeling business, but soon began a long career as a mason contractor. When he retired from that trade he went to work for a mechanical contractor in Binghamton, NY as a contract labor negotiator.

Gene, Bernie's fifth son, was fascinated with the design and drawing end of the construction world. He majored in Architectural Drafting and Design at Brooklyn Tech, and his first drafting job was for a stone company in Manhattan. From there he did drafting for Babcock and Wilcock and General Electric before launching a fifteen-year architectural career in Albany, NY, NJ, and NC. In the meantime he too took on remodeling projects as a homeowner in New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.

Chris, Gene's son, took on a ten-year career in the Coast Guard. While stationed in Virginia he bought a house in Hampton for his family. During the three years they lived there, Chris and Karen transformed the house to such a state that the new owners didn't want to change a thing when they bought it (except to repaint the baby's room).

So if you are a later generation Nelson and you have a penchant for building or designing or remodeling, you'll have a pretty good idea of where your talent genes originated. Make the most of it! And, as Gene's eighth grade teacher wrote in his year book, "So you want to be a builder. May you always build to the glory of God."