An interview with Nelson Gwinn M Gwinn, December 23, 2025December 23, 2025 I just became aware of this “Story Corps” interview of Nelson Gwinn by my cousin Jeanine. Hearing Granddad’s voice is amazing. What an unlooked for gift. In this interview conducted on October 17, 2009, 89-year-old Nelson Gwinn shares memories of his life in West Virginia with his granddaughter, Jeanine Heemstra. Nelson discusses growing up in railroad towns during the Great Depression, his long career with the railroad, and his 64-year marriage to his wife, Ethel. He also reflects on his pride in his extensive genealogy work and his lifelong love for bluegrass music. Key Quotes from Nelson Gwinn On his family’s generosity during the Depression: “Every train that came in had hoboes on it, people looking for work. And of course they had to go to the houses in town and beg for food. So Mom fixed up a table out on the back porch and they had our house marked and they’d come to our house and get something to eat.” On the surprise birth of his twin daughters: “About five minutes later the first baby was born. I thought it was all over with… I come back up and here was another baby. I told the doctor, I said, ‘You better shut that thing off.’” The transcript of the interview is below, but I’d encourage you to listen to it as well. You can hear it at https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/mbx005950/ (you will need to create a free account to listen). Thank you Jeanine for doing this! We should all take a note from your playbook and interview someone like this! Here is the transcript of the interview between Jeannine Heemstra and her grandfather, Nelson Gwinn, conducted on October 17, 2009. Interview Information Date: October 17, 2009 Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan Interviewer: Jeannine Heemstra (Age 39) Interviewee: Nelson Gwinn (Age 89) Transcript Jeannine Heemstra: My name is Jeannine Heemstra and I’m 39 years old and the date today is October 17, 2009 and we are in Grand Rapids, Michigan and I am here with my granddad. Nelson Gwinn: And my name is Nelson Gwinn, age 89. Today is October the 17th, 2009. We’re located in Grand Rapids, Michigan and I’m here with my granddaughter, Jeannine. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay, granddad. So, I guess we should start by asking, um, where you were born? Nelson Gwinn: I was born in a little small town in West Virginia called Prince, West Virginia. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay, and you’re the oldest— Nelson Gwinn: I’m the oldest of three kids. Jeannine Heemstra: And how long did you live in Prince? Nelson Gwinn: About two and a half years and we moved from there to Quinnimont, and from there to Laurel, Laurel to Hinton and I was five years old when we moved to Hinton. And stayed there through my sophomore year of high school and then ended up in Beaver, West Virginia for my junior and senior year in high school. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay. And so most of your growing up years were in Hinton. Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, right. Jeannine Heemstra: And it was kind of a vibrant city, wasn’t it? Nelson Gwinn: It was a small town, a railroad town revolved around the railroad, but it was a nice town on the edge of the coal mine district. Jeannine Heemstra: And what’s your earliest memory? If you could think of one… Nelson Gwinn: Oh, I don’t know. A little girl lived next door to me when I was just two years old, I used to go over and visit with her. I remember that. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh, you did? Really? That’s a pretty good memory to remember that far back. So that would have been in Prince then, right? Nelson Gwinn: That would have been in Prince. And I met the girl again then in my senior year of high school. Jeannine Heemstra: You did? Did you guys remember each other or? Nelson Gwinn: I remembered her, I don’t know whether she remembered me or not. Jeannine Heemstra: Was she the same age, or like in the same high school? Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, she and I were the same age. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh, that’s so funny. So, and do you remember her name by any chance? Or not? Nelson Gwinn: Evelyn Rogers. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh. So, okay, and so your parents were Mary and Carl, right? Nelson Gwinn: Mary and Carl, yes, uh-huh. Jeannine Heemstra: And what were they like as parents? Nelson Gwinn: Oh, they were great parents. Jeannine Heemstra: Were they strict or did you— Nelson Gwinn: Well, in those days, you were strict, yes. You used the paddle or the switch if you needed it. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh. You never got paddled, did you? Nelson Gwinn: Well, once in a while. Jeannine Heemstra: You got paddled at school, didn’t you? I remember one story. Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, I did that. That was in the fourth grade. I— we had a spelling bee and the teacher asked me to spell the word “together” and I spelled it and she said, “No, you got it wrong.” I said, “I did not.” She said, “Yes, you did.” And we argued back and forth for a little bit and I picked up an inkwell out of the desk and threw it at her. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh, you did? Nelson Gwinn: So I got my spanking, paddling. Jeannine Heemstra: Now, okay, was that the same time that you had the goggles that you put in your— Nelson Gwinn: No, no, that was another time. Jeannine Heemstra: I’m making you sound like you were a naughty student, I know you weren’t. What was that incident? Nelson Gwinn: I don’t remember what brought it about, but I did something out on the playground that I shouldn’t have done and the teacher brought me in and was going to paddle me. So I had just got, as you mentioned, the goggles, it was a helmet-type thing, a leather cap, airplane pilot type thing. So I stuffed that in the seat of my pants and she bent me over the desk and paddled me and ruined my glasses, my goggles. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh. That’s not such a good thing, is it? Nelson Gwinn: No. Jeannine Heemstra: So, there’s a question on here, but I am curious, um, how would your classmates remember you? If you think back, like what kind of kid would they say you would have been? Nelson Gwinn: Oh, I don’t know, it’d be hard to answer. I don’t really know what their reaction would be. I think we got along good, I don’t think we had any problems. Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah. But I know you were a good student though, weren’t you? Because you got a scholarship. Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, I got a scholarship in chemistry but I didn’t follow through on it. Jeannine Heemstra: And, and why? Because it was the Depression, wasn’t it? Nelson Gwinn: Well, right, it was Depression days and the only jobs available around was either railroading or mining, coal mining. So I decided to go for the coal mining— no, the railroading and not go to college. Jeannine Heemstra: So, railroading you mean, because your dad was in the railroad. Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, he was on railroad, uh-huh. Jeannine Heemstra: And you thought from a financial standpoint that was smarter than going to college. Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, I had no intention of going into the coal mines. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh, yeah. And so you liked chemistry on your own, right? Didn’t you do your own sort of, like didn’t you sort of stay after school and do your own experiments? Nelson Gwinn: I was in charge of the laboratory at school and I did a lot of preparation for the next day’s classes and so forth. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh. And do you think over the years then you kept your love of chemistry? Did you keep— Nelson Gwinn: It’s faded away through the years, but after I got out of high school I built a little laboratory in the basement of my house and— Jeannine Heemstra: You did? Really? Now you never exploded anything or anything, did you? Nelson Gwinn: Never had that. Jeannine Heemstra: I think Uncle David has a story about burning up some ceiling or something, doesn’t he? Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, he used to do a lot of that kind of junk too. Jeannine Heemstra: So, what— how did the Depression affect your life growing up? Nelson Gwinn: Well, it still affects me because of the change in prices of things and so forth. For instance, the price of gas back then was 25 cents and I’ve paid as low as 11 cents a gallon for it. And a nickel loaf of bread and rent, I never paid over— after I got married, I never paid over $25 a month on rent. Jeannine Heemstra: $25? Nelson Gwinn: So it does give you a different perspective on things when you face what things are nowadays. Jeannine Heemstra: Well, yeah. And weren’t the medical expenses were completely different too, weren’t they? Nelson Gwinn: A dollar to go to see the doctor at his office, two dollars if he comes to your house and examined you there. Jeannine Heemstra: Wow. And you would get free prescription medication, right? Didn’t they give you like the medicine? Nelson Gwinn: Well, some, some doctors did, some doctors didn’t. It depends on the doctor. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay. Well and what was it to have a baby? I know you’ve told me that before, but I can’t remember. Nelson Gwinn: Oh, well, all of our kids cost us, the nine months prenatal care, the delivery and the postnatal care cost us $25 for each except when the twins and that was $35 for the twins. Jeannine Heemstra: And the doctor came to your house and delivered the baby. Nelson Gwinn: Delivered the babies at the house, uh-huh. Jeannine Heemstra: My, how times have changed. Nelson Gwinn: They certainly have. Jeannine Heemstra: So you did not— you grew up in a town then, you weren’t on a farm. Nelson Gwinn: Well, we lived on a farm for a little while, but not very long, but I spent most of my summers on the farms at my grandmother’s, either my mother’s mother and father or my dad’s mother and father. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay. Nelson Gwinn: So I had a lot of farm experience. Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah. Well because there was a time where when you and Granny were married, didn’t you guys like took a bunch of chickens and canned them or something? You knew how to do that stuff. Nelson Gwinn: Oh, well, that was during the Depression days again and we lived in a small town. So I raised 25 chickens in a garage and came in one night and killed them all and we dipped them in boiling water and Ethel cut them up and canned them. Jeannine Heemstra: All in one night? And this is when you had babies, right? Weren’t Carolyn and Meg babies? Nelson Gwinn: Well, we had the twins and David. Jeannine Heemstra: I think you showed me that house once that we went by where you were living for that. That’s just amazing that you could do all that in a night. Nelson Gwinn: And we raised a pig too, and killed it and butchered it and— Jeannine Heemstra: During that same time period? Nelson Gwinn: Same, same time period, uh-huh. You had to because— that was during World War II, you know, and meat was rationed and we had to do it. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay. And was your family— your dad stayed employed during the Depression, right? Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, he was lucky he had a job all during the Depression. Jeannine Heemstra: So, but it seems like there have been many stories I’ve heard where you guys had people show up at your house for food. Nelson Gwinn: Oh, well, the town I lived in at that time, Hinton, was on the railroad at— where a train came in, stopped and was switched and then moved out. And every train that came in had hoboes on it, people looking for work. And of course they had to go to the houses in town and beg for food. So Mom fixed up a table out on the back porch and they had our house marked and they’d come to our house and get something to eat. Jeannine Heemstra: People knew when they came to town they could come to your house? That’s interesting. Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, right. They passed word along. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay. So, what was McKendree like? Nelson Gwinn: That was a beautiful farm. It— my great-grandfather bought it and built on it and of course during the Civil War why he had to leave it and go out into Indiana because— he was a Union sympathizer and that area was very much for the South. So he came back and bought a sawmill and they built a house and then later built the big house, my grandmother’s and grandfather’s house. You’ve been to that. Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah. Oh, yeah. So now when he— there’s the story about when he had to leave to go to Indiana, is that Mary Jane you’re talking about and Laban? Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, Laban, uh-huh. Jeannine Heemstra: And didn’t he see them burn his house? Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, they, his brother and the Thurman’s Raiders they were called, it was a group of Southern sympathizers, came in and burned the house and he was up on the mountain leaving there and looked back and saw his house burning. Jeannine Heemstra: Ah. And so there’s another story about, was it your great granddad on the other side of the family where— Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, my grandmother’s father was a— was a Southerner. And he fought for the South and they were having a battle right through that area at that time and the South was losing so they were retreating. And I remember him well, he had a long beard and he told me all his stories. But he in retreating he saw this Union soldier on the ground wounded so he stopped to see what he could do for him and it was his brother. And he had been wounded and so he stayed with his brother then and was captured and brought up North and stayed the duration of the war in a prison up here until after the war was over with. Jeannine Heemstra: So his brother was a Northern sympathizer and he was a Southern sympathizer. Nelson Gwinn: Uh-huh. It was a lot of that, brother against brother, father against son, all that kind of stuff. Jeannine Heemstra: Now after the war, did your grandpa talk to that brother? I mean did they forgive each other and— Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, they got along good. Jeannine Heemstra: And that’s Grandpa Spade then. Nelson Gwinn: Right. Jeannine Heemstra: Now what was the farm— you said you spent summers also at your other side of the family? Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, right, that was out in Nicholas County. And it was great, my grandfather there was very religious and he sort of run the church there and it was a little more confining than the other for kids. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh yeah, yeah. Like a little more strict and you couldn’t— Nelson Gwinn: Yeah. Jeannine Heemstra: So, now coming back to you growing up, you were just out of high school when you met Gran— how did you meet Gran? Nelson Gwinn: Well, I had gone to work on the railroad and our general manager of the railroad had gone up to Minnesota to vacate and he met this young fellow up there— had him as a caddy on the golf course. And he offered him a job back in West Virginia, so he brought him back down there and hired him out. And then this young fellow, Bob Babbaneau, went back to Minnesota and married the Carlson girl, Edith, and brought her down. And then Ethel, her twin sister, came to West Virginia to visit her and never did get back, I didn’t let her come back. Jeannine Heemstra: Do you remember the first time you met her? Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, we were standing at the station at the depot there and Edith and Ethel were there and Edith introduced me to Ethel and she said hello. But anyway I met her in August, married her in December. Jeannine Heemstra: And so you didn’t know each other real well when you got married. Nelson Gwinn: No, but you knew enough that 64 years married— Jeannine Heemstra: Was it 64 years? So obviously you had a good instinct for what was— Nelson Gwinn: Worked out good. Jeannine Heemstra: So now there’s a story about where you guys had your first kiss and then you would you were telling me that the other day about where you’d go and have picnics with the kids too. Where was that? Nelson Gwinn: It was between Hinton and Meadow Creek and it was a little flowing well or spring rather, I should say spring. We stopped there to get a drink of water and that was my first kiss. And then later after we were married and had kids, why during the war, you know, we had to sell our car because I thought sure I was going into service and I never did, but the railroad kept getting me deferments. But they had a little bus that run back and forth between those two places and we’d take the kids and put them on the bus and take them up to that spring and we’d have our picnic and have a good time, maybe cook something or something like that and then we’d wait on the bus to come back to go back home and usually somebody’d pick us up and take us home. Jeannine Heemstra: So you didn’t actually have to catch the bus. Nelson Gwinn: Usually didn’t. Jeannine Heemstra: Now that was— Nelson Gwinn: Huh? Jeannine Heemstra: You were going to say something. Nelson Gwinn: Oh, no. Jeannine Heemstra: The— during the war, you just said this, but you didn’t ever know you might get sent out at any moment. Nelson Gwinn: I was 1-A regular and then they’d get me deferments, the railroad get me deferments because they needed train dispatchers. And so I didn’t have to go but I had to sell my car because I thought I was going to go. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh okay. So you went five years without a car. Nelson Gwinn: Five years without a car. Jeannine Heemstra: And you had all five kids at that point, I guess, or part of that time probably. Nelson Gwinn: Well Marty was born right at the end of the war. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay. Still that would have been challenging to— Nelson Gwinn: That was great. Jeannine Heemstra: Now how did you ask Granny to marry you? Nelson Gwinn: Oh Lord, I don’t— Jeannine Heemstra: I thought there was you guys were in like at a camp or by a fireplace or something. Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, we were in Meadow Creek, uh-huh. But I can’t remember the details of it. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay. And um, but I thought too, like when you guys got married, you didn’t even have a refrigerator, right? You guys— that life was just totally different. Nelson Gwinn: Yep, well we got an apartment and it was in a house, a room upstairs is what it was. And no refrigerator, we had to put a box out the window and put our stuff in that to keep it cool in the wintertime. Jeannine Heemstra: Just to let the cool air keep it cold. Nelson Gwinn: Yeah. And of course it cost us $10 a month for rent at that time. Jeannine Heemstra: Your rent was $10 a month? But what were you making, what was a weekly salary? Nelson Gwinn: Well the first year I was married I made $1,800 for the whole year. Jeannine Heemstra: For the whole year. And you worked seven days a week back in those days, right? Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, seven days a week. Jeannine Heemstra: Did you get paid vacations? Nelson Gwinn: No, oh no there was no such thing as a vacation. Jeannine Heemstra: Really? Nelson Gwinn: Not in those days. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh. Nelson Gwinn: No. Seven days a week. Jeannine Heemstra: That’s a lot. I had a question that flew out of my head now. Oh, I was going to ask you about your first car. Nelson Gwinn: Well the first car I got was a little Ford Roadster with a rumble seat in it. It was a used one, bought it used. And then just before I got married I bought a brand new Chevrolet convertible, 1940 model. Brand new, 1940, uh-huh. And fully loaded, oh it had a radio in it and had an under-seat heater in it, oh it was great. And it cost me $800 and some dollars, you know, it was very expensive. Jeannine Heemstra: By those standard— in those times it would have been a lot. It’s funny to think about a car costing $800. Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, it was $800 and some, I don’t remember exactly, 860 or something like that. Jeannine Heemstra: And didn’t you let Granny drive it around some too or— Nelson Gwinn: I’m afraid I did. Jeannine Heemstra: Did she ever do anything to it? Nelson Gwinn: She hit a mailbox one day and did a little damage but nothing serious. Jeannine Heemstra: You know, I she never um drove when I was as I was growing up. Nelson Gwinn: Is that right? No, she she was a good driver, yeah. Just later years decided not to. Jeannine Heemstra: So what do you remember about when David was born? Nelson Gwinn: Well, not a whole lot, she complained along about 10 or 11 o’clock in the morning of having labor pains. So we called the doctor and he came over and examined her and said, “Well, it won’t be before 4 o’clock this evening so I’ll come back then.” Jeannine Heemstra: He could just predict that. Was he right? Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, he was right, it was after 4 o’clock. Jeannine Heemstra: Now that’s not, wasn’t when he was born when you guys Granny just had had her shower, her baby shower. Was it for him? Nelson Gwinn: No, that was for the twins. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh, that was for the twins. Now you didn’t know you were having twins. Nelson Gwinn: No, we didn’t know she was pregnant with twins, we knew she was pregnant, but we didn’t know it was twins. But we had driven across from where we lived in Beaver to Hinton, the girls there in Hinton were going to give Ethel a shower. And we weren’t expecting the baby for another month yet. So she went to the shower and came back and we spent the night at my mother’s and during the night Ethel woke me and says, “Honey, I’m having labor pains.” And I said, “No you couldn’t be, it’s still a month yet.” “No I am.” “No, it’s just something you ate last night at the shower.” So an hour or so later she woke me again, said, “Nelson, I’m having labor pains.” Well my mom heard her and came in and so she called the doctor and the doctor showed up right away quick. Good thing, and about five minutes later the first baby was born. I thought it was all over with, so I took David, the older boy, downstairs and I come back up and here was another baby. I told the doctor, I said, “You better shut that thing off.” Jeannine Heemstra: You’re afraid you’re going to end up with triplets. Nelson Gwinn: Right. Jeannine Heemstra: And they were teeny tiny when they were born, weren’t they? Nelson Gwinn: Four and four and a quarter. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh, just little. I thought Granny said she would put them just in like little shoeboxes to keep them warm, so— And then, do you remember when Larry was born? I don’t know if there’s a story about that. Nelson Gwinn: I don’t remember too much about that. He was born upstairs there in Hinton at the apartment building we lived in. But I don’t remember any details about it. And Marty’s case, of course, we were sure we were going to have a boy. And so we’d picked out a name for a boy and when Ethel began to have labor pains we called for the old doctor to come and he was out of town. But his son, who had been a doctor in service during World War II, was there and so he came and Ethel didn’t want him because she figured he’d be too rough, but he wasn’t. Anyway, he delivered Marty and he said— told her it was a girl and “What do you want to name it?” And she said, “Well we picked up boys’ names and I haven’t picked out any girls’ names.” So he said, “Well, can I name her?” And Ethel said, “Well, what would you name her?” And he said, “Martha Lee.” So she accepted that name and that’s what what she was named. Jeannine Heemstra: And wasn’t that, wasn’t Martha Lee his girlfriend? Nelson Gwinn: Martha Lee, his girlfriend was a preacher’s daughter there in town and that’s the reason he— Jeannine Heemstra: And you knew that at the time. Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, I knew that at the time, I knew who she was. Jeannine Heemstra: Now how did you guys end up calling her Marty? Did that come from her or was that— Nelson Gwinn: Well it was just we just— Jeannine Heemstra: You just shortened it. Nelson Gwinn: Shortened it’s all, yeah. Like Marilyn, Meg and— Jeannine Heemstra: Yes. And then didn’t you call them like Marno and Carno? Nelson Gwinn: Marno and Carno, yeah. Jeannine Heemstra: So, um, let me see if I can find some questions we haven’t asked. So, in 1957 we moved to Huntington. Nelson Gwinn: Okay. Jeannine Heemstra: So you’d been in Hinton that whole time, right? Nelson Gwinn: Whole time, uh-huh. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay and in ’57 we moved to Huntington and stayed there till ’61. 1961 we moved here to Michigan. Nelson Gwinn: Okay. Jeannine Heemstra: And you were still working for the railroad at that— Nelson Gwinn: Still working for the railroad, they moved me, I didn’t move. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh, yeah. They said you’re going here. Nelson Gwinn: Right. I moved 18 times. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh. And that was usually because the railroad needed you somewhere else, right? Nelson Gwinn: Well part of— most of it was, not a lot of— Jeannine Heemstra: Now what did you do on the railroad? Nelson Gwinn: I started out as a telegraph operator, then was promoted to a train dispatcher, then promoted from that to a member of the Rules Committee, and from that to a— assistant trainmaster, and from that to a supervisor of transportation and that’s where I retired. Jeannine Heemstra: Wow. Okay. So what was your favorite of those jobs? Nelson Gwinn: Telegraph operator. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh it was? Really? Your very first one. Nelson Gwinn: Yeah. Jeannine Heemstra: So what was that like being a telegraph operator? What do you— a day in the life at work there? Nelson Gwinn: Well, it was just copying messages and sending messages, the supervisors would send me message give me messages to send to their bosses and their bosses would send messages back and— Jeannine Heemstra: And you just basically so they’d give you a written message and then you had to put it into Morse code or— Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, uh-huh, had to type it or click it out on the key. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay. So do you still know Morse code? Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, I bet. Yeah, I remember I was working in the hotel at White Sulphur Springs, was a nice big beautiful hotel. And they had a big golf tournament there. And a New York paper had sent a reporter down thinking they’d have a— somebody there that could send his write-ups back to them. And they didn’t, so they called on me and I went out on the field with them and— Jeannine Heemstra: You did? Nelson Gwinn: Sent the stuff to New York. Jeannine Heemstra: Really? So you were well known around town as being good at your job then. Nelson Gwinn: Well, I don’t know about that, but— Jeannine Heemstra: Well now, so every day you’d just go in and they’d tell you which place they wanted you, right? And then you’d have to take a train to a different— Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, a lot of moving around when I especially when I first went to work. Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah, like so what would you do? Like you’d show up at work— Nelson Gwinn: Go to work. Jeannine Heemstra: But they’d say you need to be in what, like give me an example of a station you had to go to. Nelson Gwinn: Well, I went all the way from Clifton Forge, Virginia to Charleston, West Virginia. Jeannine Heemstra: And you’d come back the same day like you’d go up— Nelson Gwinn: Not necessarily, it depends, sometimes I’d be there for a week or a month, you know, but— Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah. And they’d just send you there and then you’d ride the train back. Nelson Gwinn: Uh-huh. Yeah. Jeannine Heemstra: So, um, do you have a favorite story from your marriage with Granny? Nelson Gwinn: Oh Lord, I don’t think I could pick a big favorite. Oh me. Really I don’t have. Not one that stands out different, uh-uh. We had a great life together. Everything went good. Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah, you did, that’s true. What’d you say, 62 years, 64 years? Nelson Gwinn: 64 years before she died. Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah, and that was how many years ago? Nelson Gwinn: Five years ago. Five years already, uh-huh. Jeannine Heemstra: Okay. Right. And you said she was an animal lover, right? Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, she was the one that kept the pets. Jeannine Heemstra: So you guys had a variety of pets. Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, we did that. We were just talking about that this morning. We did that, had— you remember BL? Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah. Yep, BL. Nelson Gwinn: We were camping there at Bass Lake outside of Hinton and this little dog come up to the door of our camper and we petted him. So he kept coming back and kept coming back and you kids wanted to take him, “No, no, you can’t have him, can’t have him.” We asked the owner of the campground whose dog it was and he said somebody just dumped it there. So the day we got ready to leave, why here was BL outside the door and I come back in, I said, “Kids, you know who’s standing at the door with his bag all packed ready to go?” I remember that, we were I think we were still in bed at that moment and we were so excited because then we knew we were going to get to bring BL back. Yeah, he made a great pet too. Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah, I was saying I think he appreciated his life because he had been a stray, you know, so he knew he had a good life after that. But you had monkeys and birds, how did you get your bird? Your Robin, didn’t you have like you raised a Robin? Nelson Gwinn: Oh, we were living in Huntington at that time and this little baby bird fell out of the nest, a little Robin. This little Robin was laying on the ground, so Ethel brought it in and put it in the basement and she fed it with a medicine dropper till it got big enough to eat and then she dug worms for it. And it stayed with us, we— it followed us around, rode around on our dog’s back and when we go to church on Sunday he’d fly across to a neighbor’s porch and sit there and talk to them till we come back from church. So we got to leave it— trying to leave it out at night so it go back into the wild, it wasn’t fair to keep him in a house all the time. So one night we left him out and a storm came up, you never heard such squalling in your life that little Robin was doing. Because you’re trying to make him go back out to the wild, right? So I went out to see what was going on and he come flying down on my shoulder and come in, so we brought him in. Then we tried once again and this time he didn’t show up. And we never knew what happened to him, I always thought he might have landed on the wrong dog’s back or something but— Yeah, he was a great pet. Oh that was cute. Jeannine Heemstra: So, granddad, do you have any accomplishments that you’re most proud of? Nelson Gwinn: Well, I kind of like my genealogy work. We got into that, I traced my family back and then we went to Sweden and traced Ethel’s family back there. Jeannine Heemstra: And you got— you were just saying, you got the Gwinn side traced back how far? Nelson Gwinn: 844. Jeannine Heemstra: 844? And where was that first that ancestor that you know of because that in— Nelson Gwinn: In Wales. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh, in Wales. Wales, yeah. Nelson Gwinn: Okay. The first Gwinns here in of our line came here in— in 1740. That is, into United States. Jeannine Heemstra: That Robert Gwinn is that— Nelson Gwinn: Robert Gwinn, yeah, uh-huh. Jeannine Heemstra: And you’ve traced their gravestones too, right? You’ve been to see some of their gravestones and— Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, done that and— Jeannine Heemstra: And how about for Sweden? How far back do you think you got on that one, do you— Nelson Gwinn: I can’t remember exact dates. I’ve got it all on the computer, but— Jeannine Heemstra: Sure. Really? You have like a PhD dissertation on our genealogy, it’s quite amazing the amount of information you gathered. Nelson Gwinn: Well, it’s— it’s good information to have. Jeannine Heemstra: Now how did you get it? I mean, what did you do to compile that? Nelson Gwinn: Well, most of it was done through the Church of the Latter-day Saints, the Mormon church. They keep records, you know. And I would search, research their library, but a lot of it was done just by going to places and doing things. Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah, doing your footwork basically. Right. So, um, I guess we probably start have to start wrapping this up, but do you have any important lessons that you’ve learned about life to pass on to everyone? Nelson Gwinn: It’d be hard for me. Just behave yourself. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh, I do have to ask you this. You are a musician and you start off— tell me about you you played guitar, right? As a kid? Nelson Gwinn: Yeah. Jeannine Heemstra: What was your first guitar? Nelson Gwinn: It was a Montgomery Ward guitar, I don’t remember the name of it, but— and it was a good guitar, but it was a big old heavy thing. So in 1933 when I was 13 years old Dad bought me a Gibson. And I’ve still got that. That’s the one you still have? That’s the one I still have, uh-huh. Jeannine Heemstra: So, and you said you’d kind of go around from place to place and find bands to play with and stuff. Nelson Gwinn: We played for— churches and played for different people. Jeannine Heemstra: And you took piano lessons too. Nelson Gwinn: Oh dear, you didn’t need to mention that. Yeah, I took seven years of piano lessons and it was great to be able to read music and know music but— You didn’t like it though, did you? I didn’t like the “Nelson, it’s time for you to practice your music now.” “Oh, I want to play football.” “No, you come practice your music and then you can play football.” Jeannine Heemstra: You sound like every other kid that’s ever had to take piano lessons. Do you have a favorite song that you’ve always loved to play? Nelson Gwinn: Mostly country music and and most of it— are you talking about the piano or the guitar? Jeannine Heemstra: The guitar, yeah. Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, bluegrass really is my favorite. Jeannine Heemstra: But your one song that you would almost always warm up with was “Wildwood Flower,” I think that was kind of the one you— Nelson Gwinn: Wildwood Flower. Jeannine Heemstra: But yeah, bluegrass and country. But you’d play hymns on the piano, that’s what I— Nelson Gwinn: Oh yeah, yeah I did that. Jeannine Heemstra: What’s your favorite hymn to play? Nelson Gwinn: I don’t know. Jeannine Heemstra: Oh you don’t have a favorite? Nelson Gwinn: No. Jeannine Heemstra: I’m trying to think of one that I’ve heard. So, well, about time to wrap up or so. Is there anything else that you’d like to say or add on? Nelson Gwinn: So many things I could talk about, but I can’t think of them. Jeannine Heemstra: How many grandkids do you have? Nelson Gwinn: Thirty-four grandkids now. Jeannine Heemstra: And are you keeping track of great-grandkids? Nelson Gwinn: Thirty-four— no, 24 grandkids, 34 great-grandkids. And one great-great-grandchild. Jeannine Heemstra: That’s quite impressive. Nelson Gwinn: Yeah, the family’s grown since Ethel and I got married. Jeannine Heemstra: Yes, think about all the people that are here as a result of you two. It’s quite amazing. So, well, I guess if I haven’t left out anything important that we should have covered— Nelson Gwinn: Oh, we’ve left out things, but I can’t think of them. Jeannine Heemstra: I know, we’ll think of them later, that’s the problem. So, oh, did you have any favorite relatives as you were growing up? I’m jumping all over the place, but— Nelson Gwinn: I guess my grandmother Johnson was my favorite. Jeannine Heemstra: Was she? And how come do you think? Nelson Gwinn: Well, she just paid more attention to us kids and— Jeannine Heemstra: She did? Okay. She’s the one at McKendree, right? Nelson Gwinn: No, no, that was the other one, that’s Grandma Gwinn. Grandma Johnson was— I don’t know, just something a little more kid-like. Jeannine Heemstra: Yeah. So you could relate to her a little more or something. Nelson Gwinn: Right. Jeannine Heemstra: All right. Well, thank you, granddad, for doing this. This is very nice of you to take time to do this. Nelson Gwinn: Sorry I couldn’t do better. Jeannine Heemstra: You did great. You’re like the best storyteller of the family, so I’m glad we got some of these stories. Uncategorized