The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1917-10-04
GOLDEN WEDDING
CELEBRATION HELD

In the presence of host of friends
and neighbors and the members OF
Candy Corps, w. r. c., of which the
81 year old bride is a member, the GER
mony of the golden wedding OF Mr..
and Mrs. M. H. Niekelsen, pioneer
Hood River settlers, was said yester-
day afternoon at the Knights of Pythi-
as hall. Rev. ID. nj. Carpenter, pastor
of the Christian and Missionary Aili-
ance, officiating. And a jubilee dinner
was served last night at the fraternal
hall. samong the guests at the happy
affair being number of residents OF
The Dalles and other mid-Columbia
towns.
Mr.. and Mrs. Nickelsen are both ma
tives of the Isle of Fohr, in the North
Sea. To escape the burden of the
Prussian military system. Mr.. Nickel
sen says, he left for America in 1871.
He had learned the blacksmith's trade
in his native land, and in the operation
of a big shop in California, where he
settled, he soon accumulated enough
money to send for his wife and two
sons, j. R. and C. ID. Nickelsen, both
of whom reside here today, .both hav-
ing families, The journey of the wife
and her two small boys. Mrs. Nickel
sen declares, will never be forgotten.
The ship bearing the immigrants
caught fire, and the passengers stood
for hours in mid-ocean awaiting orders
to take to the life boats. The fire,
however, was finally extinguished, and
the passengers brought safely to the
American land of freedom.
Mr.. and Mrs. Nickelsen and their
children removed from California to
The Dalles in 1878. For more than
ten years the husband was employed in
the railroad shops there. The family
came to Hood River in 1883.
When Mr.. and Mrs. Nickelsen were
born, the Isle of Fohr was a Danish
possession. 1t was a part of the spoils
of the victors in the war waged by
Germany and Austria on Denmark in
1864. Mr.. Nickelsen relates an inter-
esting incident Of that war. One
night, when a dance, one of the chief
social events of the year, was being
held, four Austrian battleships dropped
anchor just off the shore and men from
the men of war put out in small boats
w tuC tOWil. lHS DdHlou udB Wdp
lowered and that of Austria raised.
''We young people kept right ahead
with our dance" says Mr.. Nickelsen,
"and it was not long until the Austri-
an sailors decided it would be good
sport to join us. Stacking arms they
entered the hall. A number of us lads
resented their intrusion and decided to
get even. While the unwelcome visit.
ors were swinging our girls we slipped
out and gathered up every last gun
and dumped it in the ocean. An awful
rumpus resulted, but we kept our
mouths closed and the Austrians never
knew what became of those guns.
Mr.. Nickelsen for the past several
years has been clerk of the city school
board, and for ten successive years he
has been secretary of the Farmers Ir-
rigating Co., the big ditch of which
waters large area of the West Side
orchard district. For 81 years he has
been a member of the Ancient Order
of United Workmen, and for 36 years
a member of Waucoma Lodge, Knights
of Pythias.
In addition to the two sons, Mr.. and
Mrs. Nickelsen have the following
three daughters: Mrs. &c. Nealeigh,
of Oregon City; Mrs. Tony Frohn and
Mrs. W. E. Bullard, of Hood River.
They have II grandchildren and c.;,
great grandchild, the latter son ui
Mr.. and Mrs. Clinton Nealeigh, of
Portland. 81,