By: Grace Maguire

Arthur Nelson, a man of many stories and wise affirmations, was born on October 5th, 1921, and this year he celebrated his 100th birthday. To say the least, Nelson is thankful to God and his upbringing for getting him to triple digits. While getting to one hundred certainly wasn’t planned, he has spent all his years creating memories and making the most out of the life he was given. 

His earlier years were taken up by the Marine Corps. He joined just after the events of Pearl Harbor and was proud to board his battleship and serve his country. Being a World War Two Marine Corps veteran is one of the reasons Nelson believes he has gotten to where he is today. He speaks about the discipline that he learned and how that taught him how to maintain himself and his well-being, “It taught me to discipline myself in things I do.” 

From being a veteran and his own life experiences, Nelson can also rave about how having a routine has changed his life for the better. He wakes up and goes to bed at the same time every day. Nelson also enjoys his egg beaters, potatoes, and English muffins for breakfast and his cottage cheese and fruit for lunch. For dinner, though, he absolutely adores being able to go out to dinner with anyone who will join him. “You need routine,” Nelson preaches, even in changing times, a routine is something everyone should try to keep. 

Nelson could most likely be classified as the most traveled man in New Jersey with a never-ending list of countries he and his wife, Helen, have traveled to. While he had worked over forty years as a wholesale distributor for a baking company and Helen worked as a second-grade teacher for fifty years, they made sure to keep well-traveled and adventurous. One of Nelson’s favorite trips, which led to so many more, was to Australia. “The people are so much like Americans… They are fun-loving!” On top of those, the two of them have also been to England, Germany, the Caribbean Islands, Argentina, Scotland, and so many more that this list could go on and on. If the Nelsons wanted to travel somewhere, it was more likely than not that the plans would be made. 

Nelson thought about what his favorite decade of life was and answered, “Golf season, once I retired, I played a lot of golf.” As if traveling the world before wasn’t enough, becoming a skilled golfer brought Nelson to even more places around the world to play in tournaments. He played golf from 65 years old all the way to 90 years old. Nelson won one tournament during that time and was also able to play against and befriend famous golfer Arnold Palmer along with many other well-known golfers of that age.

One hundred years is a lot of time to watch pass by, and Nelson got to see it all first hand. He talks about how The Great Depression was some of the most challenging years he had as a child, how being a war veteran also comes with many stories, good and bad, and how calculators and cell phones are amazing pieces of technology. He owns a flip phone himself and can’t seem to wrap his mind around how great the device is and how confusing it can be at the same time.

As Nelson’s birthday approached, he had the chance to sit back and be proud of all that he had done in his life. While he may have wanted a dog, a horse, and a simple house in the middle of nowhere, he couldn’t be any happier with how he has spent the last one hundred years. Nelson likes to say, “Lord was with me,” and how a part of making it this far was both physical and mental on his part. If he can pass down anything to the younger generations as advice from his own life, it would be, “It’s there if you want it, earn it.” On October 5th, Nelson enjoyed his birthday with his related family and his church family, celebrating his life and cracking funny jokes that roll off the tip of his tongue just as easily as they did years ago.