Holdrege elevator operator retires after 67 years

HOLDREGE, Neb. – For nearly 67 years, Delano Nelson spent his days in an elevator.

Nelson, 83, began working at Hotel Dale in Holdrege when he was 15 or 16, working in the hotel’s restaurant and operating the elevator. He retired from his longtime career in June, moving from the Dale to Christian Homes Care Community in Holdrege, the Kearney Hub reported.

Nelson will be honoured at a reception from 5-7 p.m. Aug. 8 in the Dale Loft Apartments lobby. There will be cake and refreshments, and the event is open to the public.

The hotel transitioned into the Dale Loft Apartments in 1980, but the elevator has remained relatively the same since the building was constructed in 1931.

The deep-set white door with red trim and a small diamond window could be mistaken for an ordinary doorway. When the elevator quietly ascends from the basement, Nelson’s smiling face appears through the window as he slides the door open to reveal a crimson lift. Paint on the handle and the panel of buttons have rubbed away from years of use.

Nelson runs the elevator with confidence and ease, but he admits it took practice to learn to operate.

“I used to get it stuck. I used to stick that elevator. I had to practice it at that time. I stuck it more than once, I think,” he said with a chuckle.

Nelson’s jovial, friendly personality is what made him so successful at the Dale, said property manager Steve Schadegg. Nelson would greet anyone who walked in the building and ask them if they were enjoying the weather, he added.

“He found his place, his niche there,” Schadegg said. “He is able to talk to people. That’s his cup of tea connecting with people personally face-to-face. Even though it may have not been a hotel and less traffic (on the elevator) at times, he would sit and wait for you if you said five minutes.”

Nelson easily could recall famous guests who stayed or passed through the hotel during the years.

The Three Stooges were the first celebrities Nelson named who he saw in the lobby. He gave a ride in the elevator to actor and singer Tex Ritter, actor and singer Smiley Burnette and comedian Minnie Pearl. He also remembered comedic actor George Lindsey, musician Mitch Miller and opera singer Lily Pons coming to the hotel.

A buffet near the elevator displays photos of the Three Stooges and Ritter, but a photo of Nelson is front and centre.

Schadegg said, “He was known everywhere around town. There was a lot of places he would get free meals, and the movie theatre gave him free popcorn and soda and stuff. Every weekend he would put a note on the elevator door saying he had gone to the movies.”

One of the things Nelson misses about living at the Dale is seeing movies at the Holdrege Sun Theatre and visiting with his friends.

“I met a lot of friends. I don’t know how many friends I met at that hotel,” he said.

Nelson also had some unpleasant memories of the history of the hotel. He spoke about a time when a woman fell from a window in the building and when a night clerk was killed in the hotel.

Schadegg said, “He remembers things back from the ’50s. He remembers everything. He would love to talk about when so-and-so jumped off the roof. He remembers all that stuff.”

As time moved on and the hotel evolved into an apartment building, Nelson’s role changed as well. He no longer had to carry luggage for guests, but he’d keep the lobby tidy, take out the trash, sort residents’ mail, as well as still operate the elevator.

While the traditional bellhop isn’t as common in the modern age, an elevator operator is a necessity at the Dale. Schadegg already has filled the position. The employee will live at the Dale Loft Apartments and will be on-call when people need to use the lift from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the week.

“With the age of the elevator there is only a few people who know how to run it. Until we are in situation where we can remodel and put a new elevator in, until that day comes it’s hard to have a six-story building and have tenets living there that aren’t able to get up and down,” Schadegg said.

Nelson now spends his days at his new home watching TV, exercising and playing his harmonica. He still heads downtown for lunch at the Phelps County Senior Center where he is able to catch up with old friends.

When Nelson walked into the Dale on a recent July morning, he chatted with residents he hadn’t seen in awhile and stepped back into the elevator like he had never left.

“The elevator is alright. I might have enjoyed it. It’s quite an elevator,” he said.

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Information from: Kearney Hub, http://www.kearneyhub.com/

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