A special day of fishing:
I’ll never forget the day in 1986 when Dad treated us all on a guided launch out of Wig Wam Resort in Baudette for a day of fishing. What a great day it turned out to be! It was sunny and warm, we had a picnic lunch packed with beverages and treats! A great fish guide, John who knew Lake of the Woods like the back of his hand.
And, of course on this day we caught FISH!!! The catch of the day was a whopper of a Walleye that Clyde reeled in! Twelve pounds to be exact! You should have seen the smile on his face as that ol’ fish came over the bow! You could almost paint a picture and stop time in it’s tracks as this was a special moment in one’s life in which
may never be repeated again and he relished it! Of course, he had it stuffed and mounted for pride and posterity for everyone to see!
Dad’s helpful nature:
Clyde liked to quietly help people out throughout his life without any fanfare. That was his mantra. Do good
unto others. For church members in Forest Lake, he would whip up his famous lasagna for people he found out that were coming home from the hospital and would be needing a meal. Food, any kind of food was a great reason to bring family and friends together, especially during the holidays. I’ve made that lasagna a few times myself over the years and can honestly say it’s the best I’ve ever tasted. His secret? Use sausage instead of hamburger!!!
Good, healthy, competition:
I learned something from the very beginning when I first met Clyde before he became my Father-in-Law. Never play any games with him (cards, board games, croquet) and expect him to go easy on you! Forget it, he was a baracuda!!! I’ll never forget the times up in Baudette when we’d go up in the summers for visits and
set up the croquet set in the front yard for what I thought would be a gentlemanly game. Boy, was I wrong! With his pin-point accuracy and competitive nature he’d always hit my ball before going through the metal homes and then proceed to punish me by belting my ball half way across the yard in the opposite direction! By the time I was able to get back in relatively good playing position, he’d be two-thirds of the way home snickering at me knowing I had zero chance of catching him! In fairness to him, he did it to everyone he played! HA!
Tony Nickelsen
Son-In-Law
Husband to Tracy