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This week, I remember Dave Nelson, who passed away on July 10, 2026, just before the 111th anniversary of the Eastland disaster.

And yet his name rarely surfaces in the retellings his own work made possible.

Dave was the grandson of Elmer Nelson (born Knute David Hjalmar Nilsson in Kalmar, Sweden), an ironworker who helped cut through the Eastland's hull to free trapped passengers in 1915 and was awarded a Silver Star by the Cook County Coroner for his valor.

Watching The Poseidon Adventure brought his grandfather to mind and set Dave in motion in 1972! What he and his wife Rose built over the years became the most extensive collection of Eastland memorabilia in existence.

I wrote to Dave in the late 1990s after I had just discovered my family's connection to this disaster that I'd never heard of. He dropped everything to open his Eastland Museum (in downtown Chicago) late one night just for me and my friend. He gave us the grand tour and regaled us with the story of the Eastland as if he had been an eyewitness to it! By the time we were done, I was overwhelmed in the best possible way. I thanked him over and over, but he refused my donation. As we were winding down the visit, he looked at me, smiled and said, "Natalie, I'm afraid you've been Eastland-ized." I replied, "If that's true, then it's your fault, Mr. Eastland."

I also revisit a 1989 Chicago Tribune article, "The Eastland Remembered," documenting the Nelsons' 17-year labor of love, their refusal to charge admission, and their fight to keep the collection open. I remember Dave as someone who authentically cared about the Eastland and those whose lives were forever changed by it. It was never about him, but about his work to ensure the history of the Eastland and its people was preserved.

Mr. Eastland, you've left the stage, but your influence and your work continue.

Resources

• Donna Chavez, “The Eastland Remembered,” Chicago Tribune, July 23, 1989.
• “‘You’ll Spoil the Boat,’ Captain Tells Rescuers,” Chicago Examiner, July 25, 1915, 69.
• Acetylene Journal. Vol. 17, 1915–1916. Chicago: Acetylene Journal Publishing Company. Google Books.

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