Peggy Nelson lives and breathes Ellsworth.

Not much that has happened in the bustling community hasn’t crossed her desk.

Her dedication to the community is rare. From her first day with the village until today, Nelson has had the best interest of Ellsworth at heart.

She retires Friday from the job she started on July 1, 1985.

“When I took the position, I had no clue what the job entailed. Everything was done manually,” she recalled.

The first major task was to computerize village operations.

“That was a big changeover,” she said. “I just remember doing all those trail balances manually and the big hard cover books.”

At that time, the village hall was located where the Holiday station is now.

“Then in 1990 they purchased this building and moved down here. We got to spread out the offices,” she said.

Over the years, municipal government has changed a lot, and Nelson has stayed on top of it.

“Throughout the years, the job has gotten so much more involved, there are so many law changes, so much to be on top of, constant updates. We added the Maple Grove Cemetery. That’s added quite a bit to the position. And elections have become so much more work,” she said.

Especially this last one, and that would be an understatement.

“I owe a lot to our election workers. They really helped everything go smoothly,” she said.

The Ellsworth community has been foremost for Nelson her whole life.

“I grew up five miles outside of Ellsworth. My parents purchased a bar in Ellsworth when I was 10 years old. Before I started here, I worked at Pierce County Bank and Trust for two years.”

She is a strong believer in community involvement. She was the president of the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce for three years. She was the chamber Community Person of the Year in 2012. She’s been a mem-

See RETIREMENT, Page 9

Photo by John McLoone. ber of the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association and was co-director of the area’s nine-county district. She was awarded Municipal Clerks Association Presidential Award of Excellence in 2009.

“Peggy was a chamber board president and then held the position of past president of our board for many years, acting as a liaison between the village and the chamber,” said Kim Beebe of the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce executive team. “She could also be found volunteering behind the bar at the Cheese Curd Festival each year.”

Chamber board member Raynee Farrell of CCF Bank recalled Nelson’s hard work for community events.

“Both Peggy and hubby Roger volunteered to work on behalf of the chamber and the village during the Cheese Curd Fest,” she said. “She is always willing to step in and help out – showing her pride in the chamber and the Village of Ellsworth.”

Nelson is as excited to talk about her hometown now as she was three-and-a-half decades ago.

“I always said the village hall was my second home,” she said. “I love the community. I definitely want to see the community grow and for good things to happen.”

Village President Gerald DeWolfe was on the council when Nelson was hired.

“The whole team agreed she was the best candidate we interviewed. We liked her,” he said. “I knew she’d be great. It’s gone well with her as clerk. It would have been tough without her. We’re losing a lot of knowledge and experience with her retiring.”

“I wish her well in her retirement,” DeWolfe said.

In addition to seeing big things happen in Ellsworth, she’ll miss the everyday interaction with the public.

“I’m going to miss the people, the public and being around the public day in and day out. I’m going to miss the people I work with. We’ve made some good relationships, and hopefully we keep in contact,” she said. But Nelson also knows it’s time to write the next chapter. She’s been working to train her replacement in the last week, another Ellsworth native, Nicole Stewart, who is the administrator/ clerk-treasurer now.

“I’m looking forward to retirement, spending more time with the grandkids and doing projects around the house,” she said.

What won’t she miss? Probably the fact that the clerk position doesn’t necessarily end when you lock up the village hall each day.

“I won’t miss waking up at 3 a.m. and making notes of what I need to get done. It is stressful at times,” she said. “And I won’t miss elections, especially this last one.”

You can expect to still see her around town. It’s the place she loves.

“I’ll probably attend some board meetings,” she said.

A “social distance” open house will be held Friday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. for the public to wish Nelson well.