Al P. Nelson 2002 Winners ...

Middleton Writer Wins State Contest
by Bill Nelson

MANITOWOC - A reminiscence about two unlikely childhood friends, “The Hobo and the Irishman,” won first place for Betty Walker Stark of Middleton in the 2002 Al P. Nelson Feature Writing Contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Association.

The article’s focal points were a hobo named One Arm Pete and the proprietor of a Texaco station that smelled dank and metallic, with stacks of oil-stained auto parts books and discarded engine pieces. The contest judge, Den Adler of Janesville, a freelance writer, novelist and longtime instructor for the University of Wisconsin Extension, said the manuscript (set in the 1940s in Manitowoc) was compelling reading, and he praised its insights into life’s early lessons. He added:

“The writer crafted a beautiful rhythm that makes the article a delight to read aloud. There were so many phrases I’d love to have written, among them: ‘Giant boxcars swayed to a dusty stop, routinely depositing a collection of hobos’ and ‘grandmother kept watch with steely control.’”

Stark was awarded the $75 first prize at the May 4 WRWA spring conference in Manitowoc.

The $50 second prize went to Jeane Knapp of Cedarburg for her creative presentation of “Beware of the Birds.” The judge said he enjoyed its “nice light tone and use of great verbs.”

The $25 third prize was awarded to Peg Sherry of Madison, who wrote “A Courting,” remembering her rare good fortune of witnessing the mating dance of sandhill cranes.

Honorable Mention certificates were awarded to John Friedell of Shell Lake (“InVINCEable”) and John L. Campbell of Brookfield, (“Is a Condo
Your Next Move?”)

This is the eighth annual Al Nelson Feature Writing Contest, which is named after the longtime Delafield (Wis.) freelance writer and University of Wisconsin Extension writing instructor. Nelson, author of a book on the early days of moviemaking, The Birth of a Nation Story, died in 1994. His family set up a fund to launch the contest.