Nickersons:Valentines for 65 years

by Marianne Morf

“Let’s Dance” says the brick in front of the Surf Ballroom, along with the names of Pauline and Dick Nickerson.  Nothing could be more appropriate.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the Nickerson’s anniversary does, too.  On Feb. 18, 

the Clear Lake couple will celebrate 65-years of marriage.  Their secret to a long and happy life together?  They’re not really sure.  

“’Cuz we needed each other,” said Dick after pondering the question for a while.  

“I always said I wouldn’t marry a red-head or a farmer, and I did them both!” laughed Pauline.  “I guess we just fit together well.”

Fit together, indeed.  

Actually the pair have done most everything together through the years in perfect step-- farming, raising a family and fittingly, dancing.

The two first met at The Palladium, a roller skating rink in Mason City.  Pauline calls herself a wallflower and says she was the next-to-last girl Dick asked to skate.  About a month later, they met again and Dick asked her to be his date for a dance held Christmas night 1948 at the Surf Ballroom.  Two years and many dances later, they were married, Feb. 18, 1950.

The Surf has remained an important part of their life.  Although Dick can’t step out on the dance floor anymore, the couple still enjoys membership in the Surf Dance Club.  These days they sit at a table and enjoy the music and the company of their friends while others dance.  

Pauline describes herself as “meek and timid” in her younger days. She liked to dance, but didn’t know all of the steps Dick had mastered.

Dick said he grew up enjoying music and dance.  His father played the accordion in a small band that played at house dances throughout the area. With her husband playing in the band, Dick’s mother was without a dance partner.  She recruited her son to be her partner when he was a boy.  

“All of my life, we danced,” said Dick.  “I remember that while I was in the service from 1946-48 the Surf burned down.  My trompin’ grounds were gone.  I had to start over in a new place.”

  That new place was a new Surf, built across the street on North Shore Drive.  He recalls taking a date to dance there.  His date, who was a good singer, learned the band scheduled to play was without its lead singer, and she offered her services.  Dick found himself without a dance partner much of the night, as she performed on stage with the group.  But that didn’t keep him down.   At many a dance he enjoyed partners aside from his date-- Pauline included.  The couple laughs about the time Dick was with another on the dance floor and pointed out his date, Pauline, on the sideline.  His dance partner knew Pauline and quickly wanted to stop.

As Dick and Pauline became more of a regular couple, there was less sitting and much more dancing together.  

“We didn’t need a place to sit.  We’d lean against the short wall by the (Surf) stage for quick breaks.  Then we would put our Orange Crush soda in the sand and go off dancing again.”

“The years have flown by,” Pauline says as they approach Feb. 18-- a date Dick picked because he would be busy farming later in the spring and summer.  Winter weather delayed the wedding ceremony slightly, but the pair ultimately headed south for a honeymoon.  Dick loves to tell the story of his vehicle, stuck in slushy snow, as they tried to drive on the next day.  He packed a blanket behind a tire for traction and Pauline got out to push.  As the vehicle roared forward, - Read More Via e-Edition