Life lessons learned in McCook helped shape Ben Nelson's career

More than half a century after leaving home to pursue a career in law and public service, former Nebraska Governor and U.S. Senator Ben Nelson still cherishes the memories he made in the 1940s and 1950s as a student and Scout in his mid-American hometown of McCook, Nebraska.

"Looking back, I realize how fortunate I was to be born and raised in McCook," says Nelson, who retires Jan. 31, 2016, as Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Read individual tributes here.

Following a busy quarter of a century as Nebraska's Governor and United States Senator and as a national association executive, Nelson will ease back into the practice of law, dividing time between offices in Washington, D.C., and Omaha. "I'll be concentrating on insurance and military matters," he said, while also following a busy speaking schedule, including a talk to Google's management team about insurance for driverless cars.

Even so, Ben said in a lengthy telephone interview with the Gazette, "I still plan to spend plenty of time in the years to come pursuing my 'Bucket List'."

"At the top of my Bucket List is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with my daughter, Sarah," Ben said. The Nelson father and daughter team were inspired to pursue the Mt. Kilmanjaro adventure after exploring Machu Pacchu together in 2013. "It was an amazing experience," Ben said. "What the Incas were able to accomplish centuries ago shows us the incredible potential that the human race has. We have done so much, but we are capable of so much more."

Ben's Bucket List has been put on the back burner for years because of the huge responsibility that was placed on his shoulders by his election to two terms, from 1991 to 1999. as Nebraska's Governor, and his two terms, from 2001 through 2013, as one of Nebraska's United States Senators.

McCook's role in Nelson's ascension to the state's top elected positions was immense, according to the man we called "Bennie" in his growing up years.

"How important do you regard your childhood and school years in McCook as launch pads for your public service career?," the writer of this article asked Ben.

"The life lessons learned in McCook were not only difference-makers for me, they have been for many others, too," Nelson said. "Just think about it. Three Nebraska governors, Ralph G. Brooks, Frank B. Morrison and me, all were shaped by our years in McCook. And there are many others in many other fields, including Raymond McCarl, who became America's most eminent Comptrollers of the Currency, and my good friend, Gene Budig, who served as President of the American League of Baseball."

So what it is about McCook that produces so many leaders in so many fields? "For me," Ben says, "It was many things. I was an only child, which is often thought of as a negative thing, but, for me, it was a blessing because both my parents were very supportive, but - at the same time - very demanding, encouraging me to do my best in everything in which I became involved."

His Mom and Dad, Birdella and Ben Senior, were not the only ones in Bennie's corner. Also there, and very important, were educators like Mrs. Rene Creasman, Ben's fifth grade teacher, and Mrs. Hope Rees, Ben's journalism instructor. "I also have to add Ralph G. Brooks to the list of important influences," Ben said. "He was McCook's Superintendent of Schools during my younger years, and, although very busy, took time to help me and my debate partner, Carl Rossito, with successful debating techniques."

These tips not only helped Ben and Carl, but they also helped Mr. Brooks, too, as the man lovingly called "Babbling Brooks" went on to be Nebraska's Governor in the late 1950s and first few months of the 1960s. He was followed to the Governor's chair in later years by another dynamic orator, Frank B. Morrison, who rose to the governor's position after serving for many years as an attorney in McCook for Frontier and Red Willow counties, and then - to close out the 20th Century - Ben Nelson's eight years as Nebraska's Governorship between the years of 1991 and 1999.

"All three of us were influenced by our years in McCook, but none more than me because McCook was my only home from the time I was born until I went away to college," Ben said.

"I was lucky to have friends like Tom Klingner, Jim Dorram. Don Taylor and Bob Thompson. "These many years later we still keep in contact, calling each other on birthdays and other important occasions," Ben said. In addition to his friends, Ben said he will be forever grateful for the life-guiding influence of the McCook schools, the McCook YMCA, and his jobs as a carrier boy for the Gazette and as a donut fryer at Sehnert's Bakery. The Gazette route left a lasting impression on Ben. "I can still remember going up from A Street to serve the houses on West Third, West Fourth, West Fifth and West Sixth Streets," he said.

Two major highlights of Ben's early life were earning Eagle Scout status in 1956 -- at age 15 -- by upgrading a neighborhood park in east McCook, and his selection, in 1959, as Governor of the Nebraska Hi-Y Legislature.

His state Hi-Y triumph further fanned the flames of his public service aspirations, convincing Ben that some time in the future he wanted to pursue a political career.

If you look just at the highlights and headlines, it seems Ben's progress through the years was straight to the top, with the 1959 McCook High School graduate zooming through Bachelor's, Master's and Juris Doctor degrees at the University of Nebraska and important positions in the legal and insurance fields, including being the Nebraska state insurance commissioner.

But, as Ben will tell you if you bother to ask, there were some very tough times, too. The most devastating of all was the death of Ben's first wife, Marcia Kay, in 1977.

Fortunately, three years later, Ben met and married Diane. Together, they have four children: Kevin, Sarah, Christie and Patrick. A good match for Ben because of her volunteer efforts and public service initiatives, Diane has been by his side for three and a half decades as the couple celebrated their 35th anniversary in 2015.

Besides his major "bucket" objectives of climbing mountains and exploring ancient civilizations, Ben finds fun and fulfillment in his leisure time by spending time with family and friends and enjoying his hobbies of hunting and fishing. He is also an avid reader and has collected several hundred clocks over the past 50 years.