Louis Nelson was born January 8, 1937, the son of Mildred and Foshen Nelson, at the home of his great grandmother, where Dorsey Automotive was located on MacIntosh Street. Few children have come into this world with less. But he was a fat baby and a fat child, and he still carries the nickname “Jelly”, but he has long been a slender reed. He went with his great grandmother to the Baptist church next door when he was on his first bottle, and he’s still with the church, which moved long ago.
Time did not bring him favors because when he was about six, he was taken by his grandmother who lived on Dead Man’s Curve where the Market Place is today. Then it was a marsh that flooded with every rain. Poverty would have been richer to him in those early years, but he was not aware of it. He started first grade at the African American School on Hardin Street and loved it. Already he was singing in the church, and at school he got to be near a piano. He took a pencil and drew a piano keyboard on a front step at home, and he sat on the next lower step with his feet and legs inside and “played” by the hour. The Hardin School ended in the 6th grade, but his grandmother managed to send him on the bus to Andalusia and he graduated high school in 1957 and married his only love, Olean, that same year. He became a janitor at Mizell Memorial Hospital, where he learned how difficult making a living was, and, at the same time, the nurses and doctors and patients discovered this young man with the soft voice, ready smile and eagerness to work and to help whenever he was needed.
His singing voice had matured by then, and he was already a pillar of the Nazareth Baptist Church choir. He studied nights and became an agent for “National Security Insurance Co.” and learned that traveling around wasn’t his line of work. He has always needed people around him so that he can respond to them, help them, and be a part of them. Life has always been church to him. He and Olean built their brick home on Hardin Street, and filled the yards with flowers, and the house with three children. Louis gave up insurance and went to a place that reminded him of the hospital, with lots of people working there, and lots more coming in and out, but nobody was sick! The First National Bank had an opening as assistant janitor to the fabled Deacon Jones.
Again, his devotion to the job, his readiness to do whatever was needed, and the smile that never left his face drew him to everyone there. And one day, Carroll Pierce, President of the bank said, “You put on a tie, and let’s see what we can find for you to do!” Mr. Pierce’s decision wrought the man we celebrate with his induction into the Opp Hall of Fame. Is there a job at the bank (South Trust Bank, now) that Lewis has not been involved with? Has there been a moment when someone has said, “He can’t do this work?” Has there ever been a bank customer who has not said “thank you!” and meant it, to Louis? For a long while Louis answered the phone and supervised the safe deposit boxes, out of the mainstream of most visitors to the bank, but these latter years brought Louis to the very front desk. Always dressed and pressed, tie correct, and perfectly groomed. He answered the phone in that soft voice, he routed the calls with ease, and he walked the customer to the “new” safe deposit box location, unlocked the box, and even carried it out to a booth if needed. The lobby was always filled with flowers from his yard. Did you need a pen? Paper sealed in plastic? To speak to someone? Directions to Mobile? Louis was there, but it wasn’t those “things” that stayed with the customer. It was his smile, his readiness to spend whatever time YOU needed to spend, and his greeting to every living soul that came in the door. No one was excited about going for the mail, but Lewis was.
He strode out of the car twice a day and came back with the big mail basket on his shoulder and he carried mail to every department and LOVED it. Even during the years, he took his early morning “health walk”, he offered directions to lost drivers and suggested restaurants that might be open so early and waved at every car. To improve his banking skills, he attended classes at LBW, Troy State, and American Institute of Banking. Beyond his bank and church life, Louis is a member of the Lucile Pierce Literacy Board, serves on the Opp Housing Authority, is a member of the Opp Historical Society, Inc., served on the Johnson-Shuford Committee at the Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Andalusia, Alabama, received the Quality Service Award in 2000 and received the Distinguished Service Award presented by Opp’s Mayor Jerry Boothe in 2002. It was easy to find him at the bank, or on the sidewalk but he was also at his church. He played both piano and organ, sang solo, with groups, the choir, and the congregation. He has witnessed, taught Sunday School, worked with the youth, served on different boards, and he and Olean are pillars in the church and in Opp. Opp is a far better place because of Louis “Jelly” Nelson. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.
