Two weekends ago on a Saturday night, I was checking the TV schedule. This was around midnight. I came across The Tonite Show with Danny Cashman. He was presenting his show from his home. Towards the end of the show he offered up the idea for songwriters to send to him videos featuring their songs. I said, Why not? I sent Danny Cashman my video of the song called "Blue Skies." The song was motivated by the story of C.H. Nelson who was the proprietor of Sunnyside Farm. There was an economic crisis that resulted in many horsemen going out of business and the closure of many tracks. In 1877 Nelson purchased the fairground and trotting park from the North Kennebec Agricultural and Horticultural Society with the promise that he would still let the society hold its annual fair. In 1893 Nelson decided to sell the track to the City of Waterville, Maine. The City in turn sold the property to the Pine Grove Cemetery Association. Both Nelson and his wife are buried in this cemetery. Nelson passed away in 1915 at the Soldier's Home in Togus. Sunnyside Farm if it existed today would be a 69 acre farm between Carver Street and Nelson Street. The house for the farm would be located where you find the Impromptu Ten Minute Oil Change Company on Kennedy Memorial Drive (originally the Oakland Road.)
The Tonite Show with Danny Cashman accepted my song and it will air on the show this evening. On Channel 4 at 10:30 and on Channel 5 at 11:30.
The video in this post features the story of C.H. Nelson and his champion trotting stallion, Nelson 4209. As one person told me, "There are too many dates in the song." Just maybe he was right. However, the song is an overview of his life from his birth in 1843 in Palermo, Maine to serving in the Civil War and finally his story and relationship with his horse, Nelson 4209. With a bit of creative license, I hope you enjoy this song. In the background there are pictures of Nelson and images that relate to his time in the limelight.
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