DEWAYNE HOLLOWAY|dewayne@mcnews.online
A Story native had an opportunity to share a piece of family legacy with his grandson recently through a trip to Chinatown in San Francisco.
Nelson Emery, former owner of Emery Fixtures, recently received an invitation to come discuss a project that his company completed several years ago in Chinatown. Emery shared that the project involved duplicating streetlight fixtures already in place in Chinatown. The ornate fixtures are 22 feet tall and weigh 1,700 pounds each. The project would become the most intricate design on his career. He explained that each fixture had around 200 individual parts that had to be built and assembled.
Emery Fixtures employees were no strangers to high profile jobs. Nelson shared that they have placed fixtures in several cities across the country, including Hot Springs, Arkansas. His company provided lighting for casinos and resorts and even Presidents and Popes.
Nelson recounted a story regarding a project involving lighting for the World Youth Day held in Colorado in the 1990s. The project was to be attended by then President Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II. In the middle of the project Nelson received a phone call from the President’s Secret Service informing him he had 30 fewer days to finish the project so they could have ample time to assure the safety and security of the area ahead of the event. Undaunted, Nelson and his crew finished the job on schedule and 30 days early as instructed. Over 800,000 people from 100 countries attended the event.
Reflecting upon his company, Nelson shared that he had come a long way from growing up in Story. He graduated from Mount Ida High School and moved around looking for work. He eventually went to work for the Railroad while raising his son in Emporia, Kansas.
A desire to spend more time with his son led him to building park benches and light fixtures for residential outdoor use. He shared that they lost money for five years before things started to get better. Nelson and his son Gary built the business from a backyard operation into a successful business that competed with the biggest companies in the game.
Flash Forward to 2022, Nelson received a call from a group in California who were researching the streetlights. He quipped that all the people involved in the project in California were gone and there wasn’t much of a paper trail to help the researchers. An invitation to Chinatown to discuss the streetlights provided Nelson with an opportunity to spend some quality time with his grandson Logan Emery.
Upon arrival Nelson and Logan were given a VIP tour of Chinatown. They met with David Lei: Marci Kwan, a professor of art history at Stanford University; Professor Hentyle Yapp of University of California in San Diego; and Professor Ann Eng of the University of California Berkeley and San Francisco State University.
Kwon plans to include a chapter about the Chinatown streetlights in her next book. Professor Eng wants to include the history of the streetlights in her curriculum at both schools where she teaches.
When asked about the work Nelson simply stated that whatever you do you should try to do it well.
“It doesn’t matter if your hunting, fishing, working, or washing dishes. Do it well.” He stated.
This philosophy helped Nelson grow his business into a successful company all while working for the railroad. He has returned to Montgomery County where he now lives with his wife Barbara Howell.
When asked about his work, the one thing he is proudest of was a series of veterans memorials in Kansas. He erected 10 different memorials in cities across the state of Kansas. For his efforts he was presented with the Kansas Governor’s Award.
