Nellie DeHaai was the firstborn of seven children back in 1922. She spent her younger years in California before moving back to South Dakota when her sister, Amaine, was a small baby.

 

Her gifts were her love for family, her love for music, and her loves for horses. She met Ernest P. DeHaai through her love of horses and they were married on December 15, 1941.  Nellie and Ernest began their lives together in Aurora City, South Dakota where they had Lloyd, Karen, and Joyce. 

 

Nellie was a part of the “Aurora Center String Band” where she contributed with her talents as a singer and playing the banjo and the guitar. Her sister, Amaine, sand and played the guitar, and her brother Bud, at 6 years old played the Hawaiian guitar. In 1938, their band actually provided the entertainment for the dedication of the new courthouse in Plankinton, South Dakota. The band was also active in the community by playing at several other events and churches in the area.

 

Nellie and Ernest moved to Hot Springs in 1961. Lloyd and Ernest operated a Standard Oil Station while Nellie did the book work. Later she went on to work in the V.A. Center and retired from there after seventeen and a half years of service. After retirement Ernest and Nellie were able to travel and fish, fish, fish.