Posted: 2/7/06
Spring Grove skull may be connected to doctorís practice
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
ìPaging Dr. Melvin Nelson, or his next of kin. You have an urgent call from Spring Grove.î
Thatís the message that police chief Paul Folz is trying to spread these days.
The late Dr. Nelson is at the center of a mystery in Spring Grove involving a human skull.
The skull was found on December 16, 2005, by a mason working at the home of Carlyn and Joycelyn Rostad at 317 Division Street. It was in an ash bin in the basement of the home.
The Minnesota Regional Coronerís Office in Hastings, MN, thinks the skull is from a man about 30 years old, and that it was in the home prior to 1967. It is missing the top of the forehead and some sections in the back and right temple.
The most logical speculation is that it came from a skeleton that Dr. Nelson might have used in his practice. He had an office in the home from 1914-1917, Folz said on January 31.
The doctor did examinations in the room where the fireplace is located. The basement ash bin is connected to the fireplace above it.
ìItís all just speculation,î Carlyn Rostad said on January 27. ìEverybody else seems to be speculating too.î
A hospital opened in Spring Grove in 1916, which probably ended Dr. Nelsonís home practice, Folz said. Folz is trying to find a relative of the doctor, or somebody who had knowledge of his practice.
Old medical records from that time, or a photograph of the doctorís office, would be welcome, Folz said. So would word from someone familiar with Nelsonís practice.
ìWeíre broadening our investigation but still staying in the same focus,î Folz said of his effort to get the word out about the doctor.
Nelson lived in the house from 1911 to 1931. He may have rented it out the last few years that he owned it.
ìWe may never identify this particular person, but thereís always that possibility until you absolutely canít [do it],î he added.
Anyone with information can call the Spring Grove Police Department at 507-498-5221.
The Rostads used the fireplace from 1977-1986, but they didnít use the connection to the ash bin, Carlyn said. It was covered with a piece of tin. ìI just cleaned the ashes out in the fireplace itself and carried them out,î he said.
The fireplace was closed off when the Rostads bought the house in December, 1967, and previous owners said it had been closed when they lived there too.
Carlyn thinks the skull has been there for a long time, because it was found at the bottom of the bin, which is six feet deep, 3-1/2 feet wide, and 2-1/2 feet long. ìThatís a lot of ashes,î he said.
The Rostads have lived in the house for 38 years. They are only the sixth owners of the home, which was built in 1893.
The skull is now being examined by Dr. Susan Myster, a forensic anthropologist at Hamline University in St. Paul. She is the same person who worked to identify bones found underneath a Hokah home in December of 2004. She determined that they were from a Native American person.
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