Trailer City recognizes 100-year-old WWII veteran

To Arlow Skjegstad, Jan. 18 was just another day — never mind the fact that the World War II veteran was turning 100 years old. But to his friends and neighbors in Trailer City, it was a big day to be celebrated. Skjegstad was honored that evening at the community’s homeowners’ association meeting with a birthday cake and a framed certificate of special recognition from Rep. Val Demings.

Trailer City HOA President Jimmy Rodgers said he believes the Army veteran is the first mobile home park resident to celebrate the milestone birthday. Park Manager Miki Weaver arranged to have the award sent from the House of Representatives.

Arlow Skjegstad and his wife, Carol Skjegstad, have been winter Floridians for 21 years, and Trailer City is their home for the roughly six months they aren’t in Minnesota. The couple aren’t known for staying in one place too long, having lived in several states and traveled to all 50.

They also were the owners of a four-seat Cessna airplane, which they took occasionally when they didn’t want to deal with the highway traffic.

Even now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Skjegstads don’t shy away from taking road trips and staying in hotels. They pack their luggage and a package of sanitizer and hit the road.

One of the highlights of traveling for Arlow Skjegstad was going to Norway to visit the original family farm, now on its 12th generation. The original home and farm sign remain on the property.

A CENTURY AGO

Arlow Skjegstad was born in 1921 — a Minnesota farm boy with Norwegian roots. He learned the value of hard work at an early age because he and his younger were in charge of the farm work while their father and Norwegian-born grandfather found carpentry jobs around the country, he said. His father was three months shy of 100 when he died, he said.

Arlow Skjestad remained in charge of the farm, but when he left he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky, for six to eight weeks before hopping a train bound for Fort Ord, California. The cross-country trip caused his ankles to swell and delayed his amphibious training, he said.

“I got to the hospital, and no one knew where to put me,” he said. “A fellow there … says, ‘Well, I think we’re supposed to put him in the arthritis area,’ because my ankles were so swollen up.”

He was laid up for a week with “train’s foot.”

“I didn’t get back to my own group,” he said. “I went in with the next bunch. So, I kind of lost all my fellows I trained with.”

After nine days and nights on a ship, the occupational forces — including Arlow Skjegstad and his fellow soldiers — arrived in Yokohama, Japan, to begin the cleanup and rebuild following a B-29 air raid that leveled nearly half the city.

Following his service, Arlow Skjegstad returned to his family in Minnesota.

He was the owner of a fishing resort on Battle Lake when he met his second wife, Carol, through mutual friends. They were married in 1971.

Carol Skjegstad described her husband as laid back and stress-free and said this likely attributes to his good health.

“I think I’m fairly healthy,” he said. He has macular degeneration in one eye and 20-25 vision in the other. He attributes his long life to the Shaklee vitamins he takes.

The two walk as much as possible. Arlow Skjegstad doesn’t feel like slowing down, even at 100. His wife keeps a watchful eye on him to make sure he doesn’t stand on a chair to reach up high or go outside and start washing their home.

Carol Skjegstad has long been a Walt Disney World fan, and they like staying at the parks from open to close. They recently started taking a scooter in case he needs a rest.

By living to see 100, Arlow Skjegstad has watched his family grow for many generations — with one son and five daughters, plus 45 grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Most never left Minnesota.