Friday, July 31, 2020
I first met Bob Nielsen in 1965 or ‘66, when he and several others [including Joe Riley, who later became a mayor of Charleston] joined me in a successful effort to locate a couple of very large, Civil war era cannons that, based on my research, I believed were buried in the sand within the walls of Castle Pinckney on Shutes Folly Island in Charleston Harbor. Bob was 15 years my senior and absolutely brilliant and knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects. Bob not only became my mentor, he quickly became a very dear and trusted friend. Although I have been very fortunate and known some other fine people, Bob was undoubtedly the most consistent, dependable and best friend in my entire life. He and I jointly researched and proved my theory that Margaret Mitchell based her “fictional character,” Rhett Butler on the real life of Charleston shipping magnate and banker, George Alfred Trenholm. It was a literary discovery that was reported all over the world, even though it was in the days before the internet. I dedicated a book to Bob and his wonderful family. My tears and heart are with his family, and, like them, I will miss him for the remainder of my time here on earth.
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