Dr. Clyde C. Knudson

Clyde Charles Knudson was born on April 2, 1910. He pursued a career in optometry, graduating from the Northern Illinois College of Optometry in 1933. Before coming to Stoughton, he practiced for a time in Joliet, Illinois, and later spent approximately seven years with the Quisling Clinic in Madison.

With the United States at war, Knudson entered the U.S. Navy during World War II. Already established in his profession, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant (junior grade) and received naval training at Princeton, New Jersey; Norfolk, Virginia; Hollywood Beach, Florida; and other locations before being assigned to sea duty.

Knudson served aboard a destroyer minelayer in the Pacific Theater. His ship operated in enemy waters and participated in operations associated with Iwo Jima in 1944, remaining on active duty in the Pacific through the end of the war. By the completion of his service, Knudson held the rank of Lieutenant. He was discharged from the Navy on January 25, 1946, after approximately two years of wartime service.

Following his return to civilian life, Knudson and his family made their home in Stoughton. He opened his own optometry practice at 122 W. Main Street, above the Kroger store, bringing with him years of professional experience from his earlier practice in Madison. His wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter, Sally Jo, joined him in Stoughton as he began this new chapter of his career.

Knudson soon became active in American Legion Otis Sampson Post 59. In June 1947, he was elected Post Commander, succeeding Walter H. Eggleson, and was formally installed at the Legion's first fall meeting that September. He served as Post 59 Commander for the 1948 Legion year during a period when the organization was increasingly being led by the community's returning World War II veterans.

One surviving account provides a particularly nice connection between two Post 59 Commanders. At a Legion and Auxiliary potluck supper, Commander Knudson presented Walter Eggleson with his Past Commander's pin. It was a small ceremony, but one that symbolized the transition of leadership from one World War II veteran to another during the postwar years.

Knudson's community involvement extended well beyond the Legion and his optometry practice. He was selected to organize a committee representing Stoughton's service and civic organizations to establish an annual all-sports banquet honoring local high school athletes. Representatives of Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, Junior Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion Post 59 joined in the effort.

He was also involved in Stoughton's cultural life. Knudson was elected president of the Stoughton Little Theater, an organization that staged local theatrical productions in the city hall auditorium. His involvement reflected the broad range of civic organizations that helped shape community life in Stoughton during the postwar era.

Knudson and his family maintained strong ties to the Stoughton area for many years. He later purchased property at Crystal Springs Park on the south shore of Lake Kegonsa, with plans to modernize the cottage there as a permanent home.

His daughter, Sally Jo, later became a registered nurse and married J. Harrington Richards, a University of Wisconsin engineering graduate, continuing a family story that had become closely connected with Stoughton.

Dr. Clyde C. Knudson died on December 27, 1999, at the age of 89. His life stretched from the years before World War I through nearly the end of the 20th century and included service as a Navy officer during World War II, a long professional career in optometry, leadership in American Legion Post 59, and active participation in the civic and cultural life of Stoughton.

His year as Post 59 Commander was only one chapter of that larger story, but it placed him among the generation of World War II veterans who returned home and immediately became leaders in the community they had served.