Sutton baker E. T. Nuss fielded a semi-pro football team that took on a Lincoln team for the unofficial Nebraska State Championship in 1930.
The Sutton Nuss semi-pro championship team, 1930, is shown in the team photo after the last game. The team split up shortly after. Front row: (l-r) Milton Bauer, Herbert Heckman, John Eberhard, Al Spielman, Robert Oakes, Rueben Tysell, Herbert Spielman quarterback and coach. Seated Jerry Nuss, Middle Row: (l-r) Alex Bauer Business Manager, Henry Brening Equipment Manager, James McLaughlin, Herbert Heinz, Mr. Woods, Charles Oates, Floyd Schmer, Al Delaney, E. T. Nuss Owner/Sponsor, Back row: (l-r) Dr. J. W. Welch Team Physician, Ernest Rauscher, Henry Nolde, John Haberman, Al Ochsner, Orville Oates and Herbert Wiley. Not shown: Henry Hofmann.
This article appeared in The Clay County News on June 9, 1994 - Page 3B.
Local Sutton men were in the news in June 1944 for their actions around the world.
Several days of rain stressed the capacity of School Creek raising water level forcing overflow through back through the drain from our school house yard.
The water level did not reach that of 2015 when the water covered all the cement blocks reaching inches below the level of the school house floor.
In 2000, before the city sold us this plot of land and we moved the school house from Clay Center, we consulted City Manager Virg Ulmer. Virg brought copies of the flood study done when School Creek was straightened and confined by levees. He estimated that we would be safe from all but the rarest of floods by raising the school house on five cement blocks. So far, through 12 years, Virg's advice has served us well. The 2015 flood reached exactly the level we anticipated. This flooding fell short by 1 1/2 blocks. We'll take it.
Pvt. Leonard Orville Hansen of Sutton was killed on May 14, 1944 at Hardwick, England. Pvt. Hansen was a ground crewman in the 330th Bomb Squadron of the 93rd Bomb Group. He was the son of Ole and Mary Hansen who farmed in Sheridan Township.
Ole Hansen was an 1880 immigrant from Denmark.
The Graduation of Sutton High Class of 1944 received congratulations from many Sutton businesses providing us with a decent cross section to the Sutton business picture that year.
From the "More things change, the more they stay the same" department:
For about 15 years, I had varying degrees of responsibility for disaster planning in major corporations in the San Francisco Bay Area. This was during the time of the introduction of the cell phone but while land line phone service was still predominate.
The problem described here by Art Wach in 1944 is exactly the same problem we worried and fretted about in the 1980's and 1990's in Northern California.
Though there are numerous forms of emergency conditions in both localized and widespread areas, the ability to communicate to coordinate emergency responses is critical. We practiced procedures and had the opportunities to stress our communications systems, microwave cell towers and central telephone exchanges, for real (Loma Prieta Earthquake, October 17, 1989, 5:04 p.m. Pacific time comes to mind.)
There were regular public service announcements and corporate training sessions to drive home the concepts of communications discipline during emergencies to adults and children. Just like Art Wach's public service ad in Sutton in 1944.
From the May 11, 1944 issue of The Sutton News
Editor Ronald Furse occasionally took the time to ponder, or pontificate in his weekly newspaper around 75 years ago. His thoughts illuminate his world for us.
Sutton won the Clay County track meet in 1944 - 75 years ago. This Sutton News article gave a good accounting of the action.
