The Sutton Museum is the home of the Sutton Historical Society and is dedicated to the collection and preservation of historic artifacts and information about the Sutton, Nebraska community.
This item appeared in The Sutton Register on October 2, 1919.
When I returned to Sutton in 2005, the two banks in town were the City State Bank - the north bank and Sutton State Bank - the south bank. Those had been the names of the two banks for a very long time.
Cornerstone Bank of York, one-time First National Bank of York took over City State within a short time. A few years later the south bank became the sole Nebraska branch of Astra Bank, a network of Kansas banks headquartered in Belleville.
The county Y.M.C.A. sponsored a county track meet in the fall of 1919, a meet with 250 boys from rural and town schools competing in classes defined by weight.
The Clay County Patriot, Clay Center's newspaper carried this account of the meet on October 2, 1919.
How many names of these lads do you recognize? How many of them do you remember as distinguished county gentlemen of your own youth?
This October 5, 1944 newspaper item describes a new warning system for the railroad crossing on Saunders Ave. The alarm system of flashing lights and bells replaced manually operated gates at the crossing.
There was a watchman's building at the crossing that provided the center of operations for the night watchman. He was conveniently located to manually lower crossing gates as each train approached the crossing. This new system automated his work, but replaced the gate with flashing lights and bells.
Just fine for almost 13 years. On November 11, 1957 there was a fatal accident that led to the return of crossing gates.
Eighty-year old Sutton businessman Henry Vauck and his 73-year old wife, Alice (Oakley) Vauck were killed when hit by a train as they cross the Burlington tracks on Saunders Ave.
I was a freshman in high school but as I recall the story as it lived in our family folklore (Alice was my mother's first cousin) Henry and Alice were traveling north and had stopped at the crossing for an east-bound train. There was a line of box cars parked on the siding blocking the view to the east.
When the end of the east-bound train passed through the crossing, Henry's view to the east was blocked and he pulled out onto the tracks as a west-bound train approached the crossing and slammed into their car killing Henry and Alice.
The merit of the physical crossing gates was fully validated and new gates were later installed with an automated control system.
Being naturally suspicious of my memory, I solicit additional memories and information about the crossing warning systems over time and of the Vauck accident.
This was a good representation of the size of Sutton High boys in 1969. I don't know about the size of your grandsons, but....
The 1969 Sutton High Football Schedule
Advertising in old newspapers provides a good first cut at identifying the business climate of the time.
Count the bars, cafes, and restaurants. Count the barber shops and beauty shops. Groceries and retail outlets.
The population of Sutton was similar between 1969 and today. What was different was the density of farmsteads. The farms got bigger and the people got fewer. Fewer farmers meant less business being conducted. As businesses closed, the trend spiraled. The phenomenon was even more pronounced in many surrounding communities - think Harvard, Clay Center, Ong, Edgar, Grafton, Fairmont.
Comparatively speaking, Sutton has held its own, probably also Henderson. Slightly larger communities have fared better. Think Geneva and Aurora. York and Seward are a step up and sustained themselves well - diversity.
The September 11, 1919 issue of The Clay County Patriot newspaper in Clay Center described the upcoming county track meet with participants from the towns and rural schools in the county.
Frederick G. "Fritz" Bender of the John Deere dealership Bender's completed the Army's Engineering School in August 1944. Graduates of the school were commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the Army.
Lt. Bender was heading for duty with the Corps of Engineering at a Georgia camp.
The postmaster position was a political appointment through much of our history. Each presidential election that changed the political party of the president triggered a near wholesale turnover in each and every post office. A few incumbents were seen favorably by each local political party, but usually the normal brought a new face to the office.
There was a competitive examination to qualify for the position. In this case Guy Matteson was replacing Frank Weston who had resigned in 1944.
Sutton Schools purchased the lots on the southwest corner of the Way Avenue and Hickory Street intersection to build the Ag Building. This from The Sutton News on August 31, 1944.
