[ CLAY COUNTY INTHE REARVIEW MIRROR
]
JUDITH ANN (STUEBBE) DUNN
Our featured county connection is Judith Ann (Stuebbe) Dunn, who attended Sutton Schools into the ninth grade when her father, Rev. Calvin Stuebbe of the Sutton Emmanuel Reformed Church, transferred to a similar position in Aberdeen, SD. She attended Northern State College for two years before transferring to the University of Idaho. The Miss Idaho contest soon came up and she entered. After all, she had been Snow Queen at Northern State. She won, of course, or we wouldn’t be talking about it here.
So, she was off to Atlantic City for the 1964 Miss America pageant. She was named the pageant’s Most Talented Musician, surely drawing on her experience on Sutton High School’s French Horn Quartet with Dee Schaad, Mike Sedersten, and myself.
Judy was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate at the University of Idaho in 1965.
Judy married Alan G. Dunn, an Army SP6 Vietnam Veteran. They lived in Denver, where she was accompanist for several ballet companies including the Denver Ballet.
Judy was the supervisor of the External Affairs Section of the Public Utilities Commission in Denver. Judith Ann Dunn died in 2016. Her husband died in 2024. They are buried in the Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver.
Judy and her husband were in Sutton the evening of an alumni banquet and our class reunion, likely the 50th. I was able to speak with her for 30 minutes or so. She was every bit as gracious as we should have expected her to become when we knew her as teens.
It strikes me that I have never told my grandkids that I was once in a musical collaboration with the Most Talented Musician in a Miss America Pageant. I should fix that.
2001 – 25YEARS AGO
Blake Smith, a Sutton High junior, placed second in the state’s 2001 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program Competition. Blake’s entry was his watercolor of a pair of mallards taking off from a lake.
A film crew from the “Unresolved Mysteries” show was in Clay and Adams Counties to film a segment on the two people from the two counties who have been missing since August 2000, after they left to drive from Edgar to Hastings.
Shelley Schrader was Sutton American Legion Auxiliary’s selection to attend Girls State.
Blake Hoffman of Edgar was Edgar Post #248’s selection to Boys State. Fairfield’s Post #256 is named Timothy Johnson.
Sixty-five people attended the Sutton Wrestling Banquet, where coach Nate Jones celebrated his team’s 5-3 season record.
State patrol investigators arrested a Harvard police official on suspicion of Conspiracy to commit second-degree arson. No county officials were involved in the investigation. Sheriff Franklin’s office took responsibility for patrolling Harvard until the city hired an officer.
Noah J. Whitaker of Inland completed basic combat training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Featured business: Harvard Food Mart Death notices this week included Thelma (Naggatz) (Mrs. Marten) Kloppenburg, Glenvil.
The Coaches Association named 2001 All-Star rosters with four from the county selected. Bronsen Schliep from Sandy Creek was named to the South’s all-star boys’ basketball team. Taryn Ninemire of Sandy Creek and Jami Lipker from Harvard were on the girls’ team. Brandice Studnicka of Clay Center made the roster of the girls’ volleyball team.
Microsoft released Internet Explorer 6.0. Jane Swift took office as the first female governor of Massachusetts.
The Netherlands legalized mercy killings and assisted suicide for patients with unbearable, terminal illness.
1976 – 50YEARS AGO
This week’s county papers had some time to assess and digest the impact of last week’s severe storm of Monday, March 29. People made comparisons with the blizzard of 1888, one difference being no lives were lost this time. This storm was concentrated in a 16-county area, with Clay, Fillmore, Hamilton, and York being hardest hit. An area of 1,000 square miles was blacked out from downed power and phone lines as 80-mph winds toppled poles. On the 150 miles of high voltage lines from Grand Island to Brownsville, only 80 poles were still standing. Utilities had helicopters carrying damaged poles out of the area and new ones in. Crews from Kansas and Missouri supplemented local workers. More than 30 telephone exchanges were knocked out, and a week later, half were still on emergency power. The hardest hit phone lines were between Sutton and Hastings, Geneva and Milligan, and between Nelson and Oak. Damage to phone lines in Clay Center, Inland, Glenvil, and Fairfield was limited due to mostly buried lines.
Television antennas (remember those?) were knocked down throughout the area, along with CB aerials (ditto). Power was restored to business districts in Harvard, Clay Center, and Fairfield by Tuesday afternoon, but Sutton depended on generators until Friday noon. Smaller towns, Stockham, Saronville, Grafton, Ong, and Davenport faced another week without electricity. Farm homes with burning yard lights attracted neighbors for dinner and evenings, neighbors who did not have an estimate of their return to normal.
Sheriff Lloyd Pontine had two jobs this week, law enforcement and Director of Civil Defense in Clay County. He relied on a network of CB radios to report damage and coordinate rescues and movement of equipment.
The Highway Patrol’s mobile command post, a bus with its generator and banks of radios and phones operated from Sutton’s main street.
Clay Center school’s P.E. Teacher, Deborah Koehler, and her elementary students put on an extensive demonstration of physical activities with each class displaying their own routines.
The City of Sutton hired William Burgess of Hastings, age 20, as the new police officer replacing Walter Wilmot, who resigned. Burgess was scheduled for police officer school later in the year. In the meantime, he was in OJT with Chief Lowell Houts.
The Emmanuel Reformed Church in Sutton was torn down to make room for a new building. The original church was built in 1879. The steeple was repaired in 1945 after a fire but most of the original structure was in place. The original bell in the church was acquired by a donation from Karl Roemmich, who was living in Southern Russia and would emigrate coming to Sutton later.
Harvard American Legion Post #185 named Mary Farrand to attend Girls State and Kent Pauley as their Boys State representative.
Featured business: Merrill Hardware in Edgar.
Warren Nuss of Sutton was the winner in the Dairy Selection Contest at the State FFA Convention.
Larry Dedrickson of Clay Center graduated from Basic Combat Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey and was at Fort Benning, Georgia in Advanced Infantry Training with Jump School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina next on his agenda.
Death notices this week included Morley W. Braye, Superior (Edgar); Victor Grosshans, Central City (Sutton); Pauline (Trautman) (Mrs. John) Griess, Sutton; and Harold W. Culin, Fairfield.
In the aftermath of the snowstorm, Sutton hosted a four-team track meet, dominated by Henderson’s 125 points. Sutton came in second with 58 ½, followed by Harvard and Sandy Creek. Sutton had success with their relay teams. Ron Fitzke collected points for Harvard.
The U.S. and Russia agreed on the size of nuclear tests.
The U.S. Federal Reserve introduced $2 bicentennial notes.
1951 - 75YEARS AGO
Winter took another blast at the county with a cold north wind, rain, and light snow for several hours.
Fairfield hosted the all-day Clay County Music Festival on Wednesday. The morning program featured vocal solos, the afternoon program was instrumental solos and small groups, and the evening session had large vocal groups and bands. Among the numbers were a boys’ quartet from Ong, Barbara Zook from Glenvil’s vocal solo, Betty Sigrist of Sutton’s Sax solo, Clay Center’s Doyt Hamilton’s vocal solo, Gary Yost of Harvard’s vocal solo, Norman Hoevet from Fairfield with a drum solo, and a girls’ trio from Edgar. Bands from Edgar, Fairfield, Harvard, and Clay Center performed in the evening.
Anita Yost from rural school District No. 41 north of Harvard was the winner among 32 seventh and eighth graders from eight counties in the Spelling Contest held in Wilbur. Sharon Brehm of the Harvard schools placed fourth.
Harry Heiliger of Clatonia arrived in Sutton to take temporary charge of the City State Bank. The death of Sam G. Carney threw his interests into probate court. State banking officials and officials of Continental National and First National Banks in Lincoln recommended Mr. Heiliger to majority stockholders for the temporary position.
Two Sutton School faculty members advanced to new positions as school principal, Mr. E.A. Schaad was appointed Superintendent, succeeding B.E. Krantz, who took a similar position at Central City. Mr. Paul V. Woller was named principal. He had taught sciences for five years after his discharge from the army. The Schaads had a son, Dee, in the second grade and daughter, Leatrice, age 2. The Woller children were Paul B. in the second grade and Bruce, age four. (The Class of 1961 included the superintendent’s son and the principal’s son. I think it served us well.)
Sgt. Kenneth Kirchhefer, 30, of Hastings, was killed in Korea on March 23. He attended Sutton Schools, served six years in WWII, and was with the Hastings police department before returning to active duty. His wife and two children lived in Hastings. Ed and Walt Kirchfefer of Sutton were his uncle and cousin.
Edgar School Superintendent Marvin R. Stovall accepted the same position in the Alma, schools.
Sutton High seniors Beverly Ham and Betty Sigrist ranked first and second in the advanced shorthand competition at the 23rd annual inter-high school contests in Kearney. The one-act play cast of Velda Hornbacher, Shirley Curtis, Shirley Waters, and Marlys Nelson rated excellent in their presentation of “Joint Owners in Spain.”
Mrs. Ethel Bishop submitted two poems from The Mustang, the Sutton school newspaper to Student Life, a national students’ magazine. Both poems were selected to appear in the magazine. The poets were Miss Reva Hust, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Hust, and Miss Janet Nuss, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. H.V. Nuss. The magazine editor wrote to Mrs. Bishop explaining selection was highly competitive and having two excellent poems from the same source very unusual. (Now we need to track down those poems.)
Five county registrants left for the Army in April: Jack Dedrickson, Clay Center; George Jedounek, Fairfield; Dale Hohnstein and Donald Dunleavy, Harvard; and Gerald Jacobson, Edgar.
County elections were uncontested or quiet. Superior voted for a new school. Nelson rejected beer licenses for the sixth time.
Featured business: Steiner’s Jewelry in Sutton with Elgin, Hamilton, Helbros, and Bulova watches for graduates priced as low as $19.75.
The Edgar Lyric Theater was showing “Tea for Two” starring Doris Day and Gordon Mac-Rae. The Sutton Lyric was showing “Francis” starring Donald O’Connor, Patricia Medina, Zazu Pitts, and Francis the Talking Mule, played by Molly with voice by Chill Wills. This was the first of seven Francis movies, one each year from 1950 to 1956. (Molly was the first animal to win the coveted Picture Animal Star of the Year from the American Humane Association for her role in the first three Francis movies.)
Death notices this week included Martin Heeren, Hastings (Glenvil).
Roger Goodwin was leaving Sutton schools after two years as coach and teacher to take a position coaching all sports at Pawnee City. Coach Goodwin coached one year at St. Cecilia before coming to Sutton where his 1950 Sutton football team was one of the schools best with a 6-1-1 record playing all larger schools, the loss coming to undefeated Crete. His basketball team was 10-2.
President Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur as head of United Nations forces in Korea
1926 – 100YEARS AGO
The Burlington Poultry Train, called an educational institution on wheels, stopped in the county on its state-wide tour. Crowd counts were 2,500 in Clay Center, 2,200 in Harvard, and 3,300 in Sutton. The Edgar stop drew 1,200 a week earlier on the train’s outbound route. Officials called this the best of the recent annual visits. County Agent Bruce Russell organized the visit with local drivers taking speakers from each station to the town’s venue for programs. Bands and other entertainment supplemented the main shows. Burlington officials, Ag industry executives, educators, and local businesses collaborated in the show. Old Trusty had a major exhibit in Clay Center. Harvard had a school kids’ poster contest that highlighted their evening program.
Henry Fuhrken listened to his Clay Center neighbors and revised plans for his new brick block of buildings to add a second floor of offices over the City Bakery and other businesses.
Edgar Water Bonds passed 310 to 143 meaning volunteer firemen would soon have a new pumper truck. F.A. Westering was re-elected mayor, J. Robert Olseens, Clerk; Millie Beal, Treasurer; and J.L. Ward, Police Magistrate. J.A. Stewart and T.J. Lindgren were elected to the council.
John M. Paul and John Konsak’s school board selections led a sweep by the Citizens’ Party in Harvard’s election.
John Knox was elected mayor in Sutton, and Theo. Spielmann, City Clerk; A.W. Burlingame, Treasurer; Henry Bender, Engineer; A.H. Lewis, 1st District Councilman; E.F. Stover, 2nd District; and John C. Grosshans and R.J. Buck, School Board.
Featured business: Cole & Seiffert clothing and shoe store in Fairfield, with women’s spring shoes for $3.85 to $6.50.
The Lyric Theater in Sutton had two movies this week, Tom Mix in “The Best Man” during the weekend and Mary Pickford in Pollyanna the next two nights.
Death notices this week included Thomas Grant Carroll, Springfield, MO (Fairfield); Ida (Howe) (Mrs. Dyer) Gillette, Clay Center; and Junior, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Helmut Peter, Sutton.
1901 – 125YEARS AGO
The Exchange Bank building in Sutton was being remodeled to accommodate a saloon belonging to James Sert & Co.
The Sure Hatch factory in Clay Center added sixteen to the workforce this week.
Weigel & Sons furniture store in St. Joseph, MO posted a large ad in the Edgar Post newspaper this week, again. It was just a short ride on the Grand Island and St. Joe Railroad.
E.H. Treiber moved his Sutton jewelry store into Brehm’s building, first door north of the post office.
A Mr. Korner of Troy, New York was visiting J.L. Kohler in Deweese. Their regiment had just been discharged in San Francisco after serving in the Philippines.
Featured business: Hastings Steam Laundry, W.J. Legg, Sutton Agent.
Death notices this week included infant child of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hess, Harvard; and John Sturgis, Hastings, (Glenvil).
1876 - 150YEARS AGO
John C. Zachos received a patent for the stenotype machine.
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized.
