I just love this photo. On the right is my father, R. Joe Sutter, and on the left is Bud Burns, who married my dad’s cousin, Betty Sutter.
Both Dad and Bud were pharmacists at Sutter’s, primarily at the big downtown store at Jefferson and Third. I found this photo in my Aunt Ursie’s scrapbook, and I’ll bet she shot it, sometime in the 1960s. (Aunt Ursie loved to take photos and called herself “Casey, the crime photographer,” according to another of my dad’s cousins — Bill Moore.)
Bud passed away quite a few years ago, and my dad passed away in March 2013. I thought of him often as I wrote my book, and continue to do so. As I’ve had to make business decisions, I often think: “What would Dad do?” My dad had a strict view of right and wrong. He believed in patronizing the businesses that patronized his. He definitely instilled in us kids a respect for the small business owner as opposed to the big chains.
When I was gathering memories for my book, I was really touched by this one, shared by Denny Fitzpatrick, who was a pharmacist at Sutter’s, starting in 1966 right out of University of Iowa. “My experience of working at Sutter’s with Joe is part of the reason I went into business in my hometown (Mt. Pleasant, Iowa). Joe was very patient and a good teacher, never nervous and handled the worst customer and the best with ease, and things like that gave me confidence.”
I certainly know my dad had a ton of patience, especially when it came to teaching me to play golf, and always giving me little lessons on the course when I would play with him on trips home, often, with my husband, Gary. I would say, “Dad, we need to play golf so you can give me some tips!” I miss those days but I am thankful for the memories.
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