Des Moines County Historical Society seeks wedding photos

Rubye Ekstrom married Raymond Sutter on Sept. 24, 1924.

I just love this photo of my maternal grandmother, Rubye Ekstrom Sutter. She married my grandfather, Raymond Otto Sutter, on Sept. 24, 1924 at St. John the Baptist Church in Burlington, Iowa.

How cool that she wore a flapper-style hat and dress. She was 25 years old. I don’t have a lot of memories of her, as she died on her 60th birthday on May 13, 1964, when I was 5 years old. I do recall that when I visited her at her home at 1515 N. Eighth St., that we would walk down the alley to Heinie’s Grocery at Ninth and Oak streets where she’d buy candy for me.

I have this photo in a frame in my office, and I recently shared it with the Des Moines County Historical Society, for its upcoming “Desserts by Design.”

I’ve never attended the event, as I haven’t been in Burlington when it’s been held in the past. It’s an annual event (held April 19 in 2018) and sounds delicious! This year’s theme is “Wedding Customs: 1900 to 1950.” The planning committee is seeking photos from 1900 to 1950, including photos of the bride and groom, the wedding party or the general event.

Barbara Louden married R. Joseph (Joe) Sutter on Sept. 27, 1952. Harriet Jones and Pat Curley were attendants.

I also shared this photo of my parents from their wedding, which was Sept. 27, 1952 also at St. John’s. According to the  news clipping that I have, my mother wore a “white strapless ballerina gown of nylon tulle and imported Chantilly lace over satin, the bride carried an arrangement of white roses centered with a white orchid.  Her gown was styled with a basque bodice with a white lace Spencer jacket with long pointed sleeves and bouffant skirt bordered with Chantilly lace. A bonnet of white satin with lace ruffles and seed pearl held her fingertip veil of imported silk illusion in place.”

I just love how newspapers used to write these long stories about weddings, what the bridal party wore, who attended, etc.

The maid of honor was my mother’s good friend, Harriet Jones (who later became Harriet Shetler), and friend Pat Curley was the bridesmaid. Too bad this photo isn’t in color, as the newspaper stated: “They were dressed in companion gowns of Nile green and emerald green with short-sleeved Spencer jackets and matching tiaras. They carried bouquets of rust pompons with wheat and green velvet leaves.” I’m sure my mother picked that color scheme with the idea that the colors epitomized a fall wedding.

Do you have wedding photos from that era? If so, you can email them to gretchenw@dmchs.org or robins@dmchs.org. Or you can take them to the Heritage Center Museum, 501 N. Fourth, to be digitized on site. They need submissions by March 1 to be considered for the slide show that will play during the event.

Questions or for more information on the event, call 319-752-7449.

Joe Sutter’s B&L science award connects Iowa to Rochester

Joe Sutter won this award in the early 1940s while a student at Burlington, Iowa, High School.

A few years ago when my siblings and I were going through some things of my dad (Joe) after he passed away, we found a small brown case. When we opened it up, we found a gold medallion featuring a woman who appeared to be dressed in a traditional Greek robe.

Engraved on the medallion were the words “Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award.” We asked our mother about it. “Oh yes,” she recalled. “Your dad won that when he was in high school.” My mother didn’t know my dad then, but she recalled that his mother, Rubye Ekstrom Sutter, had told her that when Dad won the award, he was so modest that he came home from school, didn’t mention it, and just started mowing the lawn at their home on Summer Street.  Apparently he told his parents about it later!

The award specifically caught my attention because I now live in Rochester, N.Y., where Bausch & Lomb was founded and still has a plant.

Turns out that Bausch + Lomb (as the company is now called) has been giving out this science award to high school juniors since 1933. The history is on the company’s website; the criteria involves academic excellence in rigorous  high school science classes.

This is one of the few photos I have of my dad when he was in high school. He looks snazzy in his band uniform.

I’m sure my dad did well in his science classes; it was in his blood as he was the son and grandson of pharmacists (Ray and Joseph R. respectively) and he was bound for the University of Iowa Pharmacy College. Interestingly, by being awarded the B&L honor, he was eligible to compete for a scholarship at the University of Rochester. I doubt that he had any interest in leaving Iowa for upstate New York, and he didn’t have a clue that his future daughter would end up living here.

When I worked at the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, we had a saying that “There’s always a Rochester connection” when it came to big, national news stories. So it’s amusing to me that my dad had a Rochester connection, but unfortunately I never knew about it until after he passed away.  He never mentioned it and I’m sure the award was long forgotten.

Looking at the medallion, I’m wondering who is this woman on it? Anyone got a clue?

 

My dad’s award came nestled in this nice wood case on a bed of velvet.

3 life lessons from my father, Joe Sutter

David, Joe, parents Rubye and Ray, Bill Sutter in the 1940s.

My dad was born Dec. 8, 1925. He lived to be 87 and I think of him every day. In honor of my dad’s birthday, I’m writing about three life lessons he taught me. Of course, I learned much more than these three, but these are the ones on my mind today.

1. Don’t be a quitter. During the summer between my sophomore and junior year at Mizzou, I had a hard time finding a summer job in Burlington. I finally was hired to work at the local LaMont Limited plant down on Bluff Road. (Apparently now called LaMont Home.) The year was 1979, and the plant manufactured wicker bathroom accessories (hampers, shelving, armoires, etc.) that were popular then. I had to be at work at 7 a.m. (much too early for me as a college student who wanted to be out and about late). All the people working there were my parents’ age, so I felt out of place. I think my job had something to do with a staple gun. I came home after a couple days and that night, when Dad came home, I announced, “I’m quitting that job.” Of course I had no other work lined up. “No, you’re not,” Dad replied emphatically. I was so surprised I don’t think I even argued. My Dad seldom was so stern.

So I came up with a solution. The next day, I went into the office at LaMont, and asked if I could switch to the second shift. No problem. The following Monday, I reported to work at 3:30 p.m. and I got off at midnight. There were a lot of 20somethings working that shift, so I made some friends. (We occasionally went across the river to Downers nightclub in Gulfport when our shift ended — don’t tell my mother!) And best of all, I could sleep as late as I wanted each morning, and still fit in some sun-bathing time at the club pool. I’m glad I stuck with that job, because there were life lessons I learned there, but that’s a topic for another blog. Another lesson I learned was…

2.   Do business with those who do business with you. As part of the family owning Sutter Drug, my dad made sure that when it came time for us to buy a product or service, we were buying it from merchants who did business at Sutter’s. I remember one day suggesting we buy something from someone (I don’t remember the details), and my dad said, “No, we’re buying it from (fill in the blank), because they do business at Sutter’s.” Oh. Now that I own Sutter Communications, I practice the same philosophy and I try to buy from local merchants and entrepreneurs as much as possible, even when it may cost more. And the third rule I learned…

3.  Follow the Golden Rule. My dad led by example on this one. He was a quiet man, respectful of others and their opinions, and extremely kind. I seldom heard him complain or say anything negative about anyone. On the rare occasions when his temper flared at something we kids had done, we knew we had really screwed up. As an editor for many years, I tried to keep that Golden Rule in mind; some days I succeeded and other days I failed.

So, happy birthday to Joe. Thinking about you today, with a smile and a tear.

Related post: Joe Sutter had patience in abundance. 

What a treat: Visiting my great-grandfather’s home in Burlington, Iowa

Joseph R. Sutter built this house in the 1920s. It’s now owned by Andrea and Byron Tatti. Andrea and her younger son are to my right; far left is Andrea’s mother and then my mother.

What a great summer I’ve had. Just back from a three-week trip that took my husband, Gary, and me 6,200 miles, from Rochester, N.Y., to Burlington, Iowa, then on to Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, then back to Burlington again before heading home.

So I’ve neglected this blog but I accumulated so many great experiences to write about. First up is sharing the amazing “trip down memory lane” of visiting the former Sutter homestead on North Eighth Street in Burlington.

The house on North Eighth Street in the 1930s.

I had not been inside the house since the mid-1970s, when Grandpa Sutter (Ray) sold the house and moved to a smaller one on Amelia. Thanks to Craig Neises, features editor of The Hawk Eye, who virtually introduced me to Andrea Tatti via Facebook. Andrea and her husband, Byron, bought the house about 12 years ago. Their older son is in Scouts with Craig’s son.

The Byrons were super gracious to allow me, Gary, and my mother, Barbara, to visit.

As you can see from the photo at top, the Byrons have done a great job keeping up the house and yard.

We met Andrea, her mother, and the three Tatti kids. I was so glad that my mother was with us, as she remembered the house much better than I do. The inside layout of the house hasn’t changed that much over the years, with the exception of the remodeling of the kitchen, and the placement of a rec room on the back of the house. Of course, the house is all updated and looks marvelous. There is still the curved base of the stair rail, beautiful windows, a tiny powder room, and a foyer upstairs from which all the bedrooms and bathroom open. (My mother was able to point out which Sutter slept in which room.)

My main memories are of the large living room where we celebrated Christmas Eve each year. I told Andrea that I remember when I was about 6, that we heard sleigh bells, and I was told that Santa was on the roof, and to go open the back door. When I did, there was a baby buggy waiting for me! (I still have that buggy and my grandkids played with it.)

A photo from Christmas Eve in the 1960s. From left is my grandfather, Ray; Aunt Mary (married to my Uncle Bill); my mother, Barbara; and Great-Aunt Ursula Sutter Schuetze. This was taken in the living room of the house.

The history of the house is that my great-grandfather, Joseph Robert, purchased the land in the 1920s and had the house built there. At the time, it may have had a Mississippi River view but now there are houses and trees across the street. Joseph and his wife, Anna, moved in, with their younger daughter, Ursula. I believe the other three children would have been married by then. When Joseph died in 1948, Anna moved in Ursula, who was married, before Anna passed in 1950. Ray and his wife, Rubye, then gave up their home on Summer Street and moved to the homestead. My dad, Joe, was still single and working as a pharmacist and lived there, as did the other sons, Bill, and David, at various times.

As I mentioned above, the house stayed in the family until the mid-1970s, when Grandpa sold it to Duane Sourwine, who later sold it to the Tattis. I think it’s great that the home has only had three families own it. It adds to the rich history. For many years, on trips home, we’ve driven by this house just to see how it looks. It’s fun to have made friends with the those who love it and are caring for it. Thanks to the Tatti family!

Here’s a photo taken in the home’s kitchen. From left are my Dad, Joe; his brother Bill; Uncle Fred Schuetze; and Bill’s son, Ivan, cutting up, as usual!

 

Patience was a virtue that Joe Sutter had in abundance

Pharmacists Bud Burns, and my Dad, Joe Sutter, sometime in the 1960s

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.

A family golf outing at the Burlington Golf Club in 2006. From left, Megan Swaine, Roger Swaine, Jane Sutter Brandt, Skyler Sutter, Drew Sutter, Joe Sutter, Gary Brandt

A scrapbook filled with love

Cover of Aunt Ursie’s album

As I was writing “Sutter’s Sodas Satisfy,” I was surprised at how interested people, even ones who barely knew me, were in the fact that I was writing a book. Perhaps that’s because many of us think we have at least one book in us waiting to be written.

People often ask me, “Did you do a lot of research?” I can’t begin to express how fortunate I am that my great-aunt Ursula Sutter Schuetze kept a scrapbook of photos, newspaper articles, and other memorabilia that formed the basis for much of the book. I imagine she doted on her father, as she was the youngest child.

Aunt Ursie, who was married to Uncle Fred, never had children of her own. My parents watched over her after Uncle Fred died and she later moved to a nursing home, and this scrapbook ended up with my father, Joe.

A page from the scrapbook showing the interior of the first Sutter store.

I think I first saw the scrapbook when my husband, Gary, and I visited my parents in Burlington, Iowa, in 1993. I know the year, because my mother took a photo of me and my father looking through it. (And of course, she wrote the date on the back!) Ever since then, I’ve wanted to write a family history. A few years ago, I asked my parents if I could take the scrapbook back to Rochester with me, with the idea that I’d start on that history. I never found time until I decided to “rewire” last June.

Still, I didn’t realize what a treasure trove I’d been given, until I opened the scrapbook in July and started reading it closely. I discovered that my great-grandfather, Joseph Robert Sutter, was known not just in Burlington for being a savvy businessman, but throughout Iowa and beyond.

I’ll share more in coming blogs. In the meantime, here are a few photos of the scrapbook.