1972 Maurice Albert Kremer

It is an extraordinary opportunity for anyone to share a few minutes with the man we are honoring tonight. It takes a short time of contact with him before you sense that here is a man you can trust. Here is a person who is dedicated, who has a sense of mission and a sense of humor. So we all quickly learned to genuinely like him and to call him a friend.

Maurice Kremer’s accomplishments, particularly in the field of water and soil conservation and legislation have brought him a great deal of prestige. But he is an extremely modest man. He is still “Maurice” to his colleagues in the Legislature. One of his seat-mates in the Legislature said, “He has gained the highest respect of his fellow legislators and I consider it a privilege to serve in the Legislature with him.” Another said, “He has been a great man for the State of Nebraska.” Still another said, “I am glad to say without hesitation that his leadership has been outstanding and his judgment, counsel and views have always been a great help to me as well as respected by other members of the Legislature.”

Maurice, you have mentioned a number of times how much you had admired and respected certain men when you attended the shortcourses here at the College of Agriculture. You knew Dean Burr and Dr. Condra when you attended the college. They have previously received this honor, and now you are joining them and other illustrious agricultural leaders in the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement.

We would like to present some of the highlights of your life and career. Yours has been a life of expanding interest, of great depth and of concern for your fellow man.

A brief historical review of Maurice and his family will serve as a background for his community and state activities and service.

From a bright-eyed boy born on a farm near Milford in 1907 to the farmer-legislator living in Aurora is a short step in time but a long step in service. When Maurice was six his father moved from Seward County to Hamilton County to farm because he saw better potentials for his family.

Maurice grew up in a modest farm home where during the winter snow would sometimes blow through the window sash in his bedroom. Life was not easy, but the farm life was good, Maurice liked it.

Fun is a part of a farm boy’s life but kids have problems too. The 2¼ miles to school required transportation. Seated in front on a horse he and his brother would take off for school. But the horse was afraid of cars and often the two boys would be bucked off and have to walk the rest of the way while the horse went home. Sometimes they used a cart and piled the neighbor kids in and away they would go.

When Maurice began the first grade, he found that he was the youngest in school while some were 21 years old. Forty kids like that can create problems for a teacher but even by today’s standards they were very mod in their fashionable clothes.

But time moved on and Maurice finished high school in Aurora. He then began another important part of his education. The two years of shortcourse work in 1930 and 31 at the College of Agriculture had great influence on him and the success he has achieved. Although he stayed in Lincoln, his 1929 Model A was his pride and joy. It carried him to the College of Agriculture and back to Aurora with some very heavy loads of paper. Upon graduation, Professor Douthit, who was Superintendent of the Farm Operator’s Shortcourse, gave each graduated a list of Extension bulletins. The student would choose which bulletins he wanted and then those bulletins would be packaged for him. Maurice recalls that he marked practically every publication on the listing of nearly 1,000. The load of bulletins bent the springs on the Model A nearly to the axle, but Maurice got them home. He built shelves and started a library. He even recalls several titles, “The Dairy Cow the Mother of Prosperity,” and one on pork production, “The Hog, the Mortgage Lifter”. Today he can still describe the pictures on the covers. Maurice gives much credit to the Ag College and the Extension Service, but he was the one who did the studying of the bulletins and educated himself. Although he says he would have preferred a regular college education the austerity required by the depression and drouth did not permit this. He continues in self education in many fields, today, including studying state problems for legislative action.

That Model A wasn’t always loaded with paper. A neighbor girl, Alice Troyer, had caught Maurice’s eye and in June 1932 they were married. During the courtship snow and mud were sometimes a problem on the six-mile drive to her home. But one of Maurice’s characteristics is persistence. When the Model A was stuck and he was alone he would put it in low gear, get out and push and hope he could jump in before the car got away. On one occasion it did go into the ditch.

After the honeymoon the couple moved onto an 80-acre farm rented from Maurice’s father.

Kenneth was born while the Kremer’s were on this farm and like Dad’s are, Maurice sometimes allowed Kenneth to help. Because mixing mortar isn’t exactly for kids, Alice had to keep Ken in the house. Maurice could then finish the job of caulking the cracks in the rock foundation so winter winds wouldn’t blow through the barn.

Then Robert came along to join Ken. So two boys now helped do chores. Maurice knew the hardships of feeding livestock with a bucket and a scoop-shovel.

Then Ardis and Beth completed the family. They all are here tonight. They are (beginning with the youngest), Mrs. Beth Stuckey, whose husband, Norman is associated with the research Department of the Game and Parks Commission. Mrs. Ardis Roszhart and her husband Herbert who is part owner of the FM Radio Station in Aurora. Robert Kremer and his wife Beverly who live on one of the Kremer farms just south of Aurora and Ken Kremer and his wife Lila who live on another of the farms on the edge of Aurora where Maurice and Alice had farmed. The Kremer’s have 14 grandchildren.

Mrs. Kremer is an officer in the Christian Women’s Club, Cradle Roll superintendent of their Sunday School and when she is not doing something for Maurice or the grandchildren she loves to read.

The early years of farming were tough times for Maurice and Mrs. Kremer. The first corn crop harvested in 1932 was a good one but the price was 9¢ per bushel. In 1933 crops nearly dried up but 1934 was worse. It was a disastrous year. Maurice recalls that he had 40 acres of corn from which he tried to salvage feed for his cows. He mowed the corn, the entire 40 acres, and then loaded the whole crop, stalks and all on one hayrack. That’s all the feed they had except for the Russian thistles which were gathered and ensiled in the holes in the ground which served as temporary silos.

In 1939 the Kremer’s moved to a farm owned by Mrs. Kremer’s father. Here the Kremer’s got into the dairy business. Mrs. Kremer’s father had given up farming so he set up a milk route in Aurora and obtained the milk from Maurice. He would start deliveries at 6:00 A.M. This meant the alarm rang at 4:00 A.M. every day for Maurice because he had to milk from 20 to 25 cows by hand and have the milk ready. By the way, milk was 6¢ per quart, delivered.

It was on this farm that Maurice put down his first irrigation well. He had observed what water from the windmill had done for potatoes and tomatoes in his mother’s garden. He also envied the forage crops that were produced under irrigation by the nearby Hamilton County Farm Co. They had three of the earlies wells in that area. Maurice tried to borrow money at the bank but couldn’t get the loan. Economists at that time felt that an 80-foot lift was simple, uneconomical and impractical. But a widow living nearby heard of Maurice’s need and took the risk and loaned him the money. He was among the very first of the well-owners and irrigators in Hamilton County. His first well was installed in 1940 just south of Aurora.

Irrigation was hard work in those days. You either cut the ditch bank or you buried small homemade lath boxes in the ditch bank to release water into the rows. One day a friend suggested siphoning the water out of the ditch. They tried it and it worked. Without delay they began bending boiler tubing into arches for use as siphon tubes. So Maurice was one of the earliest users of ground water for irrigation and also an innovator of new methods.

The farm acreage grew as time passed. In 1960 Maurice and Alice moved to Aurora where they now live. Maurice is now content to help out on occasion as his busy schedule permits on the farms known as Kremer Farms Inc. These farms are operated by his sons and tenants. But he certainly is also happy when he has a chance to enjoy his city home in Aurora.

Farming wasn’t the Kremer’s only interest since the move to town. Maurice and a partner formed the Farmade Co. in 1958. They sold farm equipment and also sold and constructed both farm and commercial buildings Maurice sold his interest in the business in 1967 to his partner who still operates the company.

Conservation has always had a place in the Kremer farm plans. They acquired a farm in 1956 that had experience erosion and deterioration. Now it reflects the efforts of good farm management. The Great Plains Conservation program helped them put terraces on the hillside and runoff detention ponds in the grassed waterways. A diversion terrace was constructed below the rough ground to protect the irrigated land. All irrigation runoff water is caught in a pond before entering the creek and is returned to the irrigated fields.

The grass supports cattle who are protected from winter storms by a planting of evergreens in the feeding area. Maurice has proven that five kinds of native grasses can reclaim and make productive some very rough and eroded soils.

Maurice also planted a tree windbreak about 1935 or 1936 on the original farmstead where they lived. The trees now tower well above the electric power lines. He believed then and he believes now in a complete soil and water conservation program.

The Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District recognized his conservation efforts in 1958 and gave Maurice and Alice Kremer the Hamilton County Conservation Award. He again won a similar award 10 years later on another farm.

Eight irrigation wells provide water to the Kremer farms. He believes that ground water should be used but it should be used wisely. He is concerned about the declining water table. The two center pivot systems recently installed on the farms have reduced labor and have reduced the amount of water formerly used per acre.

The Kremer’s believe in crop and livestock combinations. He believes the potential for farming in Nebraska is excellent because of irrigation and livestock. He encourages young people to look at the potential in farming, and also, as a way of life. He believes that feeding crops raised in Nebraska to Nebraska raised livestock is good business. He also believes that keeping up with the newest feeding methods to reduce labor are important to success and well being on the farm. Maurice puts into practice what he believes about conservation and farming. He believes in making use of the best agricultural technology available.

Involvement in community and cooperative activities have been characteristic of Maurice. The Courthouse at Aurora was the scene of many conferences with the county agent and special agricultural meetings. Here Maurice helped organize the Hamilton County Irrigator’s Association and became chairman and member of the Association. The Association’s purpose was to bring into Hamilton County a newly developed product - fertilizer. There weren’t any fertilizer dealers in those days. The farmers tried phosphate first but soon shifted to nitrogen. The Hamilton County Agent said that this organization brought in train carloads of ammonium nitrate from 1944 through 1946.

Maurice recalls his first use of fertilizer by applying the recommended 40 lbs. of nitrogen per acre but now they are up to 150 to 200 lbs. for many fields. The fertilizer dealers of today have the roots of their business in the early actions of Maurice and his neighbors.

The Irrigator’s Association later turned its attention to measuring water levels and encourage irrigation and good water management practices. Records were needed to show what was happening to the ground water. The Hamilton County Agent began these records in cooperation with the Hamilton County Irrigator’s Association. These have been maintained annually and are the longest continuous records made by a local group anywhere in Nebraska. Maurice supported these actions. A few years ago, he supported formation of the Hamilton County Groundwater Conservation District which replaces the Association. The District is a legal entity which now takes care of the water level measuring program and is encouraging irrigation water reuse as the Kremer farms are already doing.

He is a member of the Hamilton County Livestock Feeders. Maurice has been a member of the State Dairymen’s Association. He has been chairman of the Hamilton County Extension Service Board. He is a Farm Bureau, Rotary Club, Aurora Chamber of Commerce and Hamilton County Historical Society member. He is a director of the Nebraska Reclamation Association, a member of the State Irrigation Association and the Nebraska Irrigation Development Committee sponsored by the University of Nebraska. He was a member of the Hamilton County Foundation and served as its president. This Foundation is for memorial gifts. The revenue provides scholarships for young people who may need help to go to school.

Maurice has always been interested in public education for youth and has encouraged and helped individuals to get an education. He was chairman of the Aurora School District at the time of school district reorganization. He can be justly proud of his persistence in attaining the goal of good facilities and a good curriculum for all Hamilton County youth. The new high school at Aurora is now a reality.

The church is also a part of the community. Both Maurice and Alice attended the Pleasant View Bible Church founded by his grandfather when he moved from Illinois. In 1970 a new replacement church was built in Aurora. Maurice has been a Sunday School teacher in this church for about 40 years.

The people of Aurora and the surrounding legislative district knew a good man when they saw one. One day in Aurora the Chamber members asked Maurice to attend a luncheon, upon arrival he learned the purpose of the meeting was to ask someone to file for the state legislature from the 25th District (now the 34th District as reorganized). After lunch, the discussion indicated that the man had already been selected. Maurice wondered who it was, and the man seated next to him said, “It’s you”. Maurice was not receptive. He said he was not interested, and he wasn’t. They asked him to think about it a few days. They returned. He still wasn’t interested so they circulated a petition and brought the list to Maurice. He still wasn’t convinced, so he thought of a way out of the dilemma. He told the Chamber people that he would do it if three people would OK his entering the race. He secretly felt that his father would advise him not to get tangled up in politics. He thought his wife surely wouldn’t approve. He thought his business partner probably couldn’t approve. But they all did, in fact, they encouraged him.

So Maurice became Senator Kremer in 1963. He has introduced and fostered many outstanding bills. He has authored or co-authored 63 bills which were enacted into law. Since 1963 he has served continuously and with distinction on the Agricultural Committee of the Legislature. He was chairman of that committee for three sessions. He has been chairman and also a member of the Legislature’s Interim Study Committee on Water.

One of the most significant actions Senator Kremer has taken in service to Nebraska occurred in 1967. It was the introduction of the and unanimous vote to pass Resolution #5, which resulted in the State Water Plan development. A companion Resolution #4 which asked for greater effort in education in the water field to be coordinated with the State Water Plan was also passed. The Framework Study of the State Water Plan stands as a guide, the first step for Nebraska so that we can take advantage of our natural resource - water.

Senator Kremer introduced still another bill designed to support the State Water Plan. This was a bill to develop a data bank. The Data Bank purpose is to gather in one location as much relevant information as possible so that it is readily available for anyone to use in planning, designing or evaluating a project.

The Natural Resources District Bill, LB 1357 was another fostered and supported by Maurice which melded into single units many local resource organizations and districts which were dealing with soil and water problems. The bill was controversial, but the Executive Secretary of the Nebraska Natural Resources Commission said of Maurice, “He spent countless hours listening to people’s views, people that were on both sides of the controversy, and often times he could effect a compromise.” Many states are watching this unique development. The Nebraska Association of Natural Resource Districts honored Senator Kremer for development of this concept.

But water and soil development were not the only area of legislative concern for the Senator. He introduced the bill for establishing area technical schools, now commonly known as technical colleges. He sees the needs of Nebraska many points of view. He has supported many other bills which we do not have time to mention. It will suffice to say that his actions are motivated by a desire to do his best for the people of Nebraska. He feels the responsibility of representing his district and the state.

Maurice has received a number of other awards. Some of them are: an award for working with the Boy Scouts; the Map Maker Award and the Mr. Progress Award from the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce has recognized him for his legislative work and development of the technical school concept. The Nebraska Veterinarians have recognized him for the legislative work leading toward hog cholera elimination. He has been honored by the Nebraska Agri-Business Club.

Finally, we honor you, Maurice, because of the kind of man you are. Dean Elvin Frolik on learning you were to be honored wrote, “He is a fine citizen and a real Christian gentleman. I don’t know of any public official, elected or appointed in whom one could place greater confidence for Senator Kremer is completely honest. We are fortunate to have him in the Nebraska Agriculture family,--” I think Dean Frolik has summarized very clearly what has been often repeated in letters of congratulation from people in state government, the University and Maurice’s neighbors.

We believe Maurice would like to have us share some of his philosophy. First, as a Christian gentleman he hangs in his study at home a small banner containing a Bible quotation and then rehangs it at appropriate times in his State Capitol office. It says, “Blessed is that nation who’s God is the Lord.” He believes and lives the Word of God. He is a member of the Gideons International Christian and Business Men’s Association. They distribute Bibles in places like hotels and other places wherever there is a continual stream of people. They are now placing about one million Bibles every 30 days. Maurice is a member of the governing body of the International Cabinet of the Gideons. This group has authority over operations all over the world.

Last, Maurice has a philosophy that you must have a well-rounded life to find happiness. He could tell you a complete story on this but basically it resolves into this statement. You must develop the physical, the intellectual, the social and the spiritual aspects of your life. You cannot lose sight of any one of these or you have a lopsided life. I agree.

Maurice, I have appreciated this opportunity to make this presentation in behalf of the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement. I am sure I speak for everyone here in offering congratulations for your selection as the 1972 honoree.