60 OMAHA plus
September 2021
Janet Kratina
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FOUR HOURS, THREE TIMES A WEEK
anet Kratina regularly walks and swims; she also plays bridge, and spends time with her grandchildren as part of a busy lifestyle at 68. “I’m active every day and to me that’s part of my good life,” she explained. She also plays golf as many as three times a week nearly year-round, which may make it the most important component of keeping fit in her 60s.
“You’re walking and swinging a golf club. I consider four hours of golf, in my life, a pretty good workout even if I’m in a cart. And what could be better for your mind than being outside in a beautiful setting with friends?” As much as she touts the benefits of golden-years golf, however, Kratina actually took up the sport during a very different phase of her life. “I started golfing as a young mom, and I did it to get out of the house so I could spend some time with my friends,” she recalled, adding that she often didn’t make it to the ninth hole. “We girls would go out there and spray balls all over the place for five or six holes and then we’d go inside and eat lunch.” ► // 102 //
60 PLUS • SEPTEMBER 2021
JANET KRATINA’S GOLDEN GAME STORY BY KARA SCHWEISS PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY DEREK JOY
“OCC FEELS LIKE AN OLD FRIEND. I’VE MADE A LOT OF GREAT MEMORIES WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY, AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE THE STAFF OUT THERE, WHO ALSO FEEL LIKE FAMILY.” -JANET KRATINA
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he social aspect of golf kept her heading back to the course past the years when her children needed a babysitter. “It was something fun I could share with my husband and my friends,” she said. “I love getting outside and love getting exercise.”
Kratina taught school for five years before becoming a stay-at-home mom and, later, gave her time to numerous local nonprofits and organizations. As she put it, “I could make a list a page long.” Naturally, she integrated golf into her volunteer work, although she declined to name specific organizations. “I’ve been an active community volunteer for 40 years, so I’m certain I’ve played in every charity tournament imaginable and I’ve worked most of them; I couldn’t name one over the other,” she said. “When you’re in the golfing world in Omaha and you’re also a volunteer, every time anybody has a charity event, you get the call.” Kratina said she doesn’t mind getting the call. “I play every Tuesday in our ladies’ league at [Omaha Country Club], and then I usually play another time during the week, and then I play almost every Sunday with my husband and friends,” she said. She may be an experienced golfer, but Kratina emphasized that she’s no elitist. In fact, she welcomes amateurs. “It’s my own game and it’s your own game. I just like to play with nice people…My favorite golf companions are anybody that will put up with me,” she said, wryly. “I have my regulars that I play with, my husband and my good pals, but I’ve also made a lot of new friends playing golf, and that’s part of what’s fun about it for me.” It’s never too late to take up golf, OCC Board Member Mike Wade said. “It’s truly a lifetime sport and there aren’t a lot of sports you can say that about,” he said. Like Kratina, he emphasized that golf can be flexible and the learning phase can be fun for players. “The sport adapts to you, opposed to the other way around, regardless of your skills,” he said. “At OCC, there are nine different sets of tees that can be played five different ways depending on your ability and your desire to be challenged. You choose.” Even competitive play can accommodate relative newcomers, he added. “There are plenty of formats for tournaments…People of all skill levels can contribute.” Wade, who’s now in his 60s, plays with golfers of all ages, including women and men in their 70s. He said he sees players in their 60s, 70s, and beyond on the course every day. “It’s good for people of all ages but certainly good for people over 65 for three particular reasons: One is that it gets you outside. Secondly, it gets you to be active // 104 //
60 PLUS • SEPTEMBER 2021
and to move around,” he said. “But most important is the fact that golf is a social game. If you’re playing nine it’s two hours, if you’re playing 18 it’s four hours of conversation during the round. And there is plenty of opportunity for conversation after the round. It’s a social sport.” Although she is not motivated by winning, Kratina said she “can and will” play competitively. “I play on our interclub team and I play tournaments at our club, but I do not love to compete,” she said. Nevertheless, her best game was an 81 at Happy Hollow Club. And, “I’ve had two holes in one.” She adds, with a laugh, “Well, you know they’re accidents. I didn’t even see them go in; I was busy talking.” Kratina said her goal when golfing is to enjoy the experience. “Don’t take yourself too seriously. It is supposed to be a game of pleasure. That is my best advice,” she said. “You need to relax and play your game and enjoy it for what it is. There are going to be good scores and bad scores. But on your worst day you’ve been to a beautiful place with your good pals, and you’ve been there for four hours. And hopefully no more than four hours because if you spent more than four hours out there you’re not playing fast enough!” Kratina has played most, if not all, of Omaha’s club courses as part of being on OCC’s interclub team. “I really enjoy playing public courses, too. There are some very nice public courses in town.”
She and husband Mark also get to other courses in Nebraska, especially in the northern part of the state. “There are a lot of nice courses in the Sandhills, and the newest notable course that just opened this year is CapRock Ranch [in Valentine],” she said. “We’re really tickled to get to play CapRock Ranch, it’s an awesome course.” Other favorite Sandhills-area courses are The Prairie Club and Dismal River Club. Outside of Nebraska, Kratina’s favorite courses have been Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia, known for the Masters Tournament; and Cypress Point Club in California. During North American travels, the Kratinas have been able to play courses in Canada and Mexico. During travel abroad over the years, they’ve managed to get to courses in Australia, Ireland, and—of course—Scotland. “Our travel pals are all golfers, and most of the trips we take are to a course somewhere,” Kratina said. Kratina’s favorite course ever? She’s loyal to her home club. “OCC feels like an old friend,” she said. “I’ve made a lot of great memories with friends and family, and that would include the staff out there, who also feel like family.” She’s especially proud that OCC was the site of the 2021 U.S. Senior Open in July and also in 2013. “We helped work it the first time, but this time we just watched,” she said. “It was wonderful.” Kratina is now teaching her grandchildren to golf. Wade is also passing along the love of golf; his 6-year-old granddaughter received a set of golf clubs for her birthday this summer and is eager to get on the course with her grandfather. She’s part of the fourth generation of golfers in his family. “My dad gave me a golf club when I was 7,” Wade said. “At 7, I was already walking around the golf course with my father. It’s a game that you can be engaged with your entire life.” “I am so very thankful for so many things in life, and golf would be right at the top of my list. It’s afforded my husband and me great friends, good exercise, great travel, and wonderful memories,” Kratina said. Visit omahacc.org for more information on this golf course.
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STORY BY KAMRIN BAKER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN
DESIGN BY DEREK JOY
COYOTES, BADGERS, COBRAS, COWS ERNIE STARY HAS SAVED THEM ALL
“The sheriff and I broke the middle fence board,” Stary said. “Of course, we asked the home owner if we could, and he said yes. After the middle board was broke the coyote was free and collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. I put the coyote on a flexible carrier stretcher and walked [it] to the work van with help from the sheriff’s deputy. I transported Coyote to the shelter immediately, and Laura from Wildlife Rescue came to pick up the animal for rehab. The coyote was nursed back to health after a month or so, and released back to the wild. He had torn tendons in both legs that had to heal.” Stary served the Nebraska Humane Society as an animal control officer for 37 years before retiring this year. A Facebook post published on May 28, 2021, estimated that he had touched the lives of at least 27,000 animals. To him, it was nothing more than second nature. “It was my second home,” Stary said. “I was really tied into that job. Being out in the field on my own, just saving animals, kept me sticking with it for so long. It wasn’t about production or efficiency but how rewarding things went out in the field.”
Stary began his journey with animal care working in pest control with Terminix in 1984, but before that year was up, he had connected with some folks who worked for the NHS animal control department and got a job there. He studied with an officer for 60 days on probation and was then turned loose with his own van and catcher’s pole. “During my probation period, I really got to liking it,” he said. “I was happy to be rescuing animals instead of preventing them.” Stary is a quiet and reserved man who spent his time at the NHS calmly connecting with animals of all kinds. Within his first two years as an animal control officer, Stary encountered vicious dogs and was attacked twice. While investigating a complaint, a trio of dogs broke through a makeshift kennel and chased him through a few neighboring backyards, biting him in the underarm. This shook him, but he persevered in his job. Stary later helped break up a pitbull ring that spanned across Texas, Missouri, and Kansas. Another time, an owner was more aggressive than the dogs—slashing a knife through Stary’s tire when he impounded the owner’s pets. These early experiences didn’t keep him away. Stary took additional classes and trainings, volunteering for the ASPCA and buying his own small library to stay informed on all the animals he may encounter. He often volunteered for overnight emergency hours, handling some of the most challenging cases in the early hours
of the morning. Stary was pleased to help rescue wildlife in these moments, turning them over to rehabilitation and rescue organizations. He encountered an angry badger digging a den under the then-Aksarben racetrack. It was a batty job. Stary often stayed out all night taking bats out of houses, and then working a double shift into his standard morning call.
BROWN YELLED OUT TOWARDS THE GOAT— AND THAT’S WHEN THEY DISCOVERED THE GOAT WAS, IN FACT, A FAINTING GOAT, AND TRIGGERED BY HER SCREAM, IT PASSED OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. “I once got a big horned owl under Highway 75 who got a wing stuck in a barbed wire fence,” Stary said. “Once it recovered, the wildlife rehab center actually asked me if I wanted to meet them there to turn it loose again.” Stary once fished a 6-footlong alligator out of a plastic pond in someone’s basement—they were keeping it as a pet but eventually realized it was not legal and turned it over to NHS.
Another time, he and his supervisor at the time, Kelli Brown, chased a pig and a goat in Gretna for over 45 minutes to no avail. In frustration, Brown yelled out towards the goat—and that’s when they discovered the goat was, in fact, a fainting goat. Triggered by her scream, it passed out in the middle of the road.
60+
FEATURE
n adult male coyote was found hanging on a privacy fence, its legs caught in the slats of the gate, in March 2017. The wild animal was hurt badly, and had it not been for the efforts of rescuers, including Ernie Stary, the animal likely would not have survived.
Stary served on numerous hoarding calls, including one in which he rescued 100 cats from one home. He tipped overturned cows upright, busted cockfights, and herded haywire horses on the highway.
He once picked up a cobra in Bellevue from what he called a “military man” who had gotten bitten by, and an infection from, the snake. The military forced the man to surrender this unique pet to NHS. “I just put him in a little Tupperware with a lid on it, and he sat on my dash in the van and was moving back and forth like a bobble head,” Stary recalled, chuckling. “We traveled back to the shelter together and I watched it dance on every bump I hit.” The cobra was subsequently turned over to the zoo. Steve Glandt, vice president of field operations at NHS, worked with Stary for a short time but was inspired by his true passion for this work. “For Ernie to endure 37 years of animals in distress really speaks to his passion for saving them,” Glandt says. “He’s just such a great guy. The dedication he had to the animals really set him apart.” Brown, who now works for the city of Fremont, also speaks highly of him. “Ernie is very smart and he took the time to research everything,” she said. “He wouldn’t wait for things to be assigned to him. He was so dedicated, and motivated, and was really able to steer people out of burnout.” Visit nehumanesociety.org for more information.
SEPTEMBER • 60 PLUS
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A CAR CLUB LIKE NO OTHER TANGIER SHRINE PATROL WAS AN OMAHA ORIGINAL
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60 PLUS • SEPTEMBER 2021
60+ NOSTALGIA
STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA // DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION BY DEREK JOY
nce upon a time, a well-heeled group in Omaha with a need for speed took such a fancy to an American sports car that they created some of the most sought-after editions of this vehicle by annually purchasing a new fleet in order to perform driving stunts. The Omaha Tangier Shrine Corvette Patrol, active from 1957 to 1981, zipped around in the newest Corvettes for show-driving in parades and circuses to promote Shrine’s charitable causes. Union Pacific attorney Jerome Given, according to his family, embodied this thrill-seeking and community-oriented fraternity of World War II veterans. Given is said to have paid his own way through Creighton Law School with earnings from motorcycle races in Sturgis, South Dakota, and semi-pro hockey games in Wichita, Kansas. “He was a car freak. He liked engines. He liked fast things. He liked unusual things. It had to be different. It had to be unique,” daughter Sherry Moran said. Given and his car-mates have passed away, but their devoted Shrine service and Corvette affinity are immortalized in articles and photos. Hank Schwarz, an officer with Tangier’s current club of Corvette enthusiasts, said, “It was a very elite group of people. They were very well thought of throughout the Shrine community.” When the idea of the original car patrol surfaced, Wahoo, Nebraska, Chevrolet dealer G.W. Anderson offered his auto industry connections. G.W.’s son, Gar Anderson, recalled, “The Thunderbird was the group’s original choice. But my dad said, ‘I’m a Chevy dealer, I can’t have a Thunderbird.’ That’s how they changed to the Corvette.” That was fine by Given, who had been hooked since the first time he spotted a Corvette. Though no gearhead, G.W. was glad to get all these new Corvette sales.
Patrol members were supposed to have identical vehicles, right down to the color. The bulk factory order by this club meant the collective was able to customize their Corvettes, often creating club exclusives. Some years this meant going without a radio, other times the customization was more visible to parade watchers and others. In 1962, Corvette Patrol director Quay Fitch special-ordered the Corvettes with the Cadillac color of Royal Heather Amethyst. Unfortunately, the interior colors that year did not include Fitch’s preference of white. Thus, he chose a red interior that, combined with the purple exterior, many considered garish. Following that year, the ’Vette color was always determined by a club vote. Although not the favorite car of the club members, this particular vehicle is a favorite of Corvette collectors. With few of these 1962 vehicles with this color combination in existence, the purchase price of a restored one is expensive. In early August, MotorSport Auction Group had one for sale with a reserve of more than $150,000. The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, displayed a restored Royal Heather Amethyst Corvette from the Omaha Patrol from 2006-2008.
THE NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM IN BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY, DISPLAYED A RESTORED ROYAL HEATHER AMETHYST CORVETTE FROM THE OMAHA PATROL FROM 2006-2008.
With the help of Anderson Chevrolet, patrol members bought new Corvettes yearly through Chevrolet’s Central Office Production Order (COPO) program. It was not a cheap venture. In 1957, a base model Corvette was $3,176 (retail), at a time when the median family income was $5,000. For several years, taking possession of the club members’ ’Vettes meant catching an all-night passenger train from Omaha’s Union Station to St. Louis, where Corvettes were assembled. Gar and twin brother Gaylord sometimes tagged along. “The guys would spend many hours playing dice, and cards, and just having a great time,” Gar said. “The next morning they picked up their Corvettes. We’d drive from St. Louis to Kansas City, spend the night for another evening of frolic and fun, then go our separate ways. It was a great time.”
Patrol performances “were precision driving at its best,” Moran said. “They were really good. They were so close, so perfect. Very impressive. They had one maneuver where each driver would hold the handle of the car next to him—that’s how close they were driving.” Her sister Jeannè Willerth stated, “It was really cool.” The group traveled as a convoy to events, reportedly becoming the first to drive on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. They performed their synchronized routine at Rosenblatt Stadium, the Civic Auditorium, and other area venues. “They went a lot of places, they did a lot of things,” Moran said. “They had lots of fun,” Gar added.
Moran said her father owned 30 Corvettes “before my mother made him stop buying them.” Gar’s father carried a large number of Corvettes in his store in a town of 4,000 people. “That brought a lot of attention,” he said. “We had people from other states buying them from us.” Like all fairy tales, however, this story belongs to a time long ago. Sometime in the 1970s, the train trips turned into the Corvettes being delivered directly to the dealership. G.W. passed away in 1980, and the Corvette Patrol disbanded the following year. But remembering the patrol four decades since it disbanded, Moran said, would please her dad and his cronies, who lived for community and camaraderie.
SEPTEMBER • 60 PLUS
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‘Because a Job Needs to Be Done’: UNMC Volunteer Embodies the Spirit of Service
“If a customer is looking for a specific item, she won’t stop until she finds what they want, or something that will do in its place.” Sara Crouse
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60+ PROFILE STORY BY JEFF LACEY PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY DEREK JOY t’s clear Nebraskans love to volunteer.
According to the last reported national census, Nebraska ranks sixth among all states as far as volunteerism is concerned, with 589,714 volunteers contributing around 53.8 million hours of service every year. And why not? People who volunteer “experience greater satisfaction with life and life purpose, increased self-confidence, and a greater sense of identity,” according to webMD. Sara Crouse embodies this idea. Crouse, 74, has volunteered since she first stepped into a church nursery in her birth state of Illinois at age 16, and she shows no signs of stopping, having volunteered for various causes without expectation of return for almost six decades. She keeps adding to nearly 5,200 documented hours of volunteer service at UNMC. Sara and her husband, David, moved to Omaha in 1977. David holds a Ph.D. and was a professor at UNMC who retired in 2012, and Crouse has been an active volunteer in various community organizations since the late 1970s. She has served in several capacities at UNMC and its affiliates, but one of her more significant volunteering opportunities began in 1992, when she was connected with the geriatric rehabilitation unit at UNMC. Elderly patients would go there for rehab after events such as heart attacks, or knee replacements, and Crouse would assist them with whatever they needed. She particularly cherished her work with recreational therapist Ann Ramming. “I would visit new patients, and I’d have the opportunity to interview them, and ask a lot of questions. Then Ann would try to get them something that would help based on their interests,” Crouse explained. “I loved talking to them and getting to know them.” At the time, Crouse had finished her degree, which had an emphasis on gerontology. But she didn’t pursue it as a paying career. “I just wanted to work with them. That was enough for me.” Crouse was especially inspired by her work with transplant patients, which began in the mid-1990s. “You would be linked up with a family from out of town who didn’t know anybody,” Crouse said. “You became their connection to this community. I could take the wife to the grocery store, and just become a friend, somebody to talk to.” Crouse recalled one experience with a single mother whose daughter needed a liver and bowel transplant. “They waited over a year, and finally a match came, but almost too late for this little girl. She kept getting infections,” she said, continuing, “The mother had another daughter living back in Wisconsin with her grandmother. I spent a lot of time with them.” That wasn’t the only place where Crouse has spent a lot of time. “Sara always goes one step further for customers in the gift shop,” said retail lead Kelly Dinoff of this devoted volunteer. “If a customer is looking for a specific item, she won’t stop until she finds what they want, or something that will do in its place. She greets every customer with a huge smile and an accommodating manner, welcoming all into the shop.”
“You became their connection to this community. I could take the wife to the grocery store, and just become a friend, somebody to talk to.”
She has served as a docent and participates in the Faculty Women’s Club (a social organization at UNMC that, among other things, raises money for scholarships). Most recently, she served as an ambassador. “People come in the door of University, or Clarkson, or the Buffett Center, and some of them are like deer in headlights,” Crouse said. “I have been around a long time, so I am able to take them wherever they need to go.” According to Patty Ostronic, the UNMC Volunteer Services Lead, Crouse embodies the best a volunteer can be. Ostronic said that Crouse’s defining characteristics are her humility and an incredible energy. “Sara is a person who is highly willing to work,” Ostronic explained. “She definitely doesn’t just want to stand around. When she came to me looking for something more to do, she said that, most importantly, she wanted to be busy. She isn’t just someone who shows up for board meetings. She likes to be involved in areas that serve and support our students and patients.” Crouse, a mother of two and a grandmother of four, explained her drive to serve simply. “I do it because, well, a job needs to be done. Volunteers are needed, and I have always enjoyed helping people, and don’t need to be paid for it. It’s just good to do whatever you can do.” UNMC has temporarily halted volunteering duties due to COVID-19, but Crouse looks forward to returning. Recently, Crouse hurt her ankle during a hike in Fontenelle Forest’s Camp Wakonda, but it doesn’t seem to have slowed this septuagenarian down. “I pulled a ligament! But I’ll be back. We are planning a trip to Ireland.” Visit nebraskamed.com/giving/volunteerservices for more information.
Sara Crouse SEPTEMBER • 60 PLUS
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60+ e Prim e T im JOHN RYAN // 62 STORY BY NICHOLAS MOORE PHOTO BY BILL SITZMANN
After a lifetime spent in the men’s clothing business, John Ryan has learned about adaptability. One constant, however, is that everyone feels better when they’re dressed well. The pandemic crushed the retail clothing industry as potential customers stayed home and wore sweats. “Business is booming, driven primarily by all the weddings that got put on hold last year,” Ryan said. “We’re very blessed to have loyal customers and a strong word-of-mouth reputation for providing quality clothing and service to wedding parties at a fair price.” Modern groomsmen prefer an understated suit in a modern fit, tailored for them. “I thought I knew everything as a young man taking over the family business, but as we move into the third generation at Jerry Ryan Clothing, I’m grateful to keep learning from the youth of our community.” Ryan may be stuck in some of his ways, such as what he eats for lunch daily, but when it comes to the clothing business he loves change. “As I get older, I love seeing fashion trends cycle back around,” he said. “Suits used to be baggy, then they slimmed down, and now everyone wants comfort again.” Another constant in Ryan’s professional life: brick and mortar. The consumer longs now, more than ever, for human interaction, and perhaps a sense of home.
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