Clyde Cretsinger
Clyde Cretsinger | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 39th district | |
| In office April 13, 1954 – January 4, 1955 | |
| Preceded by | Joshua Brown |
| Succeeded by | Donald McGinley |
| In office January 7, 1947 – January 2, 1951 | |
| Preceded by | Carl Jeffords |
| Succeeded by | Joshua Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 21, 1895 |
| Died | January 12, 1965 (aged 69) |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Flora Morse (m. 1923) |
| Education | Capital City Commercial College |
| Occupation | Farmer |
Clyde Franklin Cretsinger (October 21, 1895 – January 12, 1965) was a Republican politician from Nebraska who served as a member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 39th district from 1947 to 1951 and again from 1954 to 1955.
Early life
[edit]Cretsinger was born in Coon Rapids, Iowa, and graduated from Coon Rapids High School, and later attended the Capital City Commercial College in Des Moines.[1] He mserved in the U.S. Air Service during World War I, and moved to Nebraska in 1919,[1] settling in Keith County, where he maintained a farm and raised livestock.[2]
Nebraska Legislature
[edit]In 1946, Cretsinger ran for the state legislature from the 39th district, which included Arthur, Blaine, Deuel, Garden, Grant, Hooker, Keith, Logan, McPherson, and Thomas counties in western Nebraska.[2] He ran against incumbent State Senator Carl Jeffords, who was seeking his third term.[2] In the primary election, Cretsinger placed second, receiving 40 percent of the vote to Jeffords's 60 percent,[3] They advanced to the general election,[4] where Cretsinger defeated Jeffords by a wide margin, winning 59–41 percent.[3][5]
Cretsinger ran for re-election in 1948, and was challenged by Jeffords in a rematch of their 1946 campaign.[6] Cretsinger placed first in the primary by a wide margin, winning 61 percent of the vote to Jeffords's 39 percent, and ultimately defeated Jeffords in the general election with 58 percent of the vote.[7][8]
In 1950, Cretsinger ran for a third term, and was challenged by Keith County Supervisor Joshua Brown and rancher D. E. Bauer.[9][10] Cretsinger placed first in the primary election, receiving 52 percent of the vote to Brown's 35 percent and Bauder's 12 percent,[11] and advanced to the general election with Brown.[12] Cretsinger narrowly lost to Brown, receiving 48 percent of the vote to his 52 percent.[11][13]
Brown was re-elected to the legislature in 1952, and in 1954, resigned, citing ill health.[14] Governor Robert B. Crosby appointed Cretsinger to serve out the remainder of Brown's term,[14] and he was sworn in on April 13, 1954.[15] Cretsinger declined to run for a full term in the election.[16] He was elected as an alternate delegate to the Nebraska Republican Party convention in 1954 from Keith County.[17]
Post-legislative career
[edit]On February 16, 1955, Cretsinger was appointed by Governor Victor Anderson to the newly created Nebraska Board of Educational Lands and Funds.[18] He served a several-month term until the board was permanently established, and was appointed to a four-year term on August 5, 1955.[19] At the expiration of Cretsinger's term in 1959, Governor Ralph G. Brooks appointed H. L. Blackledge as his successor.[20]
Death
[edit]Cretsinger died on January 12, 1965, in Tucson, Arizona, while he was on vacation after attending the Cotton Bowl.[21]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Nebraska Blue Book 1954 (PDF). Nebraska Legislative Council. 1955. p. 271. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Clyde F. Cretsinger, Stockman-Farmer, Files For Uni-Cameral". Paxton Times. April 5, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 Marsh, Frank (1946). Official Report of the Nebraska State Canvassing Board, Primary Election, June 11, 1946, General Election, November 5, 1946 (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Senator Butler and Val Peterson Poll Big Votes at Keith County Polls". Keith County News. Ogallala, Nebraska. June 13, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Cretsinger Elected to Legislature". Keith County News. Ogallala, Nebraska. November 7, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Carl Jeffords, Mullen, Files for Unicameral". Grant County Tribune. Hyannis, Nebraska. March 11, 1948. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Marsh, Frank (1948). Official Report of the Nebraska State Canvassing Board, Primary Election, April 13, 1948, General Election, November 2, 1948 (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Democrats Spring the Up-Set of a Generation". Paxton Times. November 5, 1948. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Josh Brown Legislative Candidate". Keith County News. Ogallala, Nebraska. February 27, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Thedford Senatorial Candidate Visitor". Keith County News. Ogallala, Nebraska. July 17, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 Marsh, Frank (1950). Official Report of the Nebraska State Canvassing Board, Primary Election, August 8, 1950, General Election, November 7, 1950 (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Gov. Peterson and Carpenter Get Nod in Garden County". Star-Herald. Scottsbluff, Nebraska. August 10, 1950. p. 7. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Brown Is Elected To Legislature". Keith County News. Ogallala, Nebraska. November 9, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 "Cretsinger Is Named To State Legislature". Lincoln Star. April 16, 1954. p. 9. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Srb, Hugo F., ed. (1954). Legislative Journal of the State of Nebraska: Sixty-Sixth (Extraordinary) Session (PDF). p. 4. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Cretsinger To Succeed Josh Brown". Keith County News. Ogallala, Nebraska. April 15, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "County Political Party Conventions Held on Thursday". Paxton Times. September 3, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Cretsinger Named to New Board". Keith County News. Ogallala, Nebraska. February 17, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Governor Reappoints Board of Education". Evening World-Herald. Omaha, Nebraska. August 6, 1955. p. 12. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Kearney Man To Lands Post". Lincoln Evening Journal. October 9, 1959. p. 5. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Clyde Cretsinger, 71, Former State Senator Is Dead". Lincoln Star. January 18, 1965. p. 2. Retrieved April 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.