2003 Kansas Cooperative Hall of Fame
Herbert W. Clutter

"Herbert W. Clutter's influence in cooperatives extended far beyond the state of Kansas.  In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of the Garden City Co-op for 12 years (10 as President), Herb's activities in cooperatives gave him a nation-wide acquaintance and reputation.  He was appointed to the first Federal Farm Credit Board by President Eisenhower and organized both the National and Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, serving as their first president.  He was affiliated with a number of cooperatives, including PCA, Credit Union and REA.  Herb's life was a life of unselfish effort, devotion and generosity.  His wise counsel, human understanding and noble ideas will ever inspire and guide us." (plaque inscription).

Herb Clutter was inducted into the Kansas Cooperative Hall of Fame on March 31, 2003 at the Plaza Hotel in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Accepting this award was his two daughters, Mrs. Bill (Eveanna) Moiser and Mrs. Vere (Beverly) English, both of Newton, Kansas.

Herb Clutter came to Finney County as county agent in 1934.  He served through some of the most trying times in the history of Finney County, and showed his faith in the county by retiring in 1939 to go into farming operations for himself.  No one man has had as much direct influence on Finney County agriculture as Herb Clutter, first as county agent, then as a progressive farmer for many years.  He was willing and able to experiment with new products and new methods.  He made money, but he lost money too in the process of developing and improving agricultural methods and production.

But Herb Clutter's life and influence extended far beyond the bounds of Finney County and the State of Kansas.  His activities in cooperative marketing gave him a nationwide acquaintance and reputation in that field.  In December 1953, he was appointed by President Eisenhower as a member of the newly established Federal Farm Credit Board, where he served until March 1957, declining reappointment at that time.  At the time of his death, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Consumers Cooperative Association of Kansas City, MO.  He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Garden City Cooperative Equity Exchange for 12 years and President of the Board for ten of those years.

He was affiliated with a number of local cooperatives, including the Production Credit Association, Credit Union, Producers Livestock Marketing Association, and the Rural Electrification Administration.

In January 1950, Herb Clutter was appointed by Secretary of Agriculture, Charles Brannan, as a member of the Grain Advisory committee set up under the Research and Marketing Act of 1946 and served several years in this position.

He was a leading figure in the organization of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the National Association of Wheat Growers.  He was the first President of the Kansas Association and the first President of the National Association as well, being elected in 1950 and re-elected in 1951.

I would like to quote U.S. Congressman, Clifford R. Hope, at a dedication ceremony on October 5, 1960 in regards to Mr. Clutter.

"In my many years as a resident of Garden City and the State of Kansas, I can think of no man who contributed more to the agricultural development of this area or who occupied as many important positions in the regional and national agricultural fields as Herbert Clutter."

I have mentioned only some of the more important of the many positions held by Herbert Clutter.  In his community and county, he served as a member and officer of many boards, committees, and organizations.  Among them was the Board of the First United Methodist Church of Garden City.  He was Chairman of the Building Committee, which had charge of the erection of the present outstanding church building at the corner of Kansas Avenue and Main Street in Garden City.  He was also active as a 4-H leader. 

Herb Clutter's friends will remember him as much for what he was as for what he did.  He was a busy man always but never too busy to give his time and effort to a worthy cause.  He was a kind, friendly, generous person, a good citizen, and a Christian gentleman in every sense of the word.  He was devoted to his fine family, and during the later years of his life, he gave up some of his public activities in order to have more time for them.

It is most fitting that Herb Clutter should be honored as a recognition of his worth and standing as a man, and for his great contribution to cooperatives and to the agriculture of Kansas and the United States by this induction today into the Kansas Cooperative Hall of Fame.

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