MIKE AND DEBBY

Mike and Debby raised four children on the ranch and all pitched in to help with the daily ranch work. For the early years of their schooling the children attended a one-room school a mile from home, then completing their high school education at Burwell High School, 35 miles south of the ranch.

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JESSE:

BETHANY:

JOHANNA:

RANSOM:

Jesse is a partner of the law firm Baird and Holm, working in Corporate and Business and Tax, Trusts and Estates sections from Omaha.

Johanna is a Nurse Practitioner at a rural critical access hospital. She works in the clinic and emergency department.

The Sitz family has a long history with Angus cattle. Starting in 1923 Grandfather, William August Sitz and his wife Frieda purchased registered Angus cows from William Williams of Clarks, Nebraska. When these heifers calved the bull calves were traded back to William Williams for more heifer calves and thus began the expansion of the Sitz Angus herd.

In the late 30’s and early 40’s Will and Frieda’s oldest son, Bill, spent many a night sleeping in the barn with the cattle while he and his family were on the road showing cattle. Bill enjoyed showing at the County Fairs, AK-SAR-BEN and the State Fair. He remembers driving the family’s registered Angus cattle and Hampshire hogs to the railroad dock at Buda where they loaded them on a rented cattle car on the route to various fairs.

Bill and Dee as newly weds in the 1940's.

In March of 1937 with Bill, Delores and little Bobby in tow, Will and Frieda left their farm in Buda, Nebraska and began a new life in the ranching community called the Green Valley south of Atkinson. During this time in 1945 Bill became a lifetime member of the American Angus Association. In 1947 Bill Sitz and Dee Stout were united in marriage. Living in Holt County they named their ranch the 36 Angus Ranch. Shortly after they moved with their cowherd to the ranch in southeastern Rock County where they raised Angus cattle and their children, Bill Jr., Judy, Sheryl and Mike. Mike was active in FFA and in 4-H showing cattle. The Burwell FFA were formidable competitors and Mike came home with many top honors including the gold medal as the top Senior Showman at the State Fair along with garnering top awards at the AK-SAR-BEN. After graduating from UNSTA in 1974, Mike returned to the ranch in Rock County.

Mike and Debra Cook, a cattle feeder’s daughter, were married in 1975. The young
couple struggled and survived through the 1980’s. Though it didn’t seem economical
at the time, Mike continued to AI, performance test, and register his calves.
It was during this time that the young couple was advised by their banker to
either crossbreed their registered herd to Charolais bulls or move to town and
get a job. Mike firmly believed that there was more to the profitability of a cowherd
than high weaning weights and crossbred vigor, so he chose to ignore his
banker’s advice and to breed and cull for only the most profitable angus cattle.

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