LINCOLN - When Postville Courthouse received official signs dedicating it as an official Route 66 historical landmark, John Sutton was first to arrive on the scene, preparing the spot for the new marker.

"I'm just the guy who is getting the sign ready," he said.

But the humble Lincoln resident is much more than that.

A retired school teacher, Sutton has worked tirelessly on a number of projects, volunteering with the Abraham Lincoln Railsplitter Association, the Old Mill Restoration Project, Habitat for Humanity and the Postville Courthouse State Historic Site, just to name a few.

For his efforts, he was awarded the 2008 Friend of Tourism Award by the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County last month.

"I was very surprised and extremely grateful," Sutton said. "I didn't think I deserved that. I just feel I am giving back to a community that has supported me all of these years."

Geoff Ladd, tourism director for the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County, said the City of Lincoln is a better place because of Sutton.

"Getting to know John over the past few years, it's not a surprise to me that he volunteers as much as he does," Ladd said. "That's his nature. He's really remarkable and well-respected. Everybody that knows him, just loves him."

Sutton taught school in Beason before retiring and has lived in Lincoln since 1966. He describes himself as old-fashioned and probably would have gotten along just fine if he had lived 200 years ago.

"I would have loved to have been alive in Abraham Lincoln's time," he said. "Think about the problems he had to face without the advantages of technology today. In Civil War days, when they wanted to see where the enemy was at, they launched hot air balloons so they could see over the countryside. We forget how much more difficult things were in those days."

That's part of the reason why he is active in the Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Association of Logan County. The 38th annual festival will be in September and Sutton volunteers for the organizing committee.

"That's a passion of his," Ladd said. "It was a simpler time, very down to earth, where what you see is what you get. That's John. He's a hard worker, very unselfish and very humble."

So humble, Ladd said, that when it was decided to honor him with the Friend of Tourism Award, organizers went to great lengths to keep it a secret.

"We did that because we were afraid he wouldn't show up if he knew he was receiving it," Ladd said.

Sutton said he is just following the example his father showed him. He loves teaching and enjoys doing carpenter work with the Habitat for Humanity projects.

"I picked up the carpenter skills from my father and he taught us if something needed repair, you figured out how to do it yourself," Sutton said. "So, I pass that along. I still learn new things every day but I want to pass those things along to others. That's why I enjoy working with Habitat for Humanity. You can't believe the feeling you have to know you helped someone make a better life for themselves and what they learn from that is that they pass that help on to the next families who get a house. That's what it is all about."