When they were seniors at Seguin High School in 1933, Paul Willman bet Elmo Baese one dollar that a man would land on the moon during their lifetime.
    Willmann credited reading Buck Rodgers with his boldness in prophesying a "man on the moon."  We were just kids making a crazy bet," commented Willman.  "I certainly didn't have a vision.
    "About the time the U. S. put the second astronaut in orbit around the earth, I began to feel I would lose the bet," Baese recalled.  "At any rate, that is when Paul began to put on the pressure."  
    While Willmann was writing a receipt for the cash transaction, Baese quipped that "he (Baese) should have given a check on a bank that was in business 36 years ago, such as the old Citizens State Bank."  
    Willmann recalled joking with his wife and giving her instructions about paying off the bet in the event Baese outlived him.  The two schoolmates left the office following the "pay off" to spend Willmann's winnings on coffee and maybe pie.
Seguin Enterprise, July 24, 1969