For 23 years, Sutton's Sportswear employees have designed catchy logos and advertising slogans and embroidered or printed the designs on hats, T-shirts or other clothing or paraphernalia. Company clients included resorts, companies, schools and sports teams across the U.S.

All that ended Thursday.

At 2:30 p.m., the 50 or so remaining employees took their second daily break, letting off tension with a water-pistol fight in the parking lot. Two hours later, they clocked out for the last time.

"I'm depressed today. It's hard, but it's really not too bad," said shipping supervisor Sandy Pearson, who expressed some mixed emotions: sadness at losing her job but satisfaction that the employees stayed on task until the end.

Pearson bought the squirt guns for the group's last break. On Thursday morning, as the final shift started, managers handed out T-shirts with the company's dancing "moose jive" graphic and took a group picture.

"The shirts said, 'The moose is loose. Sutton's Sportswear. 1986 to 2009,' " Pearson said.

An estimated 20 of the 90 Sutton's employees who were working June 17 when the company announced it would be closing have found other jobs.

On Wednesday, the company gave employees popsicles during a hot July afternoon break.

The workers expected to receive letters officially stating that they are being laid off so they can apply for benefits, she said.

"We'll be paid for most of our vacation, probably not all of it, and no severance pay," Pearson said.

Harold and Susie Sutton started the Billings business in 1986 and sold it in January 2007 to six unidentified business owners, three of them from Montana.

Sutton's President Mark Heydon said employees these past two weeks have kept him upbeat as the business closed.

"Despite great efforts by everyone involved, including the entire Sutton's team along with our bank, investors, landlord, creditors and customers, we were not able to overcome the challenges that the weakened business climate presented," Heydon said.

Contact Jan Falstad at jfalstad@billingsgazette.com or 657-1306.