First Church Building - revisited

Remember this post about the LDS Church buildings in Pueblo, Colorado? 

The first LDS Church building in Pueblo, Colorado - circa 1908

My recent wanderings have unearthed this picture of that same building, taken about 1929.  The women's hats, the shape of the glasses, and the little girls' haircuts all contribute to what I consider a classy historic photo.  I love it!

 

 With Leona's help, I've identified the following:

• Mable Davis Butler (Lou's mother) in the 3rd row from the back - light colored hat and holding a young child, probably Eldon, close to her face
• Florence Davis Callaway (Mable's sister) standing right next to Mable to the left 
• Louis Butler - kneeling in front row, 4th from right, holding a flower in front of his face
• Chuck Butler - maybe kneeling in the front next to Louis

Do you recognize anybody else?

Hegler Pool Update

In the process of going through more notebooks, Leona came across a picture and another account of Hegler's swimming pool which I posted about a couple of years ago.  I've updated the post (purple text) and added a little more information.

Click this link and check it out.  You've probably forgotten what it said, anyway, so it'll seem like a new post!

Cowboy Up!

How cute are these little cowboys?

Jim and Lou, Jr.  - early 1950s

"I sure hope I was good to you"

 Lou became the principal of Parkview School in Pueblo in 1960.  On the first day that he met with the teachers, he talked with Dorothy Ritchey who had been his 3rd grade teacher in 1931-32.  As they chatted, Mrs. Ritchey said to him as her new boss, "I sure hope I was good to you!"

Lou wrote about her:  "She was one of my most remembered teachers and still one of the best liked teachers on the staff, so all went well.  After she retired, we continued to exchange Christmas cards until I received a card from her husband informing me that she had passed away."

And do you realize that those little third graders pictured 

above are now close to 50 years old!

Getting my bearings

Could you think in the middle of this mess?

 I've got a lot of names, dates, places and events rattling around in my head and all over my desk.  While I regroup and figure out the next direction I want to follow, I'll be posting some random pictures, stories, and memories.  Don't be looking for continuity or predictability over the next few weeks, or you'll be sorely disappointed.  Just enjoy these snippets of history and glimpses into the Butler family history, because sometimes memories just can't be categorized!

Now, how are we related?

I'm My Own Grandpa

by Dwight Latham and Moe Jaffe

Many, many years ago when I was twenty-three,

I got married to a widow who was pretty as could be.

This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red.

My father fell in love with her, and soon the two were wed.

This made my dad my son-in-law and changed my very life.

My daughter was my mother, for she was my father's wife.

To complicate the matters worse, although it brought me joy,

I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy.

My little baby then became a brother-in-law to Dad.

And so became my uncle, though it made me very sad.

For if he was my uncle, then that also made him brother

to the widow's grown-up daughter who, of course, was my stepmother.

Father's wife then had  son who kept them on the run.

And he became my grandson, for he was my daughter's son.

My wife is now my mother's mother and it makes me blue.

Because, although she is my wife, she is my grandma too.

If my wife is my grandmother, then I am her grandchild.

And every time I think of it it simply drives me wild.

For now I have become the strangest case you ever saw.

As the husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa.

Scout Master's Heaven

Chuck with his Boy Scouts - circa 1970's

Scout Master's Heaven
by Charles Lee Butler

St. Peter stood there at the Pearly Gate

Determining each of the applicant's fate.

When up the path came a quiet man

With a thoughtful look and a suit of tan.

"Come in, come in," St. Peter cried,

"Nothing to you will be denied.

"Your life below we've watched with joy

"As you spent your time with each new boy."

"We've watched you work with real delight

"As you camped beneath our stars at night.

"So here's your harp; it's our golden best,

"And there's your cloud, so take your rest."

Now the Scout Master stood with a doubtful grin.

"I guess I'm not sure I want to come in.

"The cloud and the harp are pretty to see,

"But to ride and to play isn't heaven to me."

"Just give me the boy that was hit by a car,

"And the one who went out in the lake too far,

"The boy that was felled by an illness grave,

"And the one that was lost in the lonely cave."

"Give me the boys who were called back here

"Before they saw their first wild deer,

"Before they hiked on a mountain trail,

"Or found the nest of a hawk or quail."

"A harp and a cloud may be fine for some,

"A welcome rest for a job well done.

"But give me some boys who are just eleven,

"And for me, this will be a Scout Master's Heaven!"

 

 

Chuck's life was taken suddenly when he was killed in a car accident 

on his way home from work on August 25, 1977.

This poem that he had written sometime earlier 

was read at his funeral.