by Larry Miller
1917 was a pretty tough year in the Great Plains. It was actually pretty tough everywhere.
1917 was a pretty tough year in the Great Plains. It was actually pretty tough everywhere.
War was raging in Europe, and the United States was drawing
ever closer to becoming ensnarled in it.
Too, a Spanish Flu epidemic was in its infancy and would
claim more than 20 million lives worldwide by 1920 – some 500,000 of them in
the United States.
Being a dirt farmer in Dawes County Nebraska probably didn’t
seem so bad for Thomas Jefferson Butler and his wife, Grace Brown Butler. Working the land on his dad’s place about
eight miles southeast of Chadron likely offered the prospect of providing a
good life.
“T.J.,” as he became known, was a native Nebraskan, born of
parents who’d come from Missouri and Indiana.
He had married Grace Brown, whose ancestors came from Wisconsin and
Iowa, and they would raise their family in the vicinity of Bordeaux Creek.
Jim Butler remembers his father:
Their first child, Melvin, was
born in May 1917. Three weeks later
General “Blackjack” Pershing was leading U.S. forces in Europe as they joined
the British, French and Russian forces in an effort to counter Germany and the
Axis Powers.
The American entry into the was
was critical – and timely. Within
eighteen months – and after the loss of some 17 million lives – World War One
ended with the signing of an Armistice on November 11, 1918.
And Grace Butler, pregnant with
her second child James LeRoy, had reason for some optimism about the
future. The war was over, and a new
child was about to begin life at their
place along Bordeaux Creek.
Born on Bordeaux Creek and early education:
Born on Bordeaux Creek and early education:
Jim Butler had never seen a
football or basketball game when he headed for high school in Chadron. No matter, there seemed to be no time for such
activities anyway. Every day, Jim and
his older brother had to return home promptly after school to do their farm
chores. There was no time for
sports. They were, after all, country
kids.
The following year, a new coach
arrived at the Normal School – and Chadron Prep. While there was no football played at Prep in
those years, the fortunes of their basketball team began to change. And so did the circumstances of the Butler
boys.
“Prep’s basketball team had been
beaten by about everyone, including Whitney,” Butler recalled. When Ross Armstrong arrived on campus in 1933,
teams began to see some real improvement.
“Both my brother Melvin and I were
able to go out for basketball, and we made the squad. We got beat in the district finals, keeping
us out of the state tournament. But when
I was a Junior and Senior, Ross took us to state both years, but got beat in
overtime. We would have won the first
year, but Joe O’Rourke and and another of our big scorers were sick and
couldn’t play.”
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Jim Butler was a standout athlete at Chadron Prep and Chadron State, despite the fact that he’d never seen a football or basketball game before he started high school at Prep. After his college years he also played baseball with the Chadron Elks in their heyday.
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“I had never played football before college, so the first year was one of learning the game. I played enough at guard my second year to earn my letter. We also won the Nebraska college championship.”
Armstrong took over as football
coach the next two years, and Jim Butler became a starting guard for the
Eagles, winning Honorable Mention in the Nebraska college conference. And his prowess at linebacker was considered
key in the 12-9 football win over Wyoming in 1940. He was also a standout basketball player for
the college – a member of the powerhouse team of 1940 that shared the conference
crown with Peru and included other well-known athletes like Bill Bruer, Dale
Tangeman, and Bob Baumann.
But sports wasn’t the only thing
capturing his attention.
In college, he met and started dating a Chadron girl, Madeline
Iaeger.
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| Undated photo - Madeline Iaeger Butler |
Louis J.F. Iaeger was a native Pennsylvanian whose 19th century adventures included earning a navigator’s certificate at a young age,
shipping out as a quartermaster aboard vessels sailing from San Francisco to
the Orient, and a stint with the Buffalo Bill Company, playing the part of a bear
– thus the nickname “Billy the Bear.”
His, too, is an interesting story, which you’ll find within this biographical sketch of Louis Iaeger.
Madeline Iaeger and Jim Butler were married in 1940, and in
1941 their first child – Gary – was born.
Europe again was in turmoil, with Germany on the march
across Europe, Asia and Africa. The
United States had avoided direct involvement in the war, but with the passage
of the Lend-Lease Act in early 1941, American industry shifted to a war-time
footing that would vastly increase the production of aircraft, ships, and other
war materials for the Allies.
Jim Butler’s older brother, Melvin, joined the Navy and
became a pilot. He had gone through the
Civilian Pilot Training (CPT) program at Chadron State and Snook Air Service at
the Chadron airport. He completed his military
training at Pensacola, Florida and San Diego before joining the Pacific Fleet as
pilot of a patrol bomber. Ensign Butler
was stationed about a year at Honolulu and survived the Japanese attacked Pearl
Harbor on December 7th, 1941.
Jim Butler and Madeline had already moved from Chadron to
California.
Her parents moved there earlier, and “I needed a job, and so
we moved there, too, and I went to work for the Vega Aircraft Company,” Butler
recalled. The Vega plant in Burbank was
a major production facility for Allied patrol bombers.
“In a short time, I was foreman of a 10-man crew building
those bombers. Although I wanted to join
the service, they wouldn’t relieve me from my job. Apparently, we were doing what others
couldn’t or wouldn’t do.”
In September 1942 came the bad news that Lieutenant (Junior
Grade) Melvin Butler was reported lost at sea during flight operations in the
Pacific. News of the incident was
delayed for several weeks; a story about the incident appeared in the November
27, 1942 edition of the Lincoln Evening Journal, after the Butler family had been
notified. Word then came that his
aircraft had been shot down near the Solomon Islands in the western Pacific. Lieutenant Butler was never found. He was 25 years old.
Perhaps that’s when Jim Butler conjured his own plans for
joining the service. But getting
released from a critical wartime job in an aircraft factory was no easy matter. He continued to work at Vega Aircraft. Then in September 1943, Jim and Madeline
Butler’s second son, Dale, was born.
Finally wangling a release from the aircraft company, the
young Butler family pulled up stakes and journeyed back to Nebraska in the dead
of winter.
“We ran in to a really big snowstorm between Rock Springs
and Rawlins. We had no heater in the
car, and I was really glad to see the lights of Rawlins!”
After returning his family to Chadron, Butler went to Denver
to enlist in the Army Air Corps.
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| Undated photo of Jim Butler and his dad |
“That’s how I got my pilot’s license,” Butler recalled.
His official enlistment took place at Fort Logan , Colorado
in late January 1944.
“When I went in to the service and started training,
Madeline and Dale went back to California to be with her folks. Gary stayed with my folks in Nebraska.”
In California, Madeline landed a good job, but one that was
very demanding.
“She was a smart gal.
Her major was chemistry.”
“I was away in Texas taking pilot training…and I got a
letter from her mother that Madeline was in the hospital with pneumonia. And even before I could respond, I got a
telegram that she had died. It was a
tough deal.”
That was in January 1945, and the war was winding down. The fighting in Europe officially ended with
“VE (Victory in Europe) Day on May 8.
“As soon as the Air Corps found out that I had two kids, and
that my wife had died – and of course I had lost my brother, too – they started
talking about discharge. I was released
from active duty in May 1945.”
Butler returned to Chadron.
But the end of the war meant an abundance of returning G.I.’s, and not a
lot of jobs to be had. And he had little
appetite at that time to return to college.
He was thinking more and more that he’d simply go back to
California where there were more jobs.
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| Donna Sailor Butler |
While attending a dance at the Kelso Pavilion east of
Chadron, his friend Pat Muldoon introduced Jim to Donna Sailor. They began dating and she helped persuade him
that he should go back and finish college.
And he did just that, quickly completing the work necessary
to take his Bachelor of Science degree in Education (Industrial Arts) from
Chadron State in 1946. He also took a
new bride that year, when he and Donna were married.
“A former teammate of mine, Dale Tangeman, was
Superintendent of the school at Igloo, South Dakota. There was a big Army Ordnance depot there,
and Dale needed a football coach and someone to teach shop. It was a big place, and there were really
some great kids there.”
After a year at Igloo, the Butlers were back in Chadron, and
they had a new son, Scott.
Through an unusual set of circumstances, Jim Butler found himself
in a quick career change. From a shop
teacher and coach to………Dawes County Sheriff?
Jim Butler – Lawman:
Jim Butler – Lawman:
That’s exactly what happened as Jim and Donna Butler and
their growing family of boys took up residence on the top floor of the County
Courthouse during the blizzard of 1949.
The county commissioners appointed him to complete the
unexpired term of Sheriff Cy Spearman.
The Butler’s apartment in the courthouse had two tiny bedrooms, and a
very small living room and kitchen.
As their family grew with the births of twin boys, Criss and
Curt, the living accommodations became too crowded – even with oldest son Gary
living with his Butler grandparents.
Butler acknowledges that he enjoyed most aspects of serving
as Sheriff. And the citizens of Dawes
County were pleased with him. He was
elected to two subsequent terms in office.
The Butler’s were looking for a change. And – after 10 years in the courthouse – it
came.
Lawman Butler traded his badge for a classroom at East Ward Elementary
School, first as a teacher – then as Principal.
“I then got my Master’s degree at Chadron State and also
attended summer school one year at the University of Iowa. I also went to Western State in Colorado and
earned a Specialist in Education certificate.
I thought we might go to Colorado.”
But as it turned out, their destiny remained in Chadron,
where Jim Butler would remain for 26 years in the public school system.
“I was offered a contract to go to Sheridan, Wyoming, but
Chadron superintendent Heine Schroeder asked me how much they were offering
me. He said he’d match it. So we stayed.
Donna and the kids were real happy about that.”
Jim Butler seems to have enjoyed just about everything he’s
pursued.
He quickly admits that his greatest joy, however, was his
years within the Chadron Public Schools.
Jim Butler: "I always looked forward to going to work."
But both Jim and Donna Butler pursued other interests as
well.
She was a remarkable musician and is well remembered as a
highly-popular piano teacher for many years.
“I absolutely loved to hear Donna play the piano. She played by ear, and she also taught
herself to play the organ. Our favorite
songs were ‘Stardust’ and ‘Deep Purple.’”
And Jim Butler sings Donna’s praises – not just as a
highly-talented musician – but as a loving mother.
He recalled one of his more challenging moments as a young parent, when his son, Dale, was born in California in
1943….and how his second wife Donna later would help them overcome adversity.
“Over the years, Donna and I enjoyed antiques. It was our hobby. When I retired, I repaired and refinished old
furniture.”
When the Butlers moved to Lincoln in 1992, he remodeled
their home so he’d have room for a workshop in the garage.
Donna passed away in 2008.
They had been married for 62 years.
Jim Butler’s boys have done well. Gary and his wife live in Savannah,
Missouri. Dale and his wife Carol live
in Kansas City, Missouri; Scott and his wife recently moved to North Carolina. Criss and his family live in Omaha, while Curt and family – Lincoln residents – frequently see the elder Butler and share
meals.
Jim Butler has continued to eagerly
follow University of Nebraska sports – everything from football to volleyball.
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| Until the last few years, Jim Butler would make regular auto trips by himself from Lincoln to Chadron for Chadron Prep and Chadron State reunions. 2010 marked a special return to his hometown, as Butler was inducted into the Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame. All five Butler boys were able to join him for the occasion. |
To be sure, Jim Butler has achieved success in many
ways. His accomplishments range from
youthful exploits as a talented athlete, to a colorful – if abbreviated –
career as a county sheriff.
But likely his proudest achievements have been those
relating to the development and nurturing of young people – his own five boys –
and the numerous youngsters he has taught and mentored along the way during his
career as an educator.
As Jim Butler celebrates 98 years on this earth, he can –
and should – take great comfort in the thousands of lives he has touched in so
many positive ways.
