Robert McClung, Author ~ BHS '34

† June, 2006

Robert M. McClung was born in Butler, he was a graduate of Butler High School. His first book, "Wings in the Woods," a fictionalized version of his summers on this grandfather's farm, was published in 1948. He received a master's degree at Cornell University and began his dream job by working at the Bronx Zoo in New York. In 1955, he left the zoo, where he was curator of mammals and birds, to devote to his writing. In 1958, he moved to Washington, D.C., as a natural history writer and editor for the National Geographic. In 1962, he moved to Amherst to devote his time to the writing of his own books. He published 66 books, including "Green Darner," "The Story of a Dragonfly;" and "Bufo, the Story of a Toad."

Institute Hill Mustangs ~ 1950

The Mustangs won the championship in 1950 defeating the Penn Street Cardinals.
Ed Eicholtz, Wayne Anthony, Nick Newcaster, Dan Murphy, Dick Smith, Diantonio, Dom Monteleone, Mike Newcaster, Ken Mills, Dan Coyle, Lanny Pride, Jack Lokhaiser, Bill Saul, Dale Stetzer, Dick Haron, Charles Leitem, Ray Natili, John Houston and Coach Ed Pickett.

[Photo thanks to Michael Newcaster]

From Our Little Theater to Louisville as Reporter for Wave3TV

Congratulations !

James Zambroski receiving the Emmy for Reporting

James Zambroski

Saxonburg's Founder ~ John August Roebling

Saxonburg celebrates its founder's 200th Birthday Anniversary ~ John Roebling is the Inventor of Twisted Steel Cable that made it possible for him to build the famous Brooklyn
Bridge. Congratulations Saxonburg.

Sgt. Major Abie Abraham ~ Bataan

For generations of Butlerites since the Battle of the Pacific in World War II the name Sgt. Abie Abraham has been synonymous with the infamous Bataan Death March. While fighting a hopeless battle and surviving two and a half years of inhuman imprisonment Stg. Abraham showed the noblest human qualities. He was the only soldier who fought on Bataan to see the final Japanese surrender.

You have received many honors, Abie, but there is no Medal of Honor that can represent our pride or render adequate gratitude to you for the valiant spirit you have left us to emulate.

St. Fidelis Seminary ~ Cardinal O'Malley

A onetime seminarian at St. Fidelis Seminary near Butler,Pa. Sean O'Malley, has just been elevated to the office of Clardinal by Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal O'Malley began preparing for the priesthood at the age of 13 in 1957 at St. Fidelis Seminary. Congratulations and to Cardinal O'Malley and the Capuchin Order from well-wishing Butlerites.

Admiral Jonathan Greenert ~ BHS '71

Jonathan Greenert, native of Butler, is now Chief of Naval Operations
as of Sept. 23, 2011.
Commenting on his hometown he said: "You take what you learned from growing up and from high school, and you apply it to real life. I'm very proud of being from Butler".

We salute you, Admiral Greenert.

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We're Proud of You ~ Norma Norris

In 1987, after hearing a sermon by Msgr. Francis Glenn in St. Paul's Church, lamenting the fact that local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies had been deluded into thinking that people didn’t care about the hardcore porn being sold in their neighbor-hoods, Norma Norris gave herself the challenge to inspire the Butler community to send out the message: "We Care - We Count". She adopted the White Ribbon as a symbol for decency and a new movement was born involving many organizations, churches, and citizens in Butler County.

Now her White Ribbon Against Pornography campaign has spread nationwide. This year, the week of October 26 through Novermber 2 is nationally recognized as Pornography Awareness Week. Thank you, Norma.

William Purvis ~ BHS '66

Hornist William Purvis, a native of Butler, Pa., displays virtuosity at the service of artistry in a recent album of music [Bridge Records] by the one of the 19th century's most famous musical couples, Robert and Clara Schumann.

A graduate of Haverford College with a major in philosophy, he is currently a faculty member of the Yale School of Music, The Juilliard School, and SUNY-Stony Brook. 

Photo: Yale

One of Ours ~ Butler Mourns

Sgt. Carl J. Morgain, 40, of Butler, Pa., died May 22, in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained in Kadasia, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Morgain was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, Butler, Pa. [Pa. Army National Guard].

 For the Mothers of the Fallen on Facebook

Butler, Pa. --- Home of the Jeep

The first Jeep was designed at the American Bantam Car Company in Butler by Karl Probst. All in all, the company manufactured 2,675 of its version of the car. But the demand was so great and the Butler plant so small that the War Department authorized other larger companies in Detroit to produce their nearly identical version of the Jeep to fill the urgent military need. The Butler company went out of business in 1956.

Poem about our Jeep