Our War Dead ~

For us to remember . . .

Rube Waddell ~ Famous Butler Pitcher

Rube Waddell: Butler’s Outrageous Southpaw
By Eric D. Duchess

A biographical sketch of the eccentric left-handed pitcher from Prospect who is the only Butler County baseball player in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

This book received the Freedom Foundation Award in 1997.

Athletic Butler ~

In 1979 nearly 1,000 runners competed in the annual 10,000 meter Road Race.
Click picture to enlarge.

Williard Hotel ~

For a long time our esteemed hotel on South Main Street.

A True Butlerite of 78 Years ~

Gene Zarnick

has written

Recollections of a Childhood in Butler

Read

Morgan's at Bon Aire ~

Back in the '60s before the big shopping centers opened.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Richard Strange ~ Butler County Symphony Conductor

†December 2009

Richard Strange was conductor for the Butler symphony from 1965 to 1974. He was our third permanent conductor.

Near the Court House ~

They had live colored chicks in the window at Easter time.

Cooper Cabin ~

Built by the Cooper family around 1810, the cabin was an original county homestead. It was enlarged after the Civil War and family descendants remained in the cabin until 1963.
It is located 9 miles south of Butler on Cooper Road near Cabot off Route 356.

Auto Club of Butler County ~

Stoughton's Beach ~ Slippery Rock

How we pestered our parents to take us to Stoughton's Beach for a day at the pool.

WISR ~ Radio Butler

WISR
 In 1941 David Rosenblum founded and named it after his father,

[W] [I]saac [S]amuel [R]osenblum.

The Diehl Baking Co ~

The Diehl Baking Co in Butler, Pa. started on May 20, 1910 and built the present building at the corner of Monroe and Center Ave in 1914. The business was sold to Mr. Chantler in 1940. The bakery continued in business till 1949. [Isaly's next door]

Photo: Dave Craig

Richard Fudoli ~ Musician ~ BHS '54

Mitch playing at our cemetery.

"It's purely about the art. I'm not looking for recognition. It just seemed to me a nice place to play and close to my home," Fudoli said. "People know I'm up there for a reason. They hear it in the air. It's a gift, and I'm trying to give it back."

from: The Butler Eagle

From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

St. Paul's Steeple ~

Climbing Butler's Summit

St. Paul's Church

Photo: Robert Emigh

The Day They Moved a House ~

A house on Main Street.

Photo: Robert Emigh

Butler Literature ~ Stewart O'Nan

Stewart O'Nan's prizewinning novel Snow Angels is set in Butler.

New Monroe Street Bridge ~

They call it Lookout Point Bridge.

Photo: Robert Emigh

Butler High School Band ~

Veteran's Day Parade
Photo: Robert Emigh

BHS Football Results ~ 2009

BHS 14 [L] - New Castle 20
BHS 21 [L] - Norwin 24
BHS 21 [L] - Penn Hills 31
BHS 00 [L] - Canon-McMillan 31
BHS 14 [L] - Shaler 29
BHS 06 [L] - Pine-Richland 28
BHS 06 [L] - North Hills 37
BHS 00 [L] - North Allegheny 44
BHS 17 [L] - Seneca Valley 35

Silent Heroes Among Us ~

 by

the Senior English Students of Butler High School

Edited by James Clements

1996

From the Butler Eagle: James Clements was an English teacher who assigned students to write stories of Butler and its heroes Sunday, August 28, 2005 By Alisha Hipwell After nearly 30 years as an English teacher, James C. Clements grew bored with the traditional term paper assignment. So the Butler Area High School teacher devised a more meaningful way to challenge students in his advanced placement English class: He had them write a book. "He decided to have the students research stories he had heard about the Butler area," said his wife, Charlotte Clements. Under his direction, Mr. Clements' students researched, wrote and published "Builders Dreamers Scandals Schemers" and "Favorite Sons and Sons of Guns," two books about historical incidents in Butler County. Mr. Clements also initiated and edited a third book written by his senior students at Butler Area High School, "Silent Heroes Among Us," which won a National Freedom Foundation Award in 1997. Mr. Clements, of Slippery Rock Township, died of a heart attack Aug. 19 in Butler Memorial Hospital. He was 61. The inspiration for the third book came from Mr. Clements' neighbor, World War II veteran Ralph "Hap" Nicholas. Nicholas recalled that as he and Mr. Clements sat and chatted one afternoon, the conversation turned to Nicholas' experiences as a B-24 navigator. Nicholas flew 20 missions over Germany. "When I finished, Jim said, 'Well, there you have it. You became 20 years old again while you talked. My students can write your story,'" Nicholas said. And they did. Mr. Clements dispatched his students to interview local veterans of the Eighth Air Force and record their exploits. "The veterans told the students things they hadn't told their wives and children," Mr. Clements' wife recalled. The stories became the book, "Silent Heroes Among Us." "I think it's an extraordinary series of dissertations on what we did during World War II," Nicholas said. Mr. Clements received a grant from the Golden Tornado Foundation to fund his students' book projects. Proceeds from the sale of the books went back into the foundation. Mr. Clements retired from teaching shortly after "Silent Heroes Among Us" was published, but he promptly took on another book project with his father-in-law, the late William Robert Brandberg. Using Brandberg's collection of vintage postcards, Mr. Clements wrote "Lost Butler," a book that told the story of the area's vanishing past. Mr. Clements was a graduate of Butler Area High School and received a bachelor's degree in English from Thiel College and a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He taught briefly at Brentwood High School, then taught English for 32 years at Butler Area High School. Mr. Clements was a movie buff who worked for 10 years as a projectionist and manager at the now defunct Plaza Theatre in Butler. "If anyone wanted to know a piece of movie trivia, Jim was the one to ask," his wife said. He also was a talented speaker and storyteller who had engagements with a number of community organizations. He particularly enjoyed telling ghost stories and was scheduled to tell Halloween tales for the city of Butler this year. In recent years, Mr. Clements was active in Sigma Phi Epsilon Alumni Association at Thiel College. He served in numerous positions in the organization and had recently received its Outstanding Alumni Award.

Karl Probst ~ Designer of the Jeep

Karl Probst [center] was rightly called the "Father of the Jeep" and thanks to him Butler was duly given the celebrated nickname "Home of the Jeep". Probst designed the vehicle in just 18 hours in 1940, and it took our Bantam company 49 days to make the original, which was cloned for use by the U.S. Army     

Thanks: Barbara Bloom

                                                                        

Joan Chandler ~ Actress ~ BHS '40

† 1979
The actress Joan [Cheeseman] Chandler was born 24 August 1923 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Lived on McKean Street across from the library. She starred in such movies as Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948) and Humoresque (1946).

Proud Sign ~

 

Stoughton's Beach ~ At the Pool

Artist's View of Butler ~ Robert Hazy ~ BHS '82

At Locust and Monroe

Enlarge

BHS Class of '60 ~ Fifty Year Reunion

BHS Class of '60

Contact

Class of '60 website

Street Festival ~ September 2009

. . . so many good people in our town.

New Butler County Prison ~

New Butler County Prison  

New Clock on Main Street ~

At Main and Jefferson

Nixon Hotel ~

Elegant and renowned. 

BHS Parking ~

Train Station ~ Under the Viaduct

This used to be a very busy place.

Thanks: Barbara Bloom

J.F.Kennedy ~ Natili's Restaurant

On Wayne Street at the corner of Main. This photograph hangs in Natili's restaurant.

Photo: Mary B. Gordon

Hey, That's Our Horse! ~

Guarding the gateways in South Coast Plaza in Orange County, California, and mounted on the entrance signs, are eight hand-carved wooden horses. These animals were made for the Alameda Park carousel in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 1855, and were procured from a couple who had purchased the carousel and brought it from Pennsylvania to California. They had refurbished and erected the carousel and original melodian for the enjoyment of the neighborhood children, for whom the carousel operated on the weekends.

from: The OC Register

Sheriff's Race is On ~ The Candidates

Sheriff Denny Rickard [served 30 years]

[L] Michael Slupe BHS '82

[R] Roland Livermore BHS '89

Natili's Restaurant ~

Sgt. Major Abie Abraham ~

 Congratulations to you

Abie and Christine

on your

Wedding Day

August 3, 2009

Photo: Butler Eagle

Who is Abie Abraham?

BHS '89 Class Reunion ~

BHS Class of '89

20 year reunion

Saturday November 28, 2009

6:00 pm - 11:00 pm

The Grand Ballroom at Cornerstone Commons

South Main St. Butler, Pa.

Butler High School ~

What we saw on entering.

Thanks: Barbara Bloom

Penn Theater Lineup ~ 1941

The line of kids waiting to get in to see an early full length feature cartoon, "Mr. Bug Goes To Town" and "Pardon My Stripes." Then attend the Armco Steel Kid's Christmas Party held between films.  

Thanks: Beau Olsen

Medal of Honor ~

The Medal of Honor was conferred on a Butlerite, John Donaldson: Sergeant, Company L of the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia on 9 May 1865.
He captured the flag of the 4th Virginia Cavalry (C.S.A.).

Wayne Street Project ~

Solid Foundations

The House of Jaffe ~ Tapers ~

At Main and Jefferson

New BHS Baseball Field ~

Photo: Thanks Robert Emigh

William Lehnerd ~ "Uncle Bill" ~ Teacher ~ BHS '48

+ May 27, 2009
We have lost a beloved dramatics teacher and friend.

Wayne Street Viaduct ~

Old and new . . .