Tuesday, November 15, 2011

OUR DOUGHBOY - JOSEPH T. BUTLER, SR.

 

I wanted the picture above of my father-in-law for Armistice, Remembrance, Veterans Day, but it was in New Roads. Now I have a scan, and I'll use it next year at the proper time, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

 

Joe's papers show that he was not discharged until many months after the armistice was signed. As you see, Joe was one of the fortunate ones, as he did not engage in even a skirmish or an expedition. He brought home a French sword, which was given him by a Frenchwoman of his acquaintance. The sword belonged to her deceased husband. I'm sure she was a very nice lady, so no 'Madame from Armientières, parley voo' here. Besides, the two were single at the time.

 

Joe's occupations are listed as mechanic and farmer on the papers, and his home town as Butler, Louisiana. The small community of Butler, Louisiana, disappeared from the map, if it was ever on the map. Once the older folks died off, and the youngsters migrated away, the community was no more.


Joe competed in The Inter-Allied Games, which were...
...a one-off multi-sport event held from June 22nd - July 6th 1919 at the newly constructed Pershing Stadium just outside Paris, France following the end of the First World War. The forum for the games, Pershing Stadium, had been built near the Bois de Vincennes by the U.S. Military in cooperation with the YMCA. The event was only open to participation by military personnel who were currently serving or had formerly served in the armed forces during the War. 18 Nations participated in the proceedings which included, among others, track & field events, swimming, baseball, football, rugby, basketball, tennis, boxing, horse riding events, pistol and rifle marksmanship, and wrestling. Following the conclusion of the games, Pershing Stadium was presented as a gift to the people of France from the United States of America. The area, still known as Le Stade Pershing, continues to be used as an open air recreation park to this day.
After the war, Joe attended Louisiana State University and won letters in several sports. He was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982. It was only right. When he competed in the early 1920s, athletes got no help or scholarships. They even had to buy their own uniforms.

 
 
Joe was musical, too, and played the violin, the guitar, and the banjo. He loved the old country hymns and went to the Baptist church for choir practice on Wednesdays, but he didn't go to church on Sundays. He liked the singing but not the sermons. Joe and Grandpère both say Joe's mother preached frequently to her husband and children, and he'd had enough. We still have some of her letters, and they are quite like sermons.

When he graduated from LSU, Joe took a job as a teacher/coach at the high school in New Roads, LA, met Laura Janis, married, and settled there for the rest of his life. His teaching career ended when his principal wanted him to wear a tie, and he refused. He then took up welding, opened his own shop, and worked as a welder for the rest of his working life. Come hell or high water, Joe took a nap after lunch from which he was not to be disturbed.

11 comments:

  1. I love these old stories, Mimi - thank you.

    My grandfather, who served in the trenches through 1914-1918, returned to Leicester and became a skilled watchmaker. He worked within walking distance of his home, and every day he walked home for lunch and then took a ten minute nap before returning to work.

    I try to follow his good example. My afternoons are way more productive when I do.

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  2. Tim, thanks. Although it's quite time-consuming, I love putting together a post like this.

    Joe lived to be 91 years of age. Perhaps, it was the naps....

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  3. Lovely story, Mimi. He was a man of many talents.

    Being athletic and active and working a physical job like welding may have helped him live a long life.

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  4. Thanks, Cathy. Joe was a man of many talents. He raised milk cows, too, and took great pride in keeping records of their milk production. He kept Guernseys and Jerseys. The Jerseys were so beautiful. Their eyes....

    Tom's mother kept chickens, and once, during WWII, when Laura worked for the Office of Price Administration, a hard rain came down while Joe was napping, and a number of her baby chicks drowned. She was very angry.

    The cows and chickens roamed the property, so you had to look where you walked, unless you didn't mind stepping in cow patties and chicken poo.

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  5. Both of my grandfathers were doughboys...

    ...but I only have a contemporary pick of the neer-do-well one! [Maternal. Abandoned my mom and her brothers when they were very young, scarred 'em for life. I only met him once] So I'll pass on posting it.

    Gotta find a pic (somehow) of my paternal grandfather, a good man, in the Great War...

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  6. What a great story, Mimi--thanks for posting! Joe sounds like a guy you could hoist a root beer with and have a good discussion with.

    And I like the image of someone who went to choir practice but never to church on Sundays. Sometimes I feel the same way, except my church doesn't have a choir.

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  7. JCF, find your grandfather's picture, and give us a link.

    Chris, thanks. A post like this is a labor of love. Joe would've enjoyed having a glass of cherry bounce with you. Powerful stuff! And he liked to talk.

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  8. Ridiculously OFF-TOPIC, but since I'm talking personal stuff here:

    "The One That Got Away" won. She WON!!! [My gossip-y blind item]

    I'm so proud and happy for her . . . next best thing to winning me. ;-/ {Le Sigh}

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  9. Cherry Bounce is powerful stuff. I could possibly take the bourbon, but the sugar would probably send me into diabetic coma. If I were healthy I'd lap the stuff up.

    I think that for me WW I veterans are all the more interesting in that none of my male relatives were in that war. My mother's father was only 14 when WW I broke out, and he had a crucial job during WW II (he was the chief turbine tester for General Electric in Lynn, MA--if any of your relatives were sailors in WW II he tested the turbines in their ships). My father's father was exempt for reason of health in WW I (I've seen his draft card).

    My grandfather's elder brother was drafted in WW I but was court-martialled for theft. He served his time and was in the Quartermaster's Corps in WW II. After the war he served time for stealing from a poor box in a church in Vermont. Black sheep of the family.

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  10. JCF, I'm happy to hear that "The One That Got Away" won. Off topic allowed here. ;-)

    Chris, I never wanted more than one glass of cherry bounce, that's for sure. Since the elder Butlers served the drink in shot glasses, which worked quite well.

    I like your story of your family's black sheep. Every family has one or more.

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  11. I'd actually be interested, Mimi, in your review of her book. It's at least geographically close to your world (if perhaps not culturally).

    I'm reading her first book (still wait-listed for the award-winner---think how much longer that wait-list is going to grow behind me! :-0). She writes almost as well as her emails to me. {Le Sigh, again}

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