Steeples & Stacks welcomes history
When the young, slightly redheaded 21-year-old George Washington was asked to deliver a message to Virginia, he stopped in what is now Harmony.
A Native American told him that he knew a shortcut. Instead, a little ways into the journey, he turned around and tried to kill young George Washington.
If he hadn’t missed, the nation would not exist as it is today, Butler County historian Bill May shared during his presentation, “Lost History of Butler.”
Complete with dazzling visuals, sound effects and vivid storytelling, May captured his audience Friday, July 10, during his lecture on the “Lost History of Butler” to conclude the first night of the Steeples & Stacks festivities this weekend.
In his presentation, May told tales of local businesses, schools and places that often intersected with the shared history of Butler residents in the audience.
One particular story centered on Miller Shoes.
John Chiprean worked as a package wrapper, delivery boy and salesman and buyer, but more importantly he was the adoptive son of C.E. Miller. When Miller died, he left Chiprean his shoe store in his will, a store where the current generation of Chipreans carry on that legacy.
The last focused on Aland’s Toy land, a toy store that opened in Butler in 1888 and aimed to bring a touch of nostalgia for the audience.
William Aland, starting in 1920, gravitated toward selling toys. May even recounts bring his sons to the toy store on the weekends when they were younger.
Yet big box stores and competition shuttered the doors of the toy store in 1996, crossing borders that you can never cross again, May concluded.
“I hope I have allowed you all to return to a simpler time, to return to the lost history of Butler,” ended May, to applause.
The night honored Butler’s historic industries, faith-based organizations and volunteerism as well as worked to support and promote the Butler Rotary’s cultural district.
Jobs and industry provide us the resources to sustain us, whereas faith-based organizations provide the heart and soul, Bill Dandoy said. “They go hand-in-hand. Faith-based helps us to carry the load that is to work.”
The name for the Steeples & Stacks event comes from a panoramic photo taken by Ben Hughes, featuring the rising steeples and stacks of the City of Butler.
“It was (Leslie Osche’s idea) to call it Steeples & Stacks,” Hughes said. “It just became more than just my photo. It feels like it’s becoming more and more.”
The local vendors represented during the dinner beforehand shined a light on the different cultures that have helped build the community, Butler Mayor Bill Dandoy said, and when weather almost ruined the dinner scheduled outside on North Street, Penn Theater executive director Jaloyn Fockler and her team set up the theater at 4 p.m. Thursday to accommodate about 400 guests.
“Teamwork” made the night possible, Penn Theater Board Director Gail Paserba said. “And I’m not just talking about Jaloyn’s team. … I’m talking about the Main Street team.”
For those interested in more Steeples and Stacks happenings, check out these special Saturday, July 11, events:
Between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Main Street will be bustling with activity, including an Industry Expo and an Art Mart in the T.W. Phillips Building lot, the Mosaic Project and glass blowing demonstrations in the Penn Theater lot, and a Butler Symphony Summer Concert Series performance at noon, among many others.
Between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., local churches and synagogues will hold open houses and tours of their facilities.
Butler Public Library will also feature several art and historical displays between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., including children’s art activities, a Penn Ohio Clay MudMaker Event, a Paul Laurence Dunbar self-guided poetry walk and more.
The places of worship featured include Congregation B’nai Abraham, Westminster Presbyterian Church in America, First English Lutheran Church, Saint Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Saint Peter’s Anglican Church, Butler Global Methodist Church, Saint Andrews United Presbyterian Church, Saint Peter Roman Catholic Church and Saint Paul Roman Catholic Church.
Additionally, anyone interested can get the signatures of any walking characters. Once they have collected all of the signatures, they will earn an “I love Butler” sticker.
