Leturgey: Preserving the present, recognizing the past for America’s 250th anniversary
Before the news of 2026 makes history books, it first publishes on the pages and the website of local news organizations like the Butler Eagle.
As journalists, the team here has a firsthand perspective to history as it unfolds. We capture the first draft of the happenings, keeping our communities informed and giving them a chance to shape their future based on what’s happening presently.
That unique perspective is shared with our community in today’s special America250 edition of the Butler Eagle. The special edition publishes in print today, July 4, and has been publishing online leading up to this throughout the month of June.
Tucked inside today’s newspaper, this 36-page special section is meant to serve as a time capsule, preserving a picture of present-day Butler County. It provides a glimpse of how the county lives, works, plays and serves in 2026.
Featured are the voices of community leaders like Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche and Butler Area School District superintendent Brian White; the profiles of the people who make up local communities like business owner Barry Cummings, Mike “the meat man” Tilko and mother Destiny Manchester Jeffers; and photos that capture several Butler County communities.
The people featured in the profiles are those who prepare coffee in the morning, serve customers at a local grocery store, and who have consistently built up the community around themselves.
In addition to the time capsule, the final edition of A250: A Journey Through Time publishes in this edition — the July 4th edition — of the newspaper.
The project was a three-year effort to document the history of the nation, state and county, including our communities’ unique places in it, in monthly installments. The culmination of those years of effort is now available in a special 232-page publication compiling the entirety of the series for $35 at www.cognitoforms.com/ButlerEagle1/AJourneyThroughTime.
I hope as you and your family recognize the nation’s 250th anniversary, you’ll take a moment to learn about some of your neighbors in the time capsule or peruse the history documented in “A250: A Journey Through Time.”
Tracy Leturgey is the interim managing editor of the Butler Eagle.
