Page 36 - Demo

34The making of a MuseumThe Butler Co., Butler%u2014DeKalb Co. (753.07)When Neil Strock looked at a closed-up business called The Butler Company (in Butler, Indiana), he saw far more than a defunct factory. He saw tremendous potential. So, he did something most of us would never consider. In 1999, he bought the place%u2014lock, stock, and barrel%u2014so it could be converted into a museum.It didn%u2019t take long for Neil to round up a dedicated Board of Directors, who obtained non-profit status for The National Heartland Agricultural and Industrial Power Museum. Then the real work began%u2014cleaning, repairing, maintaining, and collecting. While the Museum isn%u2019t yet open to the public, the project is well under way.The Butler Company (founded as the Butler Manufacturing Company in 1888) was best known for producing windmills. In 1997, it officially closed down. During the intervening decades, it made a wide variety of products, including high-quality bicycles (with either wood or steel handlebars, but no coaster brake), and a few early Star automobiles. In 1930, it even produced an experimental airplane called the Yellow Jacket. The Museum has been collecting as many examples of Butlerbuilt products as it can lay its hands on. There are several versions of Butler windmills (including a set of blades 8-feet in diameter), Butler pumps for both windmills and cisterns, and two Butler buggies, circa 1910. While most of the original manufacturing equipment has disappeared, I was pleased to see a hulking old cupola%u2014a type of blast furnace used for casting metal%u2014that was still intact. When I first looked at the heavily worn treads of the stairway leading up to the third floor, I was imagining how many feet had traveled up and down them. Then Neil pointed out something I hadn%u2019t spotted. Every tread was hinged, and there was a storage compartment under each step.The Museum is also interested in displaying agricultural and industrial products manufactured elsewhere, but during the same era The Butler Company was thriving. I was impressed with the mechanical complexity of the threshing machine%u2014a horse-drawn Birdsell model. There%u2019s also a nice collection of small gasoline engines.The Museum has accomplished a great deal in a short period of time%u2014but there%u2019s still work to do. Portions of the exterior brickwork require a mason%u2019s attention, some windows need replacing, and there%u2019s more collecting to do. But, it%u2019s definitely on its way%u2014and I%u2019m pleased to have had a sneak preview.