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Words. Remembering John P. Butler.

9/1/2010

5 Comments

 
Mike Bradford moved to Midland in the 1970s at the invitation of John Butler, former CEO of First National Bank. For anyone who lived in Midland during those years, it goes without saying that First National was more than just a bank. It was, as more than just a handful of people will tell you, a community center. The reason for that was largely John Butler. Bradford, who moved here from Fort Worth, is now Midland County Judge. He remembers his first boss in Midland:

"He would be in the top five or ten (all time most significant Midlanders)," Bradford said. "When you say 'First National Bank,' most people say 'CJ Kelly.' He was a bigger-than-life figure; diminutive in size, but big in actions. What John Butler was, was the quiet sunshine. He was just there ... every ... day. And like the sunshine, you could depend on him; he had a purpose; he always met his purpose and just quietly continued along the same path. He didn’t change his methods no matter how tough the economy got or how hard it got. He never changed his method, and that is this: you support local people.

"What John Butler told me early on was really kind of the basis for what I did. He told me that our community needs things to survive. I said, 'OK, I give, what? We've got water, food, we've got the oil industry.' Mr. Butler said, 'To survive we have to have good transportation, shopping, a vibrant medical community. And we have to have a dental community, and we have to have entertainment. I started thinking about it, and first I thought ... that's the oddest thing anybody ever told me. But later it would dawn on me that what he just described is what makes up the social fabric of the community."

Shortly thereafter, Butler would send the young banker to bigger cities where he would recruit doctors, dentists, and other professionals to head west, to the desert. When it was over, Butler's vision would ultimately yield people like Dr. John Young and Dr. Bobby Henry, both of whom moved to Midland after being recruited by Bradford. Even Southwest Airlines and others came to Midland as a result of Butler's recruiting dreams, and many of them because of Bradford's legwork in fulfilling those visions.


5 Comments
Dan R. Linebarger
9/1/2010 03:57:16 am

I have been told that John Butler and Bill Collins were the men that recruited the Army Air Corp. to come to Midland in the late 30's.

The result was MAAF. (Midland Army Airfield) now abbreviated to just "MAF".

Our modern international airport with it's long runways is the result of these men's effort to bring transportation and growth opportunities to Midland.

Can you imagine how far behind our town would be today if such a valuable tool as MAF had not been built?

Thank you John and Bill.

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joanne neff
9/1/2010 05:00:35 am

Behind every great man is also a great woman and Alva Butler met those qualifications............ She too did more than most to further the womans movement to Midland - without us happy wives the men don't stay. Thank you former Midlander for twenty years

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Andrea Avery
9/1/2010 08:58:10 am

Interesting, and not to take away from Mr. Bradford, but Midland had dentists and doctors and entertainment way before the 1970's. We had Dr. Spires, the Drs. Rogers and the Gaines brothers, to name a few dentists. We had Dr. Bobo and and Dr. Gooch, Dr. Norton and Dr. Lang to name just a very few doctors. And we had the M-O Symphony and Art Cole and the Midland Community Theatre. All of those LONG before the 1970s.

But Jno. P. Butler was an amazing force for Midland in the decades before 1970. I do hope you will interview people who can remember Midland in the 1930's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. Those were the truly formative years.

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Jimmy P.
9/2/2010 02:16:57 am

Thanks, Andrea and all. Yes, I am talking to Midlanders who remember all the way back to the 30s. Hope to have a good representation of people from all decades.

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pam smith-young
3/6/2011 09:41:10 am

While I very much enjoyed reading about Mr. Butler, as through the eyes of his young apprentice, Mike Bradford, I think I enjoyed even more the fanciful claims made by our county judge in his claims of recruiting "Dr. John Young to Midland". Although John was not born in Midland, his arrival to our fine city pre-dated the judge by a few years...having arrived at the tender age of 6 when his father was transferred by City Service Co. The good judge may be a savvy storyteller but alas....his accuracy is lamentbly lacking.

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    Welcome, and thanks for your interest in what will be a rewarding trip through our shared past. This "History of Character" blog is only the beginning. A book by the same name -- "A History of Character: The Story of Midland, Texas" -- will be published September 2014. Through this blog you'll be able to track the progress of the project and learn along with the book's author, Jimmy Patterson. If you have stories to share that you think deserve mention in the history of our city, drop an email to historyofcharacter@gmail.com.

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