Ben Butterworth facilitated the donation of much of the land for the parkway. But there is more to the story. Ben Butterworth was born on February 17, 1904 in New Haven, Connecticut to Frank and Ester Ann Butterworth. He was the nephew of William and Katherine Deere Butterworth who lived in what today is known as the Butterworth Center in Moline.
Photos presumably from Yale Yearbooks. Dates of photos unknown.
When Ben was growing up his father was well known as a local banker, real estate broker and President of the New Haven Hotel Company. But more fun for Ben, he was also known for his football career. He played football at Yale and after college, he coached football at the University of California, Berley (1897-1896) and Yale University (1897-1898).
Photos presumably from Yale Yearbooks. Dates of photos unknown.
Ben followed in his father’s footsteps attending Yale University and played football. He was a celebrated tackle, his name often appearing on the sports page of the local newspaper. After graduation, he continued his studies in graduate school studying English. In fact, he seriously considered teaching as a profession. But the tradition of business and industry in his family was strong. After one year of graduate study, he married Kathleen Wycoff from Buffalo, New York and the couple moved to Moline.
Courtesy of the Rock Island County Historical Society Dated 1930’s. Reason for existence unknown.
Ben immediately went to work for John Deere at the Harvester Plant. He learned the business by starting in jobs on the floor including piecemeal work where you are paid for every unit you complete. Over the years he would hold a variety of positions at Union Malleable, John Deere Plow and the Experimental Department at John Deere Harvester. In 1963 he was named President of Moline Iron Works. He was elected to the John Deere & Company Board of Directors in 1940 and would serve as its Vice President. When he retired, he said it was “to give full time to his personal affairs.”
Did You Know?
According to his draft card, Ben Butterworth had no middle name.
Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com.
Ben and Kathleen had many community interests. They were strong supporters of Quad City Symphony, called the Tri-City Symphony at the time. They belonged to the Arsenal Golf Club and the Davenport Outing Club. Ben was a member of the Scott County Sportsmen’s Association, competing in trap shooting and from newspaper accounts was quite good.
Kathleen Wyckoff Butterworth
Courtesy of Buffalo Courier Express, Buffalo New York, April 19 1929.
Kathleen was on the Board of Directors of Bethany Home, an organization founded in 1899 to provide a home for homeless or orphaned children. Originally, they actually housed children in a home. Later they arranged for foster care and provided child welfare services. The organization continues today as a child welfare and social service agency.
The “Grey Ladies” Women are identified in the picture are:
Bottom Row: Mrs. Ben Butterworth, Mrs. Reuben Jamison, Mrs. Dick Evans, Mrs. Edmond Cook, Mrs. Rudolph Holtz, Mrs. James Lardner. Top row: Mrs. Carroll Colegrove, Mrs. Frank Johnson, Miss Vivian Strombeck, Mrs. Abe Brotman, Mrs. Lena Grossman.
During World War II Kathleen organized and chaired a Grey Ladies service corps that was part of the Red Cross. The Grey Ladies began as women working in war hospitals during World War I. The Moline group worked here in local hospitals to help cover staffing shortages during the war emergency. As the wounded came home, the Grey Ladies supported rehabilitation units in Clinton, Iowa and Galesburg, Illinois. They furnished six sunrooms and a powder room. They provided radio phonographs, bridge tables, musical instruments, magazine subscriptions, afghans, playing cards, games and puzzles, records, and large ashtrays.
The Butterworth family names were often featured in the local newspaper on the society pages. These pages seem to have been the Facebook of their day. Of note is this picture taken at the Symphony Orchestra Ball. Kathleen is the woman on the left in the picture. The article used three newspaper columns to offer descriptions of what the women were wearing. No mention of the men’s attire.
Even their daughter, also named Kathleen, was featured on the pages of the local paper.
Did You Know?
Kathleen “Punk” Butterworth became the Parkway’s biggest advocate after her husband’s death in 1969. Among other things, she established a foundation to ensure the future maintenance and upkeep of Ben Butterworth Parkway.
Aerial Photo of Moline around 1936. In this photo, you can see the amount of industry lining the Riverfront in the upper right. Also note the impressive urban forest. Unfortunately, “Elm City” would no longer serve as a nickname after most of these trees were killed by Dutch Elm Disease in the late 1950s.
Ben Butterworth died on May 25, 1969. Kathleen died in 1992. They were survived by their daughter Kathleen (Mrs. Charles) Wilson and their son William. Shortly before Ben’s death, it was decided the riverfront park would be dedicated to him when it was completed. Longtime public servant and Parks Director, Ralph Birks, would have the trails on the Parkway named for him.