Michigan

I am pretty sure this is from Dad's hunting trip in Michigan.

I don't remember to much from that trip which is surprising for a vacation.

The only clear memory I have of it is playing bumper pool in the recreation room.

I do not remember taking these pictures at all but it looks like we were having fun playing with Mr. Green Jeans.

Work

Here we see Chad and Brett working hard washing the green station wagon.

They must be doing a pretty good job too because you can see their reflection in the side of the car.

Chores around the house were always worth it.

If you worked hard and finished your chores you were allowed to eat supper.

Looks like Chad worked extra hard because he is eating his favorite (just look at his face!).


Chad's shirt says it all "Mmm Mmm Good!

Dane

This is me, Jan and Brett in 1983.

Jan Hanson, pronounced Yen Hinson, was from Denmark.

He lived with a family by the name of Graphman that went to school with us but they didn't have many (or any?) boys so Jan hung out with us a lot.

He kicked for the football team and we lived close to the school and we got along well with him.

I still remember the most difficult word to say in Danish, by Jan's estimation. Ouit Couit Laflour. He said it was some kind of strawberry desert. I figured it was a bad word because he always laughed when we tried to say it.

It was fun to get to know someone from another country and Jan opened up the door for a Dutchman who lived with us my senior year but thats another story for another slide.

Igloo

This is Brett and me in one of the many igloos that we have built together.

Blizzard of 1978

Today is the 30th anniversary of the blizzard of 1978.

Here are some of our pictures of this historic event.




My kids have never seen this much snow.

Too Small?

Brett commented on this photo the other day.
Brett
"It must have rained earlier in the day because it looks like my clothes shrunk. Mom would have never let me walk out of the house in those, would she?"


Boy this sure tells us something about ourselves doesn't it?

We notice ourselves and point out what seems to be a glaring embarrassment while missing other obvious embarrassments of others.


Brett comments about his clothes and doesn't mention that I look like Jim Carey from Dumb and Dumber.Pretty selfish Brett.

Lets zoom in and see what is so embarrassing for you.


Hmm, Well I might have jumped up on my soap box a little bit early.

I think your clothes are a tad bit too small for you.



Nice belly shirt and Michael Jackson pants!!!!!

Frozen Ohio

Here my brothers and I stand on the frozen Ohio river in 1978.

Dad told us that the mighty Ohio might freeze once every hundred years or so, so behold us making history.

I usually share this story, my history making adventures, with my kids when we head to the family reunion in Kentucky.

What was Dad thinking letting us stand next to a pylon in a river the never freezes? The pylon is probably the weakest point in the ice.

Maybe its because he knew how tough we were.

We did stunts that would have made Evil Knievel flinch.

Good call Dad, and kids brag to your friends about us.

The Belt

Brett commented yesterday.
"The belt makes it into another picture. It's already showing signs of wear. It looks like one of the grommets has disappeared."

This is a fun game we play here at What my Dad Saw. Make fun of our clothes.
It is kinda like wheres Waldo. We look for things to make fun of.

Here are some items to look for.

1. Brett's black belt complete with and without grommets
2. Drool on Chad's shirts
3. Sweater vests
4. Super hero T-shirts
5. Stretch n Sew shirts
6. Big flying Nun collars
7. Wild pants
8. Anything really dated

Here we see a composite picture of a few appearances of Brett's black belt and a cool white one.
He really did hate to take it off. He thought it went with everything he wore.



I wonder whatever happened to that old black belt of Brett's?

Pirates!

It is now clear who Johnny Depp got his inspiration from. . . not Kieth Richards but Brett the original pirate of the Caribbean.

More Cousin Fun

It has been great to here from Uncle Ed, Big Bret, Dave and Doug.

If you haven't heard from them, then your not reading the comments.

So searching through the slides I have with me I did find a few more "cousin" pictures.

Two from the day at the Gordon farm (1973) and one of a football game at the Staperts (1977).
Must have been a close game. Look at the intensity on Chad and his missed belt loop.

I can't name them all but I see. Bret, Doug, Chad, Dave and Sherri. I don't know who the other girl is.

Cousins

This picture was taken at Thanksgiving 1979.

This was a great day. Probably the most fun I remember having with all the cousins as a group.

I thought back about it on this post (Click Here) and put up some pictures of us playing together at various times.

This next picture is almost the same group at our Grandmother's funeral. Here is the then and now picture.It was good to here from "Disco" Dave Gordon in the comments section the other day.

Why don't the rest of you comment or say hello? We would all love to hear from you.

If you can't figure out how to use the comments feature just email me at one_evidence@yahoo.com.

Better still would be for you to share one of your favorite memories.

Don't be shy, say something.

I do hold the right to use your comments or stories and find the most embarrassing picture of you I can find to post.

TCB

TCB stands for "Taking Care of Business" unless you are my brother Chad.

He thinks is stands for "The Chad Butler".

Here we have pictures of The Chad Butler Taking Care of Business.

Look at his face in the bottom one. He is psycho.

Brett is wearing a very trendy leather wristband too.

Chad's Origins

Oh, I remember the day we found Chad at the beach.

We washed him off, brought him home and he has been with us ever since.

Cousins

Here we are sharing some fun and our toys with the cousins.
DeeDee, and I think it is Dave, are playing with a dancing man we had, while Sondra plays with our Fisher Price movie viewer.

Bret is wearing his Long John Silvers hat and I think Sherri is having a blast.

opossum

Chad and his cat opossum but we pronounced it possum.

Pool Shark

Shooting a little pool in the dining room on Lexington Ave.

Brett must play better in his jamies.

Loads of Pictures

Here are several other pictures I found of our reunion at the Gordon farm.
We had a blast there that day.

I remember Sherri and I going out into the corn field (probably ten feet) and thinking we were lost. Just before we panicked one of the farm dogs came down our row and we followed the dog out to the yard.

We were like "The dog saved us!" It was a real Lassie moment.

I also remember shooting sparrows in a shed with a BB gun and jumping out of the hay loft.

Who knows what the parents did that day but I had a good time with the cousins.



While thinking about the Lassie rescue event of the day I found myself trying to picture the dog that was our hero that day. Then while looking at the pictures as I posted them, low and behold there is a dog in the picture below (by the barn) that matches the dog in my memory.

What was the name of the dog Gordon cousins? Was it just a stray that could have killed Sherri and I? Was it a faithful good dog? Fill me in.

Friends

Here is Chad and family friend Dana Woodbury looking very blonde together.

Gordon Farm

This looks like it is Easter at the Gordon farm but since I posted the picture at their farm the other day I thought I would put this out there for your viewing pleasure.

I see Aunt Carol, Grandpa Chet, Grandma White, Aunt Elva, Dee Dee and others.

Fill me in on the ones I've missed.

Mom

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Mom.

Big Barrel

Do you know where this was taken?

Cave City is my guess but I am not for sure. Chad is wearing the Campbell Soup shirt he had on in this picture. So I figure it was about the same time. Brett and I are wearing different clothes in this one verses what we were wearing in the fun house so maybe its not the same day but same trip or we got more scared than I remembered in the fun house and had to change clothes.

Brothers and parents do you remember?

If so fill in the details for me.

Cabin

Here we have a young Butler gang, including cousin Shari, hanging out at a cabin which I am sure is in Brown County Sate Park.

We visited Brown County often, usually to count deer but this slide was before I remember deer being a very common sight.

We saw a deer near our house once while we were riding the school bus. The driver stopped and all of us on the bus watched it until it disappeared into the woods. That was big news at the supper table that night. Imagine a deer near our home!

This Christmas Brett, my son Joel and I walked around on Dad's five acres and saw quite a few rubs and other deer sign in Dad's back yard.

Times sure have changed.

Pyramid

Down on the Farm

This is at the Gordon's farm but I don't remember why we were there.

My guess is a reunion because we have several pictures of the day and I think thats Uncle Ray and others throwing horse shoes in the background and horse shoes is only done at reunions.

How many cousins do you see?

I see Staperts, Weltons, Gordons and Brett and I.

Normal?

I think this portrait sums up most of our family portraits.

There is always somebody clowning around.

Smile

Chad being Chad.

Home Movies

I have been working on our home movies bit by bit since Christmas and I finally have one ready today.

I hope Joel and I can get the quality better as we continue working on them but it always looses quality when you upload it to Youtube.

This is at 1451 Lexington, Chad is the baby playing with Dad (notice the slobber on his shirt!), Brett and I are the ones fighting.

Enjoy!

Brady Perm

Nice Perm.

I remember this event but I don't remember why Mom is curling Brett's hair in this slide.

I hope Brett and Mom can fill in the details.

It looks like Mom and I are holding his hands down so we could get a good picture.

I probably shouldn't have picked on Brett today because he gave me a cool gift this weekend.
A Batman ball cap and T-shirt. Very much appreciated, thanks you very much and I bet you can't guess what I wore to work today.

The Butler Bunch

Wow! I never knew we were so groovy.

We were the Brady Bunch. I do not remember Dad's hair ever being that long or Mom's hair being so curly and Dad has a pretty styling shirt too.

This is nothing though. My next post will be Brett with the Brady perm!

Sorry

Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday, I had other thins on my mind.

King Kong?

This slide is also dated 1977 and I think Dad is sporting his King Kong look to keep up with the times.

I can't say I remember your beard ever being that long.

Very Grizzly Adams looking.