Butterworth brings 1800's to life

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By Kathy Kuhl | Monday, June 26, 2006 7:11 AM CDT | () comments

Photos by Eric Sumberg/QUAD-CITY TIMES Three-year-old Marcey McKinnon of Bettendorf takes a sip from her drink as she watches Malorie Garza, 6, left, and Haileigh Garza, 10, both of Moline, stroll around the grounds of the Deere-Wiman House in period clothing during the Blossoms at Butterworth festival Sunday in Moline.

Ethan Hunt, 3, of Bettendorf, trundles a wooden hoop with a stick while his father, Mark, and sister, Julia, watch him play with the old-fashioned toys Sunday afternoon on the grounds of the Deere-Wiman House.

In the midst of the year marking the 50th anniversary of the Butterworth Trust, guests gathered Sunday at the Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman House for a glimpse into the 19th century world of the John Deere family.

And at the sixth year of the Blossoms at Butterworth festival, some partook of the “anniversary cake” — actually cupcakes — to celebrate this golden year for the foundation. The free event attracted more than 2,500 guests, event coordinator Angela Hunt said.

Hourly tours of the homes where eight Deere generations lived and trolley tours of the Overlook Neighborhood provided background information that made vivid the sights and sounds of a bygone era: William Butterworth harmonizing on his banjo with a neighbor who played guitar. Katherine Butterworth on her massive screened-in porch, observing students from a now-defunct parochial school attending science classes in her gardens.

The difference between then and now can be in the details, Laurie Clark of Rock Island said.

“I love seeing these old houses. There’s this sheen of the old-growth wood that you won’t see in a newer house,” she said, disembarking from a trolley ride with her husband and a couple of friends.

Clark said she sees the Deere-Wiman House on a fairly regular basis because her work with Head Start in Rock Island often takes her to meetings there, but she still likes to visit in her free time.

“There’s a lot of local history here. John Deere is a worldwide brand, so people around the world know his name. It’s so interesting to see how they lived,” she said.

For the Fager family of Moline, the event included playing some old-fashioned games. Dad Arthur and 11-year-old daughter Elizabeth played graces in the lawn by using two crossed wooden sticks to propel a wooden hoop. But they took better to the rolling hoop because they are practiced at that, a game in which a wooden stick is used to move and guide a three-foot hoop along the ground. Elizabeth’s grandfather, they said, made her a smaller set she has used at home.

In the gardens of the Butterworth Center, as a band played and an adolescent couple showed off their jitterbug moves, volunteer photographer John Eastland snapped Polaroids of guests with volunteers in period costumes.

Noting that he is not really a photographer, Eastland said, “My deceased mother, Grace Eastland, worked for the (Rock Island County) Historical Society for years. I just started to volunteer this year. There’s quite a history here. Everyone should learn about it.”

His subjects fidgeted in their finery. Holding parasols and wearing long dresses and gloves, high school students Lacey Alley of Davenport and Marti Davenport of Moline said their costumes were not particularly comfortable.

“It’s the shoes,” Davenport said, lifting her dress just high enough to reveal shoes with high heels. “I have to wear these or my skirt drags on the ground.”

The Music Guild of Rock Island and Patty Jo’s Costumes of Moline provided the costumes.

BY THE NUMBERS

â–º The Deere-Wiman House was built in 1872 by Charles Deere, son of plow inventor and company founder John Deere, for his wife and daughters. Its gardens were installed in the 1920s.

â–º Butterworth Center was built in 1892 by Charles Deere. It was a wedding present to his daughter, Katherine, and her husband, William Butterworth, who became the company’s chief operating officer in 1909. The gardens were installed about 1910, and the house was renovated until it reached three times its original size.

â–º The Butterworth Trust is a not-for-profit foundation that maintains the two historic homes. It began in 1956, funded from the sale of four-fifths of Katherine Butterworth’s estate. Not-for-profit groups hold meetings and gatherings at the two buildings and their grounds. Sometimes the buildings house displays such as art from area schools.

â–º The Deere-Wiman house and Butterworth Center are both centrally located in Moline at 8th Street and 11th Avenue in the Overlook Neighborhood. The area also includes the Rock Island County Historical Society and several more homes with ties to the Deere family.

Contact the city desk at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.