Longtime general store, locker plant building on Butterfield’s north Main Street is razed
THE TRADITIONAL CHURCH June Children’s Day menu of my memory always included homemade potato salad, pork and beans, homemade pickles, fresh-baked cake and lemonade – but – the featured centerpiece of the meal was Butterfield bologna, produced and promoted by and purchased from the Miller Store in Butterfield. Savoring Butterfield bologna is just a distant memory, and now, the building itself – where it all began – is down. The former general store (grocery and dry goods), as well as locker plant, on the northeast end of Butterfield’s Main Street business district, was razed today (Monday, September 12) over the course of the morning and early afternoon. It had sat empty for years, with Del’s Foods, operated by Del Linscheid, the last occupant. In its earlier years, it was a bustling little business, buoyed by more than just Butterfield bologna. It was first known as the Rupp Store – with proprietor Jacob Rupp – then became the Miller Store, owned by Gustav and Kate (Rupp) Miller, and later operated by a trio of brothers- the Millers’ sons – Harry, Oliver and Winfred “Winnie” Miller. The three ran the grocery and dry goods business and locker plant from 1931 to 1968, and the dry goods only until 1975, when they retired. The last of the Miller brothers, Winnie, passed away at the age of 92 on February 2, 2005, at the Good Samaritan Society of Mountain Lake-The Village. Above, demolishing of the building is just underway, and below, what’s left are the memories. (Photos by Jared Cowell)
Here’s a look back at that corner from history – almost 100 years back –
AN APRIL 1917 view of the east side of Butterfield’s Main Street, beginning with the general merchandise of “The Miller Store” and heading south.
