By Nila Harris
In the late 60s and early 70s, one form of entertainment for the Butler community, was the Friday night auctions. The Auction House was on the corner of Main Street and Front Street, perpendicular to the railroad tracks. According to Ed Thornton, “The only building bigger than the auction house in Butler was the Butler School.”
Run by auctioneer Carl Lancaster, people could purchase anything from used furniture to dishes and everything in between. According to Daryle Harris, a young lad at the time, people would be lined up on both walls inside the building to see the “treasures” that Lancaster would be auctioning off. Harris stated that “It was so smoky inside, you could cut it with a knife.” He also remembers going to the nearby railroad tracks and putting pennies on the track, waiting for a train to run over them, while his grandfather attended the auction. Donnie Spencer (another youngster at the time) also remembers the smoke but enjoys thinking about how he would get 25 cents from his grandparents and come home with a box full of pots and pans. “It was like Christmas!” Spencer recalls fondly. During the week, the building housed a second-hand store with “goods” not sold at the auctions.
Donnie Thornton recalls how cold it was during the winter months. “They would have one of those big torpedo heaters. I don’t think you’re supposed to have those inside.” Thornton talked about the store in the building. He said, “They (Lancaster) must’ve bought out a roller rink. Every kid in Butler had a pair of skates.” Another funny tidbit that Thornton recollects is that there was a man-powered elevator in the building. Thornton and friends would ride up and down on the elevator until someone would come along and run them off!” The elevator was a left over from when C.F “Chug” Peoples owned the establishment and stored caskets in the building. Donnie’s dad, Ed Thornton, said that the elevator was the first elevator in Butler.
Jim Bowling remembers a “big” purchase he made, as a kid. He was so excited to buy a TV for five cents! “It was JUNK!” stated his wife, Karen. “I never could get that TV to work,” stated Bowling.
There were many other things in this building over the years. John Peoples grandfather C. F. “Chug” Peoples had a general store and a casket showroom. Caskets would be taken off the train cars, brought in through the side of the building, and put on the pulley elevator to take them to the second floor. Billy Corbin said that there were wrestling matches that took place in the upstairs of the building. He believes that these occurred during the same time period as the Friday night auctions. E. Thornton and Peoples talked about the “I-Do” factory. John Peoples stated that this was a form of makeup invented by Robert Wallace to help women look younger. The I-Do factory was in the building after the general store and before the time of the auctions. According to Jim Bowling, a lodge, possibly similar to the Masons, occupied the upstairs part of the building at one time, as well.
When a fire took the empty building in May 1981, there were no longer any auctions or businesses in the building. The time of auctions was long over, but many Butler residents still have fond memories of times spent there with family and friends.
Photo of Peoples Store from usgennet.org See site for more Butler history.
