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B |
5-25-1895
in Mansfield, Mass to
Annie Bird Morton and Lucius
Abbott Butler |
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M |
Ofelia (Sally) Salazar July 4, 1928 |
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D |
July 1983
in Miami, Florida |
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C |
William Abbott Butler
and Kenneth Morton Butler |
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Harold Abbott ("Butt" to his friends) was born on
May 25, 1895 in Mansfield, Mass. His parents were
Lucius Abbott Butler and
Annie Bird Morton
Butler. He had an older sister,
Gertrude, and one younger sister, Doris. Doris died before she
reached the age of 1. |
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Harold with
father and cat around 1900? |
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Gertrude, Harold
and mother, Annie Morton Butler around 1902 |
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Harold(?) with cat,
around 1908 |
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He Graduated from
Mansfield High School in 1913 |
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He then graduated from Brown University in 1917
with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After graduation he worked
with General Electric Company in Schenectady and Pittsfield in
eastern New York in their Testing Department until September 1919.
Being opposed to cold weather, the G.E. Co. helped him to obtain a
position with the Havana Electric Railway Co. which was later merged
with an American Foreign Power Company, subsidiary, operating
outside of Havana. This new company was called Campania Cubana de
Electricidad and it supplied most of the electricity used in Cuba
and also service to Havana. His first assignment with GE was at the
Tallapiedra Power Plant. |
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When he first moved to Cuba, Harold, likely a
confirmed bachelor, lived in hotels and ate mainly at Chinese
restaurants. He apparently settled into life in Cuba and never
showed any indication of wanting to return to the Northeast. |
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About 1927 he went to
live in a boarding house at M and 19 streets in Vedado, Cuba.
There he met his future wife the lovely
Ofelia Salazar Roges. ("Sally") See "How
Harry Met Sally". They were married July 4, 1928. |
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They moved to a third story apartment
at Linea and M streets in the Vedado.
In 1929, Their first child,
Billy was born. Then, just
2 years later their second and last son
Kenny was born. |
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| The apartment had access to a patio on
the roof where Harold had installed a sand box and a swing that provided
daily entertainment until the age of two when
Kenny and
Bill would be taken by their mother to a small park across Linea
Street every afternoon where they could run and play with other
children. |
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In 1935 he purchased a house on the corner of 4th
avenue and 1st street in the La Sierra neighborhood of Marianao, about
10 miles out of Habana. The house had 3 bedrooms and one bath with maid
quarters above the one car garage. It had a big avocado tree in back
yard. Stove was coal fired.. redid kitchen.. and converted a patio into
a guest bedroom with bath. where Benito and Encarnita would come to
visit. Bought his meats and veggies in the neighborhood. On Sundays
Ofelia's brothers would visit during the afternoon. during the week
after work a stop at the American Club was the meeting place of his good
friends where they engaged in games of dice to see would pay for the
drinks. |
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| He joined the Havana Biltmore Yacht
and Country Club where he would meet his friends during noontime Sundays
while his family enjoyed the beach. As his sons grew older he and Ofelia
steered them towards sailing and in 1943 bought them their first boat.
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In 1947 he rented a car in Miami and drove with
Ofelia, Bill and Ken to Lafayette Indiana where Bill was left to
pursue his engineering career.
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| In June, 1951, he and Ofelia flew to
Indiana and joined Bill and Elsie at their marriage on June 9 and during
Bill's graduation June 10. Also attending was
Aunt Helen May Butler (Nell),
cousin Helen and many
other family members. |
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Butler house in Cuba
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His career with the Cuban Electric
Company went well and he ended up as its General Superintendent..
Retired in 1956.. just before son Bill was transferred to Havana.
After raising his family, retiring from a
successful career and settling in to his lovely retirement home in Cuba, his
perfect life was upset but the Cuban revolution in 1959. He always
expected the Castro regime to succumb as had the 3 previous revolutions he had
experienced. In 1964 he decided to leave. Applied for exit permit. Had to
deliver his home to the government who inventoried all and came to check as they
left all.. stayed overnight with friends until plane time.. flew out via
Mexico.. then to Miami..
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In Miami they eventually settled into
the Dallas Park Hotel where they leased a one bedroom apartment complete
with kitchen. This was a step down from what they had 5 years
previously but better than life under Castro.
Harold was a great cook - mac and
cheese and Shake N Bake Chicken were his grandchildren's favorites.
They lived there until sometime in the
early 1980s when the Dallas Park Hotel was demolished.
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