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In 1903, Butterfield met
Caroline Kelley McCord, a performer in the "Buster Brown" show that he was promoting. They married that year, and had four daughters: Caroline Hamilton Butterfield, Laura McCord Butterfield, Julia Scott Butterfield, and Helen Butterfield. The couple divorced in 1921 due to
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service and the changing preferences of vacationers. The
Allendale dance hall, the centerpiece of the resort, was relocated twice, and now stands on the north side of the lake as a dairy barn. The Allendale property is now a collection of residential properties on East Gull Lake Drive in
172:. In Chicago, Butterfield met Charles E. Blaney, a theatrical tour producer, and spent over ten years in his organization, preparing advances for touring shows. Butterfield's work with Blaney included the tours of "An American Gentleman" and a play adaptation of "
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Battle Creek's Bijou
Theater was the first of a circuit of Bijou houses in Michigan, managed by Butterfield. His circuit was attractive to performers, who could book multiple weeks of shows at a time. By 1924, he controlled 21 theaters in Michigan.
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Butterfield started in the vaudeville and theater business in entry-level jobs at several
Columbus theaters. He first worked at the Comstock Theater, and later the Grand Opera House.
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Butterfield's nickname of "Colonel" was not connected to any military service. One account claimed that
Butterfield received the title from his acquaintance with the officers at
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At its peak, W. S. Butterfield
Theatres operated over 110 theaters across Michigan. The Butterfield circuit continued in operation until the 1980s, when it was bought out by
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during World War I, and another account credits it to an offhand introduction at a banquet. Friends and associates continued the nickname for the rest of his life.
183:, where he promoted the construction of the Henry Boyle Theatre. After his work in Fond du Lac, Butterfield was introduced to the West Michigan region by
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resort community from the 1920s to his death. Butterfield purchased the
Allendale resort on the southeast shore of Gull Lake in the aftermath of
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Butterfield married Maria Louise Mills in 1891, with whom he had a daughter, Mitties Louise
Butterfield.
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Butterfield moved to
Chicago with Maria Louise Mills in 1891, where he worked as the treasurer of the
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executive Walter Keefe. In 1905, Butterfield took over the management of the
Hamblin Opera House in
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in 1936 after a short illness. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek.
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Butterfield married Irene Dailey in 1923. Their daughter Anne was born in 1930.
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273:"Butterfield, Walter Scott (1867-1936): Michigan's "Theater Man""
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Outside the theater business, Butterfield was involved in the
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American vaudeville promoter and theatre manager (1867–1936)
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Butterfield's first solo endeavor in show business was in
407:""The Allendale": Popular Summertime Resort on Gull Lake"
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when he was a child, for his father to take a job at the
326:"Col. Walter Scott Butterfield, Theater Magnate, Dies".
431:"Butterfield Theaters, Inc., Now Operating 114 Houses"
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The Evolution of the Gull Lake Community, 1900-1975
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95:(April 25, 1867 – April 23, 1936) was an American
298:A History Of The Theater In Kalamazoo, 1900-1930
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471:Walter S. Butterfield Collection, 1924-1930
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462:Theaters formerly operated by Butterfield
93:Walter Scott "Colonel W. S." Butterfield
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123:Walter Scott Butterfield was born in
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349:"People and Events of Yesteryear".
351:The Battle Creek Enquirer and News
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490:People from Connersville, Indiana
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384:Penzkofer, Mary E (April 1975).
300:. Kalamazoo: Kalamazoo College.
147:Walter's intense work schedule.
35:Portrait of Butterfield ca. 1925
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127:in 1867. His family moved to
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405:Howard, Keith (April 2023).
238:in Bay City, to the opulent
392:Western Michigan University
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495:W. S. Butterfield Theatres
446:Ann Arbor District Library
105:W. S. Butterfield Theatres
328:The Battle Creek Enquirer
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411:Kalamazoo Public Library
296:Pixley, Jorge V (1960).
277:Kalamazoo Public Library
170:Chicago Academy of Music
103:manager. His business,
271:Howard, Keith (2019).
189:Battle Creek, Michigan
181:Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
85:Battle Creek, Michigan
242:in Ann Arbor, to the
125:Connersville, Indiana
55:Connersville, Indiana
223:Butterfield died in
475:Library of Michigan
248:atmospheric theatre
83:Oak Hill Cemetery,
435:The Ann Arbor News
133:Ohio State Journal
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246:in Kalamazoo, an
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67:(1936-04-23)
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372:Pixley 1960
306:10920/19185
204:World War I
155:Camp Custer
484:Categories
441:2023-06-05
416:2023-06-25
390:(Thesis).
359:2091733949
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282:2023-05-31
254:References
208:interurban
119:Early life
97:vaudeville
47:1867-04-25
200:Gull Lake
355:ProQuest
332:ProQuest
240:Michigan
113:Michigan
473:at the
101:theater
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225:Boston
161:Career
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