“Talby” Button
John Bartlett
I went to the First Presbyterian Church
of Chittenango as a kid. One of the
people who left a mark on me stood about 5 feet tall, was as stout as a stone,
had healthy red cheeks, but when we sat down, he was somehow taller than me; a
gangly 6 foot teenager. I look back on
those times pretty thankful, as Talby was all about planting goodness wherever
he happened to be. Sitting next to him
in church was a lot more interesting than some of the sermons we pretended to
listen to. Today, with the world as it
is, I can only remember him as an olden times gentleman who gave and received
respect, regardless of who you were.
Without fail, Talby, Bertha, and Betty would arrive at their place in
the church, probably 15 minutes or so early, each pleased to be there and
pleased to see who else was there.
Talby truly was an animal lover, but
first he was a lover of this life. I
remember going to visit him one Saturday and sitting in what I think may have
been a very old Buick, parked in front of the barn. Talby, his dog, and I just sat in that car, talking about
whatever came to mind. From what I can
remember, I think the dog must have been through the routine more than a few
times because it wasn’t five minutes later and he was asleep.
Talby was an ambassador for all that is
good.
~
~ ~
From
the “Madison Accent” (Vol.4, No. 27)
The
Syracuse Herald-Journal
Wednesday,
July 4, 1984:
The Passing Parade
For 60 years, Talbot Button has seen the world grow from his front yard…
By
Lindsay Kramer
|
From the vantage point of a lawn chair
on his property on Tuscarora Road, Talbot Button has seen Chittenango come of
age. In Button’s heyday, there was nary
another house on the road, and the preferred means of transportation employed
horse power in its most literal sense. “It was a nice place,” said Button, 92,
of Chittenango in the early 1900s.
“There weren’t cars, but nobody ever got hurt, they drove horses. That was entertaining to us. To have a good horse and get out and
ride.” Button used horses for more than
entertainment, though. For 20 years
they were his livelihood, as, along with his wife and daughter, he ran a
riding stable on the 110 acres he owned on Tuscarora Road. No slouch as a farmer either, Button, a
Chittenango native, first ran a farm on Bolivar Road. Then in about 1914 he came to his current
residence, where he ran the farm for someone else for five years and then
bought the place himself. “This was supposed to be the best farm
in Madison County,” he said. “The
land was good. It was all work
land. You could grow anything here.” About 20 years ago, Button sold all but
10 acres of his property. “I got too old to ride, and the
insurance was too heavy,” he said. About a year ago, his wife, Bertha,
died. “I don’t like to talk about it much,”
he said. “We enjoyed life
together. It is pretty lonesome
without her.” Button still keeps active, doing daily
chores. Now on the farm to keep him
company are three ponies, one horse, one dog, six ducks and 25 chickens. “It is a disease,” said Button of his
love for animals. “That is what keeps
me busy. It keeps me alive. You keep going, that’s all. You feel good and you have lots of
friends, and that makes you feel good.” |
Button’s daughter, Betty, frequently
stops by, and there is a steady stream of townsfolk, sometimes as many as a
dozen a day, who visit Button as one would visit a historic landmark, or a
local library. “He is a nice old fella,” said one
friend, Mearl Burke of Chittenango.
“You couldn’t ask for a nicer person.” Button will wax nostalgic on almost any
topic a visitor mentions. “That’s all I got, a mind and a
remembrance,” he says. Some samplings include:
Although he admits age has taken its
toll on his physical capabilities, Button claims he is at least eight years
away from retirement. “I think when I get to be 100, I’ll
retire, do nothing,” he said. “But I
will stay here until they take me.” |
