FRANK BUTKOVICH

1907-1982

Frank Butkovich was born in 1907 in Calumet, Michigan. He had four brothers, Tony, Tom, John and Joe and five sisters Eva, Rose, Anne, Mary and Frances. He also had a collie dog named Tippy. He walked to his small school in his wool coat on cold days. His favorite classes were history, math, and English. Marbles was his most favorite game. A candy bar only cost him 5 cents. His chore was cutting logs in the woods for firewood. But his first paying job was working on a farm, which he continued all his life.

He was very good at taxidermy (stuffing animals), collecting guns, and hunting. His favorite sports team was the Detroit Tigers, and his favorite music was all Polka bands. He liked to read Outdoor Life and Readers Digest magazines, and watched Gun Smoke and Lawrence Welk on T.V. His favorite breakfast cereal was oatmeal. He got to a local store by riding his bike, by horse back or by walking. Two of his favorite family traditions were Christmas gatherings and hunting season. One of the biggest historical events of his life was when the first man walked on the moon. The biggest disaster he ever witnessed was a farmer’s barn burning down.

He got married in December, 1931, in Engadine and was married for fifty years. He had eight sons, and three daughters and thirty-one grandkids. One of my dad’s favorite memories of my Grandpa Frank is hunting with him. One of my dad’s worst memories was when he passed away. My dad says that one of the better things about " those good old days" was that everybody helped out, and one thing better about today is the medical improvements. One of my grandpa’s goals was to have peace on earth. He died because of a heart attack on June 2, 1982, in Engadine, six years before I was born.

Scott Butkovich

Fifth Grade

Engadine Elementary School

Thanks to my dad, Don Butkovich for sharing information about his dad, Frank Butkovich,, to make his biography possible.