Mary Agnes (Lerg) Butler (1890 - 1982)

My personal records indicate that John Cornelius Butler married Mary Agnes Lerg in a catholic service by a Father Duval on August 4, 1917 in the Church of the Sacred Heart in Nogales, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. John, who called himself “Jack”, first met Agnes in the recreation room of the catholic Sacred Heart Church in Prescott, Arizona where Agnes spent her summers; Jack was playing pool with the priest there. They began dating some years later. Agnes took a narrow gage railroad from Jerome to Ash Fork to meet Jack who came in from Kingman to meet her. He was working for the Standard Oil Company at the time. On that day, they were engaged to be married. They planned to marry in June, but put off the wedding because of the war. Congress declared war on Germany April 6, 1917. Agnes returned to her sister Ida’s home in Prescott while Jack was transferred to Clifton, Arizona. Agnes obtained a job in Clifton and moved there. They were then married in August of that year in Nogales.

After the First World War, Jack and Agnes settled in the small town of Williams, Arizona. They loved living in Williams and desired to establish their roots there; however, his position with Standard Oil Company caused him to be frequently transferred throughout the state of Arizona. Jack continued working for Standard Oil for 15 years (from about 1915 to about 1930) until he was transferred to Winslow. They moved to Winslow, but then he decided to quit his position with Standard Oil and took on the position of town clerk in Williams so that they could live there. Jack retired from the city of Williams on April 15, 1953. Jack and Agnes owned and ran a motel located at 437 West Bill Williams Avenue (aka, Highway 66) for about 28 years – calling it the Butler Motel. This motel was called the Mountain Country Lodge in 1929. Considering the name hadn’t changed yet, this may be before Jack and Agnes owned it; however, they were living in Williams off and on since prior to 1920. They loved the town and the area and kept coming back to it. Running a business like this was nothing new to Jack; Jack’s father, John B. Butler, was also keeping boarders in 1880.

Running a motel requires a variety of skills to provide services to weary travelers; but there is more to it than offering a comfortable room with all the amenities. Management of a small motel such as this requires the handling of many important tasks that lead to loyal customers who tell others about their stay and book again when they are in the area. It requires organization, a focus on customer service, maintenance, and promotion. Our grandmother, Agnes, fit the bill perfectly! Our mother, Frances, described her mother, Agnes, as an “extremely intelligent” woman.