Emporia State University - Sunflower Yearbook (Emporia, KS)

Page 9 text:

Dr. Thomas W. Butcher on this man, and demanded rest, there was no hesitancy, he had no regrets. He felt that he had done all he could in the job he had chosen, and he was ready to quit in deference to passing time. He wrote to the Board of Regents, requesting retirement: “ . . . . Thirty years constitute a goodly time in all things human.” As president emeritus, Thomas Butcher continued to walk through administration building halls, to sit in his office, to teach a class or two. But now he was only an observer, watching the motion of machinery he had built. New students came and few knew him. For vigorous, hardworking Tom Butcher, there was now only the restless waiting. Then, on July 14, 1947, at the age of 80, he died. The academic world paused to note his going, Emporia buried one of its civic leaders, one of the last of a generation which spread wide the name of the town, and the young men went on picking up the frayed ends of their lives — without a good friend.

Page 11 text:

The editor wishes to thank the Sunflower staff for their wonderful assistance in the production of the 1948 Sunflower. A special note of thanks to Miss Norene Magathan. Publicity Department Secretary, for her untiring efforts in typing much of the copy, tolerating the editor’s jokes, and relaying messages to the Sunflower Staff. A Backward Glance