Feature
Butterfield residents swap stories at the morning coffee klatch
The BTV Lifestyle: Staying Socially Connected Step in the Butterfield dining room on any given morning, and you’ll likely see a group of men sitting at a big table near the back, sipping coffee, laughing and holding court in their own kind of way. Residents like Rick Meyer, Harris Sonnenberg, George Cook, Vance Elder, John Schuldt, Bill Brunner, Jerry Brewer, Jim Hunt, Seth Young, Francis Beatty, to name a few. This informal group — which calls itself everything from a coffee klatch to a group of freelance thinkers — has been meeting like this to reminisce, talk history and support each other for years. Many grew up in the same generation, have similar memories and are in similar stages in life. Together, they’ve found that gathering over coffee and sweet rolls is the perfect way to linger, socialize and savor friendships. “To me this is a resource group,” Rick Meyer said. “A lot of these men are well-traveled and have extensive, 4 BUTTERFIELD LIFE
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Sarah Hoffius, Earlene Henry and Faye Crowell share a laugh first-hand knowledge of other countries, cultures and disciplines. There is a lot of collective knowledge here, and if one of us has a problem, there’s always someone who has an answer.” Meyer is right. Between former school administrators, clergymen, university professors, coaches, psychologists and war veterans, many of these men are experts in in their own right.