CH Butcher's parole document--February 3, 1993

After the passing of Sandra Lea, several boxes of documents were given to family and friends to share. This document was found in those boxes. Did CH serve enough jail time for the millions that he robbed from customers of the banks he and Jake ran into the dirt? I think not. 

FROM NEWS SENTINEL: "KNOXVILLE, Tenn., May 1— C. H. Butcher Jr., who was jailed for fraud after his regional banking empire collapsed in the 1980's, died Tuesday at a Georgia hospital. He was 62. Mr. Butcher was hospitalized after falling down the steps at his home in Canton, Ga., earlier in the day,according to The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Mr. Butcher, former chairman of Southern Industrial Bank, and his brother Jake, together operated 27 banks in Tennessee and Kentucky, once valued at $3 billion. The banks collapsed in 1983 under the weight of unsecured loans and paper corporations loaded with debt." CH was known to use cocaine and many think he was on the drug when he fell.         

   

Orange and White Quilt I made

                      I take orders for these quilts. Price varies according to size: begins at $125.

Whirlwind: the Butcher Banking Scandal by Sandra Lea (now deceased)

The true story of brothers, Jake and C.H. Butcher Jr., who rose from the poor rural countryside of Union County in the mountains of East Tennessee, to become masters of a multi-billion dollar banking empire.

Their lives of wealth and the power it bought created a whirlwind of greed and lavish spending rarely seen in today's world.

At the height of Jake Butcher's reign as chairman of the Knoxville's World's Fair, the house of Butcher fell like a house of cards, culminating in the third largest banking failure in our nation's history.

Hundreds of individuals and institutions were ruined in the Butcher debacle fanning a dismal decade of suicides and destruction, along with prison terms for the Butcher brothers and their associates.

Now, released from federal prison and under a sentence of bankruptcy for life, the brothers are "Back on top again," mastering million dollar deals and billion dollar dreams on borrowed money and borrowed time.

The copies I have for sale are signed by Jesse Barr; he was Jake's right hand man and provided the records for Sandra to review. 

Whirlwind: the Butcher Banking Scandal by Sandra Lea

   Sandra Lea was a dear friend of mine. She passed away in January of this year. In her will, she left a few of her closest friends several copies of her landmark book, Whirlwind: the Butcher Banking Scandal--a history book about a banking scandal that happened in this area in the late 70s early 80s.  After giving away several of them, I posted on E-bay and have been selling them like hot cakes to hungry lumberjacks.

  If you want to buy a copy, please let me know at Sunsphere  book @ aol.com  . The price is $35 plus shipping of around $6. The book has over 800 pages and several photographs. 

You may go to www. amazon  .com and read reviews and get more info.

   There will never be any more of this book, so its value goes up each day. Many bookstore owners are buying copies to sell now and in the future. 

The copies I am selling are signed by Jesse Barr, who was heavily involved in the scandal. He served time in prison as did Jake Butcher. 

Army can opener---easy to store, easy to use; best invention ever.

FORT MONMOUTH, N.J. -- It was invented in just 30 days in the summer of 1942 by Maj. Thomas Dennehy at the Subsistence Research Laboratory in Chicago.

And never in its more than 60-year history has it ever been known to "break, rust, need sharpening or polishing," which is why many Soldiers past and present have come to regard the P-38 C-Ration can opener as one of the best Army inventions ever.

C-Rations (tin cans filled with a variety of meats and vegetables) have been replaced with Meals Ready To Eat (MREs) but the phenomena of the P-38 continues due to the countless other uses that Soldiers found for it.

"The P-38 is one of those tools you keep and never want to get rid of," military policeman Sgt. Scott Kiraly said. "I've had my P-38 since joining the Army and kept it because I can use it as a screwdriver, knife, anything!"

Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) Steve Wilson believes it's the size of the P-38 that counts. 

"It's a perfect inch-and-a-half making it a great marking tool. Because it's small, it doesn't take up a lot of space and that's essential in Army life. The conveniently drilled hole in the top half means the P-38 can be put on a key ring or dog tags and go anywhere," he said.