Butler Cave holds 50th anniversary

Rocky Ward stands next to the oldest member of BCCS, Nevin C. Davis, 90. Gregg Clemmer, president of the BCCS, at the cave site. Tommy Burns (pictured) and Jimmy Puffenbarger, two local boys, showed Oscar Estes the blowhole for the cave in 1958. Estes removed a few rocks and found a pit. On Memorial Day that year a party led by Ike Nicholson descended a 35-foot shaft and discovered a "vast cave" as predicted by Estes and Nicholson. A group of cavers who explored Butler Cave in the 1950s attended the anniversary of its discovery. Pictured are: (top row) Phil Lucas, middle row (l-r) Huntley Ingalls, Will White, Donnie Miller, Mike Nicholson and John Sweet. Bottom row (l-r), Elizabeth White, Jack Stellmack and Tommy Burns. (Photos courtesy Judy and Frank Marks) Above, the Butler Cave Conservation Society held its 50th anniversary celebration over the weekend, commemorating the discovery of Butler Cave on the former Butler farm near Burnsville. More than 170 people attended the gathering. Butler Cave has more than 17 miles of mapped passageways. Access is restricted to prevent injury to those not prepared for the rigors of caving and to protect the cave from vandalism and accidental damage. Donnie Miller was the first person to enter the cave on Memorial Day, May 30, 1958.