Picking Up Butch

The Story Of A Long-Running, Deeply Respected College Football Tradition

(CBS)  At Vermont’s Middlebury College, one of the longest-running and deeply respected traditions is a ritual called “picking up Butch,” CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports for Assignment America.

It’s carried out by two or three freshman athletes before every home football and basketball game. And last weekend, the honor fell to Jamal Davis, Ashton Coghlan and Ryan Wholey.

“I had heard so much about it and other guys had done it,” one aid. “It's kind of like a rite of passage I guess. If you're a freshman you pick up Butch.”

The custom dates back to 1960, when a student did it for a football game. It was supposed to be a one-time thing, and yet nearly 50 years later they’re still picking up Butch.

“It's kind of cool to know you're carrying on a tradition that's so big - and has been going on so long,” one said.

How does the ritual go? It all begins, quite literally … by picking up a man named Butch at his home and setting him comfortably in his wheel chair.

The kids then bundle him up and wheel him off. Basketball players take him to football games and football players to basketball games.

“Thank you guys for doing this for me,” Butch said.

Butch Varno was born with cerebral palsey. He was also born with Middlebury College blue in his veins.

Since that first kid gave him a ride back when Butch was 14, hundreds of students have brought him to thousands of games. Some, like one Hartman met named Kevin, are second-generation Butch picker-uppers.

“His father used to take care of me 30 years ago,” Butch said.

It’s pretty easy to tell how much Butch enjoys this tradition. But to understand how much he needs it, all you have to do is ask him where he’d be without these kids.

“I'm going to say this and I'm only saying it once,” he said. “I would be severely depressed.”

It's that big a part of his life?

“Yea, because that's the only thing I can do for fun,” Butch said.

As for what the kids get out of it, obviously, a compassion for those less fortunate … perhaps an appreciation for what they have.

But more than anything: “He has such a positive outlook on life. He puts a smile on your face when you see him,” one student said.

"I have a fun time just being with him,” another student said. “It's great, It's a great feeling."

Funny, they call it “picking up Butch,” but the truth is, Butch has picked up quite a few people himself.

“Next week, right?” one of the students asked.

“Of course, of course,” the others said.

And now you don't even have to be an athlete to be part of the tradition. Recently the school started a club called “Butch’s Team,” where students get together and help Butch with physical therapy, tutoring, etc. In fact, not long ago Butch got his high school diploma.

[docadams3]

This comment section has gotten wierd.

What does anything down here have to do with the story?

[flipantflaw]

'' ... i deserve the option to scream kill all the jews and dare all the kids without whole *** armys screaming, ''girl, yes girl, kill the jews and dare the kids or else, girl, yes girl'' ... ''

'' ... that''s entrapment, congress cannot be a bunch of naked kids running around punishing all the dressed adults they themselves sent out to spank a bunch of naked kids ... ''

[flipantflaw]

'' ... relax, your a dressed educated moral man in the war to take all the tax money market share armor weapons alcohol and parades away from lazy naked ignorant profane blemished promiscuous girls ... ''

[ken19712]

That was the best news I heard all week. After hearing story after story of bad things this week. This Assignment on America was the best of all. It''s nice to see the young generation take care of someone that has a heart of gold. He must''ve touched alot of people over the years. Thank you Mr. Hartman!!

Note: palsey is spelled wrong and the correct way of spelling is palsy.

[mendrinski]

There is hope for the human race! Great story Steve! Not only does it show how kind, loving and helpful we can be, it shows that we need to be kind,loving and helpful to fulfill our own life. Yes, pay it forward.

[gurwell]

I loved this story about Picking Up Butch. In fact, I love watching the News on Fridays just for your stories, Mr. Hartman. I believe that there are too many questionable news stories that should be kept local instead of national however, good news stories affect us all in a positive way. Thank you, CBS and thank you, Mr. Hartman for this story and so many others.

[seandski]

Wow. What a great story to start off the weekend. So much bad news lately...great to see the good. Pay it forward.

[why_not_nar]

Katie,
Your management is smart. Smart like a fox.

Your role is to make it possible to sell the CBS news division lock stock and barrel to Fox news.
And in that function, you are performing admirably.

It''s becoming clearer. CBS''s goal is to become an entertainment only company, like a cable channel, or a more powerful HBO. Structured that way, they will make a fortune.

[why_not_nar]

Katie,
I did notice that use these opportunities to wear short skirts to i guess show off your legs. Tell me that the fading shot wasn''t planned. Hey, you apparantly were a gymnast, it just wasn''t why i was watching.

However, you did a good job of starting and then holding off from grabbing or punching Mr. Hartman...it think this is how you do male bonding. A great book by Michael Crichton, Disclosure depicts sexual harassment with a twist, the women is the person in power. Demmi Moore played the lead. She actually is a person I would associate you with. You could play that role with no rehersal.

Anyhow, do you think that a fully formed intelligent sentance is anywhere in our future? (paraphrase from a few Good Men)

Did it ever occur to you that without your ***, and your appearance, your chance of getting this job would have been zero?

I am sorry. I feel strongly that you singlehandledly are in the process of not just destroying the CBS evening news, but the role of an anchor person as well.

We will have to leave that to the historians. There is a new term in the media ''the Couric effect''. Please wear a longer skirt next time if you insist upon making this about your ***.

[danmyers3292]

"Picking Up Butch"
Congratulations on a wonderful story, maybe if the news consisted of more heart warming news like this,eventually the "meanness" might leave people and we could all live more comfortably
Dan Myers, Chbg,Va.

[why_not_nar]

Steve, (spelling corrected)
My apologies, i did not catch the e-mail address.
Here is one for you:
Subject: Persistence and Courage and of Great Leaps in Science

This is about Dr. Gary Lynch, a scientist at UC/Irvine. For a very long time Dr. Lynch has been attempting to show that memory and learning involve changes in the brain%u2019s neurons. Not long ago, after 30 years of efforts, Dr. Lynch was able to prove just that.
Many people believe that scientists have an AHA! Or Eureka! Moment as Archimedes did, or as did a famous French chemist Friedrich Kekule, who dreamed of carbon atoms dancing in a circle, the beginning of organic chemistry. Turns out that many of these discoveries require a marathon of courage and effort, even after the brilliant AHA! Dr. Lynch%u2019s is such a story. Not of just things going right, but of everything possible going wrong. So it is a story of the human spirit, as much as a story about science.

It was written up in many places including the L.A. Times, http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-n
a-memoryfirst19aug19,0,5585770. A great story, and a enormously important discovery.

If you need any help contacting the author of the L.A. Times article or Dr. Lynch, please let me know.

[why_not_nar]

Steve,
My apologies, i did not catch the e-mail address.
Here is one for you:
Subject: Persistance and Courage

This is about Dr. Gary Lynch, a scientist at UC/Irvine. For a very long time Dr. Lynch has been attempting to show that memories and learning involve changes in the brain''s neurons. Not long ago, after 30 years of efforts, Dr. Lynch was able to prove just that.
Many people believe that scientists have an AHA! or Eurida! moment as Archimedes did, or a famous frech chemist Friedrich Kekule, who dreamed of carbon atoms dancing in a circle, the beginning of organic chemistry. Turns out that many of these discoveries require a marathong of courage and effort, even after the brilliant AHA! Dr. Lynch''s is such a story. Not of just things going right, but of everything possible going wrong. So it is a story of the human spirit, as much as a story about science.

It was written up in many place including the L.A. Times, http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-na-memoryfirst19aug19,0,5585770.

If you need any help contacting the author of the L.A. Times article or Dr. Lynch, please let me know.