While at Princeton, Howard Russell Butler was a member of the so-called South East Club, which was named for a group of undergraduates, at least two of whom were rowers, who lived in the south entry of East College. The group consisted of Butler, his brother, William Allen Butler 1876, Charles Scribner 1875, Bayard Henry 1876, Henry B. Thompson 1877, Moses Taylor Pyne 1877, his brother, Percy R. Pyne 1878, Cleveland Dodge 1879, his brother, Earl Dodge 1879, James B. Townsend 1878, and Arthur Turnure 1876 as well as West College resident Cornelius C. Cuyler 1879.
After graduation, the club met for dinner twice a year, mainly for pleasure but, as time went by, also to discuss the needs of the University. Over their lifetimes, these men provided nearly a square mile of property for the University, at least five buildings, leadership for funding the preceptorial system, fellowships, and substantial contributions to the endowment. In an article appearing in the 1931 Princeton Alumni Weekly, James Townsend wrote that he and Howard Russell Butler, the other surviving member of the club, "on occasion talk over the memorable nights of South East, and we cherish a great love for the old group for their love and loyalty to Princeton."
Suspension of Rowing
Rowing was suspended at Princeton in 1884 when increasing commercial canal traffic made the canal too dangerous for rowing. At that time, Butler and others envisaged the creation of a lake to the south of the Princeton campus in an area near the canal which was "disfigured by an unsightly swamp." A survey was commissioned of the area, but plans for a lake failed to proceed because of the cost.
Related Articles: [Butler Papers] [PAW: 04/30/1913] [PAW: 05/14/1913] [PAW: 05/28/1913]
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