Hey, it’s Rylie.

I made this site to share history, stories, photographs, and documents about our family. The word “family” is in Vietta’s handwriting. Of course not our entire family is represented by the surnames Butner and Butkiewicz, but the title would be too long otherwise!

The things I share will not be chronological, so you’ll have to piece the puzzle together along with me. Most of it takes place during World War II, so occasionally there will be glimpses into American culture of racism and sexism, sexual themes, treatment of animals, etc., but I’m not here to censor. You will see the beautiful and the ugly sides of humanity, and I will include warnings when posts include sensitive topics. People are flawed, complicated, and a product of their time.

Also, I want to note that to different people Joseph Alexander Butner (Butkiewicz) might be Joe, Tony, uncle Joe, Tony-Joe, grandpa, or dad. To keep things uncomplicated I’m always going to refer to him as Toni, since that’s how he signed a lot of his letters.

For anyone that’s unaware, Toni and Vietta are my grandparents.

If you would like high-res copies of any photos on this site, please contact me.