First Citizen: The Industrious Life of Joseph G. Butler, Jr.

I just finished reading First Citizen The Industrious Life of Joseph G. Butler Jr. It is a great look at the history of not only Youngstown, Ohio but all of Mahoning and Trumbull County. Joseph G. Butler Jr. fascinated me, from a young boy of 13 choosing between school or work, work won out, until the day he passed only 1 day shy of turning 87. From his days in pig iron to the Steel Mills he never stopped trying to improve not only the city he loved but basically the world if he could. He left this city and surrounding counties with The Butler Art Institute, better Hospitals, the Reuben McMiillan Free Library Association, the McKinley Memorial Library and many more. This man was truly the First Citizen!Thank you Joe Lambert Jr. ad Rick Shale for such a well written book. Looking forward to the next book.

I couldn’t put this book down. In Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the authors profile the life of a self-made man whose innate talents carried him from modest schoolboy beginnings in Niles, Ohio to creating the iron and steel industries of the Mahoning Valley and regularly mingling with Presidents. Mr. Butler is a historical figure incredibly worthy of this captivating biography, whose values inspire us and whose philanthropy continues to enrich the Mahoning Valley today. First Citizen is also a must-read for those interested in the history of 19th-century American industrialism, of the American iron and steel industry, and of Ohio’s Mahoning Valley.