A Woman of Faith -- Florence Butt and the H-E-B story

A snowball fight in front of the original Florence Butt Grocery Store.
Click on any image to enlarge.

Though we in Kerrville are justifiably proud H-E-B Grocery Company started here (now one of the nation's largest privately-owned companies), few remember the many hardships faced by its founder, Florence Thornton Butt.

This picture tells that story. It's of Mrs. Butt and her three sons, plus some of the early employees of the grocery store, including Leland Richeson, whose son gave me this photograph.

Missing from the photo is Florence Butt's husband, Charles. He died of tuberculosis only a few months before this photograph was taken. Of the eight people pictured, at least three would also die from TB.
People look at the Butt family today and think of their wealth and influence, but few remember the hard years. The years when it was just one small store, in Kerrville, and a family for whom grief was a frequent visitor.
Florence Thornton was born in Buena Vista, Mississippi, on September 19, 1864, during the Civil War. Her family was deeply religious, and two of her brothers were pastors; Florence often assisted them as they held revivals.
According to her family, she later attended Clinton College, where she was "not only the only girl in her class, but the honor graduate."
After college, she taught school for several years and also taught Sunday School at her church.
At 24 she married Charles C. Butt, a pharmacist, and they made their home in Mississippi and Tennessee. Together they had three sons, Charles, Eugene and Howard; there were also two stepsons from Charles’s first marriage, Kearney and Stanley Butt.
Around the turn of the last century, Charles, Sr. became ill with tuberculosis. At that time little was known about the disease, though it was widely believed to be genetic, since it 'ran in families.' Only much later would science discover it was contagious. Of the various cures offered at the time, the most popular was to move the patient to a warm, dry climate. This often seemed to help, and many spots around the country became known for their care of tuberculosis patients; Kerrville became especially famous in the southern United States for its climate and special hospitals and facilities for victims of this disease.
Tuberculosis brought the Butt family here; Charles Sr. and his son Charles Jr. (who served on the Kerrville City Council, and ran the grocery store for a while) would both eventually die of the disease, and both are buried here, in Glen Rest cemetery.
Since her husband was unable to work, and since she had a house full of sons, Florence Butt decided to sell some of the A&P grocery products shipped to her by a relative. She went door to door offering these products, and, according to her son Eugene, had a door slammed in her face by a Kerrville woman, who told her "I don't buy from peddlers."
"My mother was a very refined woman, and this hurt her deeply," Eugene recalled.
According to family tradition, Florence Butt started her grocery store on November 26, 1905, in a small rented two-story frame building at what was then 609 Main Street. Mrs. Butt opened her grocery store in the small room that served as the first floor; the family lived over the store. The windows were open upstairs summer and winter to provide ventilation and the ‘dry air’ needed for Charles Sr.
The store (with rooms above) was tiny, about 20 feet wide by 38 feet, or 760 square feet, which she rented for $9 per month; she stocked the store with what was left of her savings, $60.

Florence Thornton Butt

According to one of her grandsons, she made a discovery when sweeping out the room downstairs for the first time: she found a Bible left behind by a previous tenant. She immediately prayed for her little company, and dedicated it then and there to her Lord.
Despite many hardships, her store took hold somehow, and survived, providing for the young family. Her young sons were enlisted in the effort: the first deliveries were made in what must have been Howard’s baby buggy, later in a small hand wagon.
Florence Butt ran the store alone for many years; her son Charles was active in the business as early as 1917, and her son Howard, upon return from his military service in World War I, also worked in the business, eventually becoming its moving force. She retired from active involvement in the company around 1934, though she would often go to the store in the afternoons, visiting old friends and greeting customers.
The store was originally on Main Street, but moved to Earl Garrett Street to the rock building that had been the community’s post office, and now houses Turtle Creek Olives and Vines. After Earl Garrett Street, the grocery moved to a larger building on Water Street, now gone, but about where One Schreiner Center is today. My first memory of the store was at its fourth location when it was on the corner of Water and Quinlan, facing Quinlan; it was enlarged in the 1970’s to face Main in the building that now houses Entertainmart.
Its fifth and present location is in the 300 block Main Street, only six blocks northwest and 100 years away from that original store. A new store building was recently built on the site, with a much larger footprint, and a small replica of the original store built into its façade.
The company that has grown so successful was founded by a woman of intelligence and faith, whose need to provide for her family was so strong she overcame countless obstacles, from the humiliation of slammed doors to the prevailing convention that said women couldn’t run businesses. She was ahead of her time in many, many ways and she was very determined.
She was also very generous, giving back to the community that had supported her and her family. She was active not only in her church, but also in the Eastern Star. She organized a Baptist mission at Oak Park here in Kerrville, and paid the pastor’s salary for many years. I have heard many, many stories of her kindness to those in need in our community.
Florence Thornton Butt lived for 89 years. She passed away at her home on Earl Garrett Street, a few blocks from her first store. Her life was not easy in Kerrville: she buried her husband and her eldest son here, as well as at least one grandchild, and now she rests beside them at Glen Rest cemetery near Schreiner University.
Some might consider her company, given its tremendous success, to be her greatest legacy. However, it’s my opinion the enduring gift she gave her family and our community was the strength of her faith as demonstrated by her caring service to those in need.
Her story is compelling to me because after she had one door slammed in her face, she knocked on another door, and it was opened to her.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who wishes Greg Nichols, who has ably led the Kerrville H-E-B stores for many years, a very happy retirement. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead October 31, 2024.

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