Butch Breger, longtime caretaker of the Round Barn of Arcadia, dies

Ernest Lee “Butch” Breger, longtime caretaker of the historic Round Barn in Arcadia, Oklahoma, died Tuesday at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City. He was 74.

Breger also was part of the original Over the Hill Gang that helped restore the dilapidated Round Barn during the 1980s and ’90s. One local told me Breger was the last surviving member of the Over the Hill Gang, but that couldn’t be confirmed.

According to his obituary, Breger was cremated.

During his decades-long role, Breger greeted thousands of visitors in the Round Barn’s gift shop — many of them Route 66 travelers. He and his homespun style were featured in several films and countless books and newspaper articles about the barn and Route 66.

This 2009 story from The Daily Rant described Breger well:

Born in Seattle, but raised locally, he knew the barn when it was in a state of disrepair, before it’s beautiful dome glistened in the sun as it does today. He was around during the entire restoration and has entertained the thousands of visitors that make the famous Route 66 trip across America.
He’s an artist and a storyteller who in addition to throwing in a few personal tidbits, concentrated primarily on recounting stories relating to the barn. He told us of his father being in the military and how because of that he got to travel around a bit before settling in Oklahoma, how the original owners of the barn, the Odor’s, got teased from the locals because of their odd name and how Luke Robinson took the restoration of the barn into his own hands and with the help of local retirees, restored the barn over four years for only $65,000.00 – which was a real bargain considering the estimates they had initially gotten hovered around $165,000.00!!
His rickety handwriting covers everything in the gift shop, from signs displaying prices to handmade wooden plaques to descriptions of what you’re actually looking at, like this picture of him hanging out one of the barn windows. […]

He walked the entire circumference of the barn with us, pointing out old farm equipment, pictures of the barn’s original owner and builder, and an entire wall displaying pictures of round barns from all over the country and the world. Apparently, a round barn is not all that unusual, and this one is certainly not the first, but this round barn is the only one in the United States that sits directly on Route 66, making this architectural masterpiece one of the most popular attractions along the way and one that becomes an iconic piece of American history by mere location.

Butch has collected these photographs from people all over the world who send them in to add to his collection. According to his account, he believes he’s found all of the round barns in the country and whenever he hears of a new one, or someone brings it to his attention, he sends a letter requesting more information on it and a picture. Then the picture goes up on the wall.
Some of the earliest round barns were made by the Quakers. Butch said, “They made ’em round so the Devil couldn’t corner you.” Makes sense. He also told us that although many barn dances were held in the Arcadia barn, they never held any square dances.
Wait for it….
…because you can’t hold a square dance in a round barn! You’re killing me here, Butch.

Breger appears in this Oklahoma Tourism video about the Round Barn’s restoration:

The Round Barn marked the 25th anniversary of its restoration in June. William Odor originally built the barn in 1898.

Although designed for agricultural purposes, workers convinced him to shore up the loft’s wooden floor so it could be used for dances. Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys were rumored to have performed there when they were based in Oklahoma during the 1930s, but it’s not been proven.

UPDATE 10/28/2017: The Edmond Sun published a news release from the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society about Breger’s death. This detail stands out:

Born in Seattle, Butch moved next door to the Round Barn in 1947 when he was five years old to live with his aunt and uncle, the Joneses, who operated the DX gas station on Route 66 in front of their home. He played in the barn as a child and according to his brother, Leon, it was his safe place where he spent countless hours in solitary make-believe play.

(Hat tip to Jimmy Blue; screen-capture image of Butch Breger from Oklahoma Tourism video)