Henry Butler may have been on to something.

Butler, born in East Mauch Chunk at the turn of the last century, left in 1921. But he was among its most ardent supporters until his death in 1986.

His name popped up in research regarding the current kerfuffle between the Jim Thorpe Lions Club and borough council over the Asa Packer Mansion.

Earlier this month, the Jim Thorpe Lions Club informed council it will terminate a nearly 70-year-old agreement concerning the care and maintenance of the local landmark. The Lions cited “political bouts” and “unnecessary obstacles” among its reasons to walk away. The club says it will close the door on the pact on July 2.

The move apparently puts an end to a working relationship that’s been somewhat strained in recent years. After some uncertainty over the mansion’s oversight last year, the council in May allowed the Lions to remain as sole caretakers and administrators through 2023.

A day after that vote, the mansion curator and most of its staff resigned.

Around then, Greg Strubinger, council president, suggested the borough move forward with a nonprofit board made up of three council members, a mansion director and three at-large members - possibly including Lions Club members - to oversee the facility. He still supports that plan, adding that Packer family members have a renewed interest in the project.

The mansion, with three stories and 18 rooms, was built in 1861 in the Italianate Villa style and was home to Packer, a philanthropist, politician and founder of Lehigh University. His daughter, Mary Packer Cummings, willed the home to the borough in 1912 with the interest on an additional $60,000 gift to be used for its care.

It sat dormant until the predecessor of today’s Lions Club got involved.

Enter Henry Butler.

Butler, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Columbia University, in the 1950s saw the mansion’s value from afar. Then a columnist for the Indianapolis Times newspaper, Butler was a frequent visitor to his hometown.

He had a fondness for places like Flagstaff and Glen Onoko, two examples of the area’s natural beauty. He advocated for community support in elevating its features.

But most of his interest focused on the home of “Old Man Packer,” and how it could be a true gem to promote the area.

For years, he was confounded by the lack of Lehigh University’s interest in preserving and promoting the home of its founder.

In fact, in 1955, he wrote a letter to Lehigh’s president urging a possible university use of the Packer mansion, even if was only to be a part of the school’s annual Founders Day observance. In the days of television’s infancy and long before the internet, Butler felt coverage of one of those events by major magazines of the time could only enhance interest in the mansion’s beauty and bring more people to experience it.

Butler couldn’t understand Lehigh’s indifference concerning the home of the man whose $500,000 gift of cash and more than 50 acres of land established it as a respected center of learning.

With the current shift in sentiment regarding the mansion on the hill, it might be a good time to revisit that issue.

After all, as the current council president has indicated, the family of Lehigh’s founder - who happened to pretty much build the university as well as his showcase home in Mauch Chunk - has a renewed interest in the facility.

Strubinger suggested in recent coverage that some of Packer’s descendants have expressed a desire to serve on a board overseeing the earliest existing example of their family heritage. There was some talk of them helping the borough establish an endowment.

The councilman estimated that in “10 or 15 years or so we could have a nice sum of money in an endowment.”

Certainly, that’s a noble and welcome goal. But what’ll happen until then?

Maybe the family can exercise some of their influence with the university to at some level establish the mansion as a center for learning in the interim.

Scrolling through its catalog of course offerings, one might find that Lehigh offers degrees in museum management.

Could it be possible that modern day students learning to curate a museum use the Packer mansion as a location for hands-on learning?

Could the faculty members who teach those students be a ready-made source of guidance to join the locals who’ve for years kept the mansion doors open?

Might there be some bumps and detours to get the process going? Who knows? But the learned folks at the university should be able to figure it out.

Asa Packer put up the cash that built the world renowned university.

Lehigh should return at least part the favor, become more involved and help fund a home that protects and preserves an irreplaceable part of its history.

And make Henry Butler proud.

Ed Socha | tneditor@tnonline.com

ED SOCHA is a retired newspaper editor with more than 40 years’ experience in community journalism. Reach him at tneditor@tnonline.com.

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.