George "Butter" Johnson. George was a musician all his life. He moved across the bridge to New Hope, Pa. married, worked as a house painter and vanishes from the family letters and newspapers around 1918 which was the time of the flu epidemic that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.
How George got his nickname: This turn of the century article provides a charming peek into small town life and what constituted "funny" at the time. "Rube Water Melvin" is Fred. "Tub Butter Johnson" is George"
"Susie" is a play on John Phillip Sousa, a rock star of the era.
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