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Initially homesteading in Nutrioso and Eager at the foot of the White Mountains, the Wiltbank family relocated in 1892 to Lee Valley (the town name was changed to Greer in 1898). Ellis built a sawmill while Hannah became the first postmistress of the newly formed community.

On Dec. 8, 1896, 19-year-old Mollie married rancher Lorenzo Crosby. The couple settled near Black River (now known as Crosby Crossing) where Mollie ran a store out of their home, tended the garden and managed livestock that included about 300 sheep as well as a herd of cows.

Mollie, as did most women at the time, made her own butter and cheese. She sold her dairy produce at Fort Apache, a trip that took three days of travel each way.

Mollie and Lorenzo had three children. Hannah was born in Eager in 1898, George Ellis arrived at Black River in 1900 and Lester Lorenzo showed up in Greer in 1902 but died at the age of 7.

In February 1904, while on a mission for the Mormon Church, 28-year-old Lorenzo Crosby died.

Mollie moved to Greer, closer to her parents. She became an integral part of the Greer community by serving as trustee of the Greer school in 1907 and taking over her mother鈥檚 position as postmistress from 1907 until 1924.

On Dec. 23, 1908, Mollie married cattle rancher and sportsman John Thomas Butler. The couple began a lifelong business of hosting hunters, fishermen and tourists visiting the pristine White Mountain settlement.

Their house became the official lodge for anyone needing a bite to eat and a place to stay. Fishermen told their tall tales around Mollie鈥檚 table during the summer months, while in the fall, deer and elk hunters savored Mollie鈥檚 steaming meats and stews, bubbling vegetable dishes, fresh baked breads and an array of desserts that left diners groaning with pleasure as they bedded down for the evening.

Business boomed and before long, Mollie was dishing up 100 meals a day, all served family style. She sometimes had as many as 30 heads nodding off on her pillows at night.

At first Mollie offered food and housing at no cost to her visitors. 鈥淚t was a free lodge,鈥� she said, 鈥渨here anyone could come and stay when hunting, fishing, or vacationing. There were beds all over the place.鈥� But she did insist her guests help with the daily tasks of running the lodge. 鈥淥ne person would get wood, another water, another would do other chores.鈥�

Mollie and John had two sons: Willis was born in 1910 and Vince followed in 1913. After her sister died in 1910, Mollie brought her niece Cora to live with the family.

It was Mollie鈥檚 daughter Hannah who decided people should pay for the meals her mother so generously provided. When Hannah started asking 25垄 from each customer, no one complained. A sign eventually advertised, 鈥淢eals 25 cents, can鈥檛 pay 鈥� eat anyway.鈥� Room rates were finally added at $3 a night.

Mollie raised pigs, cows and chickens, many of which ended up on the open fire pit that seemed to be in constant use at the back of the lodge. Her root cellar held vegetables tenderly covered in straw while home-canned fruits lined nearby shelves.

Western writer Zane Gray stopped by Mollie鈥檚 place as did nature writer Stewart Edward White. Arizona Governors George W.P. Hunt and John Phillips enjoyed hunting and fishing with John Butler and relaxing around Mollie鈥檚 dinner table.

Actor John Wayne was sometimes seen in the area as was Arizona native Barry Goldwater. U.S. Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover also occasionally stopped at Butler Lodge.

As guests headed out each day sated with her famous flapjacks, eggs cooked to order and mugs of steaming coffee, Mollie might stitch up a few flour-sack dish towels for the kitchen, finish one of her braided rugs, card and wash wool or complete one of the many quilts she created.

And in the evening, it was Mollie who often initiated a game of poker with her guests to round out the day.

In 1940, 54-year-old John Butler died. Son Vince took over the Butler ranch while helping his mother at the lodge that continuously hosted as many as 150 people for Sunday dinner.

Mollie and John had been founding members of the Arizona Game Protective Association that regulated and managed fish and wildlife populations. She belonged to the Arizona Cattle Growers Association and was a member of the Arizona Cowbells. In 1938 she was elected president of the White Mountain Sportsmen鈥檚 Association.

Mollie never learned to drive a car and refused to sleep in a room with heat, preferring a corn husk mattress in a small alcove next to the laundry room. She washed her hair with homemade soap, collected rainwater and made her own lotions.

Known as the 鈥淕randmother of Greer,鈥� someone once said, Mollie 鈥渃ould ride a horse, rope a steer, brand a calf, cook a meal over a campfire, make a cheese, kill a beef, build a house, tend a baby, help a neighbor, call to your attention your faults and still look the perfect lady after these chores were done.鈥�

Mollie died July 22, 1964, at the age of 87.

Daughter Hannah and her husband, Rue Kimball, initially took over the lodge. Hannah renamed the boardinghouse from Butler Lodge to Molly Butler Lodge, not using the spelling of Mollie that was familiar to the family.

Since that time, Molly Butler Lodge has had several owners, all of whom strive to continue Mollie鈥檚 legacy. Rooms rent for a little more than $3 a night but still have the ambiance that Mollie worked so hard to establish. Steak, chicken, prime rib, trout and Hot Dang Chili are everyday items on the menu.

The Molly Butler Lodge and Restaurant proudly claims the title as the oldest continuously operated lodge in the state.