The Ingenuity of Dean Button

12-10-25

Submitted by Kimberly Grace
A historical perspective of Dan Graham’s photo of the “Portable” Porta-Potty (Susquehanna County scenes) in the December 3rd edition of the Independent. This is the inventive work of the late Dean Button, of Montrose.
Many area horse families were part of the Endless Mountains Riding Club (EMRC) during the 1970s and throughout the early 1990s. Every year EMRC hosted horse shows at the Fairgrounds above Lake Avenue in Montrose. Dean was an instrumental member and office holder of the club working in every capacity to support the organization.
Dean planned, designed and built the “Portable” Porta-Potty at his family’s working horse farm off McCollum Road, just outside of Montrose. He was responsible for the unsavory tasks of all things porta-potty: transporting back and forth from the Fairgrounds, emptying and maintenance.
As a testament to his ingenuity, Dean was a founding maker of a hydraulic cattle trimming ‘table’ that he designed and built in the 1970s. Some older folks may remember Dean as a cattle trimmer for Sire Power and area dairy and beef farms. He also went to blacksmithing school in Oklahoma and worked as a farrier for horses. Without formal engineering education, he was able to design and build countless ingenious devices, equipment, apparatus, and complicated mechanisms.
Dean was a man of remarkable skill, resilience and drive, a trait that he instilled in both his daughters- Beth Button and Amy Button McKeeby. He was the husband of Sally McLaughlin Button. Dean passed in 1983.