John Carton, left, and Ellie Butterfield pause while perusing student art during the 2007 Harvest Festival at Butterfield Youth Services. Carton retired at the beginning of 2008 after 35 years with BYS. Friends and colleagues will honor his service with a reception at BYS from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 29. (Eric Crump/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

It was Tom Butterfield's compassion, persistence and vision that got Butterfield Youth Services started, but to a great degree, the management skills John Carton brought to the team helped build the stable institution that could sustain Butterfield's mission.

Friends, family and colleagues will celebrate Carton's 35-year career at BYS Saturday, March 29, with a reception from 1 to 3 p.m. in the cafeteria at the main facility on Route WW.

Carton retired at the beginning of January.

The BYS story began in the early 1960s when Butterfield managed to gain custody of an orphan who was placed in what was then known as the state mental hospital in Marshall.

When Carton joined the staff as a social worker in 1972, Butterfield was still primarily using the same basic method, becoming a foster parent for children who needed someone to care for them.

"Basically, Tom was going to take responsibility for them and care for them for the rest of their lives," he said. "We had to begin building a system. One person cannot do it all. The organization has to have a longer life than any of its members."

Carton hadn't intended to go into social work when he arrived in mid-Missouri to attend college at Central Methodist University in Fayette -- he originally planned to become a Methodist minister -- but he became fascinated by the subjects of psychology and sociology.

After receiving his master's degree from Boston University in 1970, he returned to the area and soon landed a job as director of social services for the Missouri Training School for Girls in Chillicothe.

He was involved in the process of transforming that and other juvenile facilities from punitive, prison-like institutions to places that focused on rehabilitation, education and community integration.

"I was privileged to be part of the team that helped reverse the whole structure," he said.

He notes that the people of the state deserve credit for the transformation, too.

"If the public had not embraced community integration, we wouldn't have been able to do it," he said.

So when Carton joined BYS, his philosophy and values were a good fit with Butterfield's, plus he added the experience of working within the state bureaucracy, experience that would prove useful in helping BYS grow.

The point of obtaining grants and adding programs, though, has always been to better serve the children who need the kind of care and attention BYS provides.

BYS under Carton's leadership has found a balance between serving as a home away from home for troubled youth without becoming a replacement for their families, he said.

He acknowledges that it's difficult to measure success, given the challenges BYS children face and the number of factors that are out of the school's control.

But Carton feels certain that the successes are there. The staff does follow-up contacts with students and families, and that's where they get a clear sense of the impact the BYS experience has had.

"Success is measured in so many ways," he said. "We've been remarkably successful in the low recurrence of behavior problems."

Another measure of success, though it may not appear on a spreadsheet, is the number of students who return, sometimes many years after they've left the school.

When they do, it's like watching a family reunion, with hugs and reminiscing all around.

"We celebrate these relationships all the time," Carton said.

Carton is quick to give the staff at BYS the credit for nurturing the kind of healing relationships the children desperately need when they arrive.

"Our kids have gone through hell in their lives," he said. "But there are people here who have witnessed the good parts of their lives."

What's next for Carton? He doesn't have a big agenda, though spending more time with grandchildren, attending more Lyceum Theatre productions and doing more work on his hobby of refinishing furniture appear to be likely occupations.

"I've got no big plans. I'll just have time to do the little things more," he said.

Contact Eric Crump at marshalleditor@socket.net