Finding Zeb Part 1

The story of real-life legend, Zeb Butterfield

ELY, Minn. – What is a legend? A tall tale? A myth?

Does it have to be a story about King Arthur or Paul Bunyan, or can a legend be real?

I think we all know someone who’s larger than life; someone who everyone’s got a story about.

I have a friend like that. His name is Zeb.

“There’s this feeling with Zeb that his presence is known. His presence is known right here,” explained Zeb’s former music teacher, David Rankila. “Every time you think about Zeb you think he’s just right there.”

“There’s always been something about Zeb that– he has an aura to him that you just can’t help but love him,” said Zeb’s mom, Candy Butterfield.

Zeb’s legend seems to grow with every tale I hear; folklore in which reality and fiction are hard to tell apart.

When I asked people to tell me about Zeb, I got a lot of answers:

“Me about eight inches taller, masculine.”

“He’s got probably two to three inch long hairs on his shoulder that lay flat, kind of like a wolf man.”

“He’s like a mystic god or something, just really strange.”

“They would make him shave halfway through his shift because you can’t have a beard when you’re working at McDonald’s.”

“His very first word was s**t. In context.”

“He shot my hand.”

After you’ve sifted through the stories, maybe the most remarkable think to learn about Zeb is that he’s a real person.

I’m from Northern Wisconsin. The kind of town where everybody knows everybody else. I was the kid running around everywhere with a video camera, making movies and writing plays. One of my biggest collaborators was Zeb Butterfield.

Since then, we’ve drifted apart, separated by an hours-long car ride.

I set out to find Zeb but, before I did, I wanted to learn what’s so special about him? Why does everyone in town have a Zeb story?

David Rankila (Rank) was our music teacher. He’s the kind of guy who can remember every one of his students.

“That’s the main thing is to make the kids better people and I hope I did that because I’ve worked with some of the best kids I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Rankila.

Zeb is one of Rank’s favorite students to talk about.

“He needed an outlet,” explained Rankila. “Some people do the sports and all of this and writing and so on but Zeb was just one of those people that you really liked being around.”

Music was always a part of Zeb’s life.

“We’ve always had a guitar around the house,” said Zeb’s mom, Candy Butterfield. “Music is a part of our family.”

Candy was there when Zeb, his brother Jake, and I made videos.

“I always had a band in my basement and I always had movies being made in the backyard and things like that, that’s just always been something they enjoyed and did well,” said Candy.

She knew we all had potential, but recognized Zeb’s special ability.

“When he does decide to do something, when he does choose to do something, he does it well and he does it with all his heart,” said Candy.

His talent presents itself in many ways, but especially in his amazing musical gift.

“People can learn to play music and Zeb cheats, he can just do it naturally,” said Candy.

With every strum of a guitar or strike of a keyboard, Zeb made a connection.

“He’s not an outgoing, obnoxious type of a person but whatever comes out of his mouth has meaning and he speaks to people,” said Candy.

Stories of Zeb’s legend rarely include insight like that. They miss the personal quality that made Zeb a special person to begin with.

“Even though we meshed well and enjoyed playing guitar with each other and doing comedy stuff with each other, I knew we wouldn’t go down the same paths in life,” said Zeb’s older brother, Jake Butterfield.

“He would go off for hours into the woods. If we were able to go back to the house we grew up in, I could show you where he would have little tepees in the woods he would build. He’d spend hours there, sometimes we weren’t sure if he was coming home because he loved the woods and he loved living in the woods,” added Jake.

According to his family, Zeb has moved into the woods permanently now, in a cabin off of the Echo Trail near Ely, Minnesota.

“When I found out that he was living in a log cabin without running water, I was shocked for about three seconds and then I was like ‘oh yeah, that makes sense.'” said Jake.

It’s a lifestyle you probably wouldn’t understand, unless you know Zeb.

“At this point he’s very happy, he’s very content, he’s moving forward with his music and I like to see him in the place he’s at right now,” added Candy.

For me to fully understand who Zeb is now, where he is, what he’s learned, I had to find him and learn from the man himself.

Only then could I understand the living legend and separate myth from reality.