Played semi-pro baseball in the Philadelphia area under the name of ‘Butch Kline’; ergo the nickname ‘Butch’., p. 130

The 1900 census has him being born in July 1869 instead of July 1870.

With his wife, active in the development of the Catasauqua Playground; the athletic field, Thomas Field, was named after them.

He was a burgess of Catasauqua in 1922 and served for four years.. He lived at 502 Pine St.

William R. Thomas, Jr., the president and general manager of the Wahnetah Silk Company at Catasauqua, Pa., was born in Catasauqua, Pa., July 15, 1870. Mr. Thomas was educated in the public schools and in the University of Pennsylvania, where he took a special course in chemistry.

In the year 1891 he became connected with the Wahnetah Silk Company, as assistant superintendent; and in 1896, he was made the general manager, and eleven years later, in 1907, he became the president of the company, which now employs nearly four hundred people. He was a director of the Silk Assn. of America for many years.

He was a director of the National Bank of Catasauqua and a director of the Allentown Hospital. William R. Thomas, Jr. was active in the Liberty bond sales during World War I and he was a member of the executive committee and chairman of the ways and means committee for the Welcome Home Celebration in 1919 for the returning Catasauqua servicemen. In 1928 he presented to Catasauqua a granite memorial in honor of the men and women of the community who had served in World War I. The tablet was placed on a memorial plot adjoining the American Legion Post.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are members of the Methodist Church. Socially he belongs to the Masonic Fraternity. He is a member of Porter Lodge, No 284, F. & A. M. and Catasauqua Chapter, No 278, Royal Arch Masons.

He was wedded, March 27, 1901, to Miss Minnie Milson, daughter of the late Daniel Milson of Catasauqua. They have these children: Milson T. and William R., III.

Was the owner of the George Taylor house in Catasauqua when it was sold to the Lehigh County Historical Society in 1945: Our good friend and benefactor, A. P. Steckel, negotiated with the owners of the property and made the necessary generous gift which enabled the Society to acquire the house by deed dated January 19, 1945, the granters being William R. Thomas, Jr., and his sons, D. Milson Thomas and William R. Thomas 3rd.l The interest and cooperation of Mr. Thomas and his sons was such that not only did the society acquire the house and immediately surrounding land, but the complete tract of two and a half acres, which will make possible an attractive landscaping and possibly a park area. This land is a portion

In 1915, William and Minnie Thomas began a campaign for a Catasauqua Park and Playground, secured an option to buy 12 acres of land on the Kurtz farm, which was subsequently purchased by the Yeager brothers of Allentown for building lots as the East Catasauqua Land Development Co. Regarding the land along the creek that was subject to flooding, Thomas convinced the borough and school district to exempt the land from taxes and allow a park to be created there. The Park and Playground Association was formed which raised the funds to purchase the land from the Yeagers and construct basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts and a bandshell. A lake was hand dug and water lines extended from Walnut Street to the park to provide fresh drinking water. Administrators were hired to run programs for boys and girls and fund raising to maintain programs and facilities was ongoing, including running a week-long carnival before each Labor Day to raise funds for the upcoming season. The Association managed the playground until 1930 after which a supervisor was hired to direct activities. The lake remained a problem as the water level seemed come and go, and a curfew had to be established to prevent children from potentially drowning in the lake after dark. When Mr. Thomas died, the Association deeded the park and playground to the Catasauqua School District in 1931.

Under the WPA program, the borough was able to further develop the playground and park. The creek bed was enclosed with limestone walls, an athletic field was established (the Atlas Cement Co brought crews to survey and level the land) and in 1932 the field was dedicated as Thomas field. A second WPA project resulted in the construction of the swimming pool and bathhouse which opened in 1936.
In 1938 an area was leveled for roller skating and ice skating: now the parking lot. Also under the WPA program, new playground equipment was installed. The school district operated and maintained the playground until 1936, at which time it became a shared responsibility of the school district and borough for six years. During the 60’s the state considered taking over the schools and consolidating them in county districts. Rather than risk the park ownership transferring to the county, ownership was completely transferred to the borough in 1969, except for Thomas Field. The Fuller family paid to improve the tennis courts in 1964. The borough continues to maintain and update the park and pool facilities as needed for the use of its residents.