WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1976, PAGE 7 Whitby lv BrÃan Winter CHESTER DRAPER One of Whitby's most beautiful early homes is this la brick residence on Centre Street South at Keith Str Although the veranda which once surrounded the house three sides has been gone for 50 years, it still retains so of its stately grandeur. Historical Society Much of -the history of this home. is surrounded in mystery. It is believed to have been built about 1855 by James Wallace, a prominent contractor in the town, who may have lived in it at one time. But from the 1850s until his death on Dec.· 16, 1876, it was the home of Chester Draper, the owner of Whitly harbor, a shrewd businessman who was something of a philanthropist, and a member of the town council for many years. Mr. Draper was born in Clarke Township near the village of Newtonville in August 1823. About 1843 he came to Whitby and was employed by Peter Perry as a clerk in one of his stores. He eventually became manager of Mr. Perry's store at the site of the present village of Port Perry. Mr. Draper made many business connections, particularly as a grain buyer on the Whitby market, and was known as a promoter of many speculative ventures. In 1863 the governnment of Ontario put the Whitby harbor up for sale and it was purchased by Mr. Draper, and Joseph Gould of Uxbridge. Until 1865 the two men operated a partnership which included the road to the harbor, now known as Brock Street, but that year the partnership dissolved and Mr. Draper, became sole owner of the harbor and Mr. Gould took control of the road. rge eet. on mne wants more members . Growth of membership is the main objective for Florence Heard, the new president of the Whitby Historical Society. After being installed as president at the annual meeting last week, Miss Heard said she would like to see the membership grow and more young people join the histori- cal society. The membership in the historical society reached the 100 mark last year. Miss Heard succeeds Phillip Lakas, who served as president of the Whitby and Oshawa Historical Societies for the past two years. Members of the 1976 executive of the historical society are; Florence Heard, president; Margaret Kennedy, first vice-president; Mrs. William Underwood, second Words fron1 WestLyne by Norm Mealing Well, here we are, back again, for another week. For a while there it looked very much like our "brass monkey" was going to thaw out, but, alas, the poor fellow is frozen all over once again. Last week, I reported on a meeting to be held tonight concerning the County Town Carnival. I repeat it here again today. That's tonight, February 4th, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Centennial Building. Last Thursday night, the West Lynde Community Association held a general meeting at the West Lynde Public School. Over '125 members of the Association- attended the meeting, and heard the following news. The Association by-laws were amended to allow any member to stand for election to.the office of President. Previously, the President had to have served as a member of the Association executive in order to be eligible to be President. The Auditor's report was read, and the books of the Association were found to be in order. The account stood at $1,200 at the .end of December, 1975. Finally, the nominating committee for the March Executive elections was formed. Pat Baxter, Sharon Owens, Al Finnegan, and Eric Laycock are the members of the· Committee. On the subject of the elections, I think that this year, more than the two previous years, the executive elections are crucial. The Association is now 2½ years old and, in its brief period of existance, it has been involved in a number of things. It has run numerous dances which have been extremely well-attended, held two family days which were tremendous successes, and its sponsoring of Santa's visits, and other Christmas events have provided a great deal of enjoyment. It has also been heavily political getting into disputes with governments over highrises and assessments. On this front, its level of success has been open to debate. I think that the candidates and members of the Association have a fundamental decision or two to make on the nature and intent of the W.L.C.A. And fIthink this year is the year those decisions have to be made. The Fifth Whitby Cubs and Scouts will not be having any more paper drives. The company who purchased the paper from the Scouts are moving their operation to another area. The Fifth Whitby wish them well, and would like to thank them for their cooperation. They would also like to thank the people of Whitby and, specifically, the people of West Lynde for their past support in this fund-raising venture. The Fifth Whitby Troop will be planning new projects to raise funds, and they look forward to our continued support of their efforts. That's it for this week. Don't forget the'Warriors are at home on Saturday rright against the defending Allan Cup Champion Thunder Bay Twins. Bye for now! Mr. Draper was a director and a large stockholder in the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway and the Ontario Ladies' College, when they were founded in the early 1970s, and was the chief promoter of the Ontario Central Railway, a project which never got past the drawing board. Mr. Draper was also involved in negotiations to bring industrial development to Whitby, but was known to be very secretive in his business and personal dealings. He was also known to have used his considerable fortune to aid vice-president; Mildred Price, secretary; Mrs. Norman Cormack, treasurer; and Phillip Lakas, Ben Bracken- bury, Earl Pascoe, Sani Stuart, Art Robertson, and Brian Winter, directors. The next regular meeting of the historical society will be at 8 p.m. Feb. 24 at Fairview Lodge. Anyone interested in beconing a member is asked to call Mrs. Jack Wilson, 427 Green Stree t, 668-3715. Godfrey speaks at Ajax. Monday Durham West MPP Dr. Charles Godfrey will be the guest speaker at a general meeting of the Durham West NDP Association Monday at Ajax. The meeting, at 8 p.m. in the UAW Hall on Hunt Street, is being called for the election of the 1976 executive. Anyone interested is invited to attend. public causes, but never sought publicity 'or the work lie did. Mr. Draper contributed a large surn of oney to the building of the Methodist Tabernacle, now St. Mark's United Church, which was completed in September of 1876. On the evening of Dec. 11, )876, while conducting a missionary meeting in this church, he suffered a stroke, and died five days later. In his early years Mr. Draper was an ardent politician, but, although he could have been nominated to represent the Reform party, he was not one that could be relied upon to always support the party platform. His obituary states that he learned early that the Reformers indulged in "ways that were dark and tricks that were vain". Although party politics were not to Mr. Draper's liking, he had a long career in municipal politics, being deputy reeve of Whitby in 1859 and a member of the town council from 1859 to 1861, 1867 to 1870 and 1874. Upon his death at the age of 53, Mr. Draper left an estate* of between $80,000 to $120,000, the most valuable portion being the lands at Whitby Harbor the grain elevator he built there in 1867. The executors of his estate put the harbor up for sale in 1879, and the Town of Whitby had an opportunity to purchase it. The town, however, was hesitant to commit itself to such a large expenditure, and the harbor was sold to Galbraith and McClellan of Bowmanville. An interesting sideliht on Mr. Draper is that he was the uncle of a little girl named Georgina Campbell, who used to visit him at his large horne. The Campbell family was poor and had to go to Buffalo in the 1870s to seek there fortune. There Miss Campbell started a career in the theatre, and became known as May Irwin, one of the most famous commediennes on Broadway, in the 1890s. Open 7 d4~s a week Maple Leaf RESTAURANT 120 BROCK ST. M. WHIlTBY - TEL.: 68-9461 Delicious Canadion ond Itlaion Dishes Operate In Top qEWIM Form ... Whatever forms you need for your business... bills, ledgers, labels, work sheets, envelopes, letterheads, file cards. . count on us for expert help. We'll be happy to give you suggestions. M.B.M. Publishing & Photography Inc. 121 Brock St. N. Whitby 668-6111 a