the top of Saltbox Hill where it happened, to the Clarence "Cob" Barrows house at 117 Freedom Street (one of the Seven Sisters) to use his telephone to call a doctor and the police. Mr. Barrows was the only one on the street who had a phone. He was a boss in Drapers. John Cembruch, May 2013. The "Other Drapers" Small ponds near the dump Draper Menu Memories Menu HOME |
Dan, Remember the area well . If you're going up Saltbox, just before you got to the top of the hill, there was a dirt road on your right going into the woods. The first hut built there where Draper got shot was on the right. Through the years several other cottages were built and later they got electricity . That dirt road, if you followed it for a mile or so, came out to where the stone lookout still stands today. If you remember Doug Wells Jr .who was custodian of the High School for years lived there and his father lived on Progress Street after WWII. On Saltbox going toward Mendon on top of the hill there was nothing but woods. Someone bought a couple of acres and bought two modular bungalows from the government and rebuilt them there. I think they might still be there. The reason my brother's name never showed up in the paper was when he left and ran down to the Seven Sisters to make a call, so many people inundated Saltbox Hill that the police stopped all the people from going up there and he was one of the ones in the crowd. John Cembruch, 2013 |
This is the only article where I've seen the name given as Dorwin instead of Darwin. I'd say it must be an error.. |
Hi Dan, Another great Hopedale History edition. Thanks. I was intrigued about the Darwin Draper story. The article lists him as living at 28 Prospect Street, with the accident occurring "at a cabin on the back road to Mendon." Back in 1980 I bought the former home of George Draper on 200 Freedom Street, and lived there until I built my 4 Western Ave. home in the "back yard" in 1990. I had to tear down an old hunting cabin on the property at the time. I know there were several cabins in the area, but I wonder if that was the cabin where the accident occurred? Probably not, but it was weird that George Draper owned the home originally. Johnny Johnson owns it now. I saw lots of Draper lumber in the construction of the home, which I had heard he built. I heard he was a worker at the plant, and took lots of stuff to build the home. There are even old railroad tracks supporting the fireplace
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