I
felt really privileged today to be invited to the 100th birthday
celebration of one of Brierley's oldest and much loved residents Eva
Draper. The event took
place in Grange House where she has been a resident for over 25
years.
Along with the
Mayor of Barnsley councillor Ken Sanderson, over 100 guests arrived
bearing gifts and to pay tribute to
the Methodist
Church's oldest serving member. A telegram from the Queen was on
show as was a congratulating card from Tony Blair, but I believe
what made Eva's day was the continuous arrival of old faces from
years gone by. One
surprise for her was the visit from the Reverend David Earl. Her son
John was on hand to greet everyone while her daughters Margaret,
Mary and Jean were ready to quench the thirst of the many visitors
Eva received.
Eva
Mary Emmerson was born on 4 Feb 1909 at Hilda Terrace, Carlton,
Barnsley.
The oldest
of 6 children (3 girls and 3 boys) her two sisters Laura and Irene
both died before their 5th birthday.
She was very
active in the Methodist Church at Carlton, and through the church
she met her husband to be Arthur Draper who at the time was an
active member of Brierley Methodist Church.
They were the
first couple to be married at Carlton Methodist Church in June 1933
when it had only just been licensed for weddings.
After their
marriage, the couple moved to 11 Co-op Cottages Brierley
where they lived together until Arthurs death in 1
960. Eva
carried on living there until 1980 when she moved into Grange House.
Eva and
Arthur were founder members of the "new" Methodist Church at
Brierley when in 1934 the Primitive Methodists church that was
situated on Cliff Lane and the Wesleyan Methodists church that
was situated behind Brierley General store joined together. Both of
them were very active members, and for around 40 years Eva was the
caretaker of the Church.
For
some years now she has been the oldest member of the congregation at
Brierley, and the longest serving member of the Women's Fellowship.
