You've probably crossed the Billy Drew bridge dozens—possibly hundreds—of times. Have you ever wondered who he was?
Billy Drew was born in 1894 in Philadelphia. At age 14, he entered his father's stone cutting business. He married Emily Staines in 1917, before heading overseas to serve in World War I.
During the Depression, Drew lost both his house and his business.... He recalled "the wife was crying, the daughter was crying the children all were crying," when they learned he had lost the business and house. "But I said I wouldn't worry about it. Nobody's starved in this country yet. Even if I get a white cane and stand on a corner, we'll be OK, I said."
Golden Transcript - November 5, 1992
The family moved to Washington D.C., where he was employed as stonemason and later managed construction projects. He worked on the Library of Congress, the Archives, the Dept. of Agriculture building, the Federal Reserve, the old Supreme Court, and many other federal buildings. He was employed first by the Veterans Administration and later by the Army Corps of Engineers.
He retired in 1964. In 1968, he and Emily decided to settle in Golden. They chose a lot in Beverly Heights and built a home there. He immediately became involved in local affairs, beginning with the fight to preserve the Astor House.
He used his construction skills to benefit his new community, building the brick walkways around the Foothills Art Center, laying a brick floor at the Astor House, helping to build the gazebo at the Astor House...whatever was needed.
He was a constant attendee and commenter at City Council. As the Transcript once commented, "City Councils meetings routinely have three parts: agenda, other matters, and Billy Drew."
Here's an example of one of his campaigns:
One of these days this city will have to function without Billy Drew. But it’s not that time yet.
At age 96, he’s still showing us how it’s done. His latest? Billy arrived at city hall and plopped down a $l,OOO check.
He has been wanting lights that couldn’t be broken by vandals placed on the footbridge across Clear Creek at Illinois Street. “It’s a safety issue,” he explained.
The city reportedly said it was too expensive to keep replacing the lights that vandals routinely had been breaking. So Billy suggested unbreakable lights — unfortunately, they’re expensive. City officials suggested they might need to “take up a collection” to purchase such lights, and the first person they held their hand out to was Billy.
He suggested they research the matter and give him an estimate on the cost. He figured $2O, $3O maybe, per light. Well, the estimate recently came in: about $230 per light, with five or six needed.
That’s a hefty “collection.” And Billy worried about it for awhile. Finally he got daughter Emily to drive him over to city hall, and he made out a check.
“But I put at the bottom that it was for the bridge lights — only! I don’t want it going for anything else,” said the man who has kept a close eye on city matters for many decades.
Golden Transcript - July 23, 1991
Despite his gadfly status, he was generally well-liked by Council. At least once, they celebrated his birthday with a cake at a Council meeting.
The Transcript wrote about him frequently, reporting on his latest projects and always including his impressive age:
- Billy Drew, 85, shoots from hip - July 22, 1982
- The Transcript and I would like to join many of Billy Drew's friends today in wishing him a happy 90th birthday.... Mayor Ruth Maurer has officially proclaimed today (Tuesday) Billy Drew Day. - October 16, 1984
- Trumpets should sound. Billy Drew is going to be the grand marshal of the Buffalo Bill Days Parade (age 93) - May 10, 1988
- Billy Drew, 93, was among the Golden dignitaries who joined in welcoming the seniors traveling to Golden - July 19, 1988
- Golden resident Billy Drew, who turned 94 Oct. 16, was honored at last week's Golden City Council study session. - October 27, 1988
- Golden's Billy Drew turned 95 Monday. - October 19, 1989
- October Council ovation honors Billy Drew, now 95. - January 2, 1990
- Golden residents Billy Drew. 96, and Eugenia Mitchell, known locally as the "queen of quilters" for the quilts she sews, are honored at an October open house at the Astor House Hotel Museum Oct. 31. - January 3, 1991
- Billy Drew turns 98, gives gift to Legion - October 22, 1992
- Billy Drew dies at age 98 - November 5, 1992
Billy and Emily had three children. At the time of his death, they had 14 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.
