Men's Friendship and Talents Continue 142-Year-Old House

By Jacob Schaad Jr. WEST CAPE MAY - Parlaying a friendship of long standing with their indivjdual skills, three ambitious men here are continuing the historical significance of a M2 year old mansion while embarking > upon a new venture in their lives. Almost 11 years ago Dean Kj-umrme, Richard Flynn and Charles McDonald pur chased what is known as the Wilbraham Mansion at 133 Myrtle Avenue, where that road branches off from West Perry Street The 22 room structure was virtually vacant and Ipoked "half Victorian " Since then, the men have spent countless days and nights redecorating the house and acquiring appropriate Victorian fur niture They have taken up permanent residence there and the house fs now one of the showcases of Cape May County, attracting some 3.000 tourists a year 'i AS IF THAT weren't enough, a year ago the trio bought the 20 room house next door at 127 Myrtle Avenue, formerly owned by Dr Albert Stevens, and have converted it into a bed and breakfast guest house which is opening this month Originally from Maryland and Pennsylvania. Khimrine. Flynn and McDonald, who sound like a law firm but are not. are adopted residents of Cape May County, having come here for years and having met at social events When they sa*- the Wilbraham house and decided to buy it. their friendship was cemented "At the beginning we had no idea the house would turn out the way it did." said Krumrme "We certainly didn't expect to foe conducting tours here and to have people calling us for tour appointments " Before they took on the venture. Krumrme was in personal work. Flynn was in the wholesale fabric* and wallpaper business and McDonald was a supply officer for the Navy Krumrine is from the town of „ Northeast. Md , Flynn from

ington. Delaware, the original homes of the current owners, a small segment from the Wilbraham Mansion and. yes. even from a Broadway show. The show biz celebrity of sorts is a caged red parrot named "Saratoga," presently kept in the indoor porch. It is usually a

» (Photos by Doris Ward)

I.IVIM; ROOM of Wilbraham Mansion features original English wool carpeting and IH60 copper chandelier from John Wilhraham's home in Philadelphia. In dining room photo is shown 1H7S English mahogany table capable of seating 24 when extended. Chairs are

from Cape May's old Lafayette Hotel. They are circa 1910.

Philadelphia and McDonald from Elklon. noisy grwlcr to (ho visitors. Sometimos it Md ' . says "Hello." Most of the time it just THE STORY OF the Wilbraham Man- ‘ squawks The parrot appeared in the sioh;began modestly enough when it was Broadway musical. "«o»-o»tyuo Trunk

sonally research the question at every bar in Wilmington, Delaware. Volunteers are

welcome, however.

The first floor living room features original English wool carpeting. The 1860 copper chandelier is from Wilbraham's home in Philadelphia. He brought it to West Cape May in4900. It was subsequently sold to an antique dealer and the current owners completed the cifeuitous route by buying it back for the hous'e in which it once illuminate^ toy gaslight. The living room also contains an 1880 sofa that belonged to thj^original house, an 1870 desk purchased ij^Cape May Point, an 1890 Packard organ from Indiana. The dining room is highlighted by an 1875 English mahogany table capable of seating 24 when extended. There are occasions. the owners popt out. when the table is used to its fulletet.XThe table came from Cape May’s Barojiet House before it was converted to corwominiums and the 1910 chairs were t purchased from the old Iwafayette Hotel ttefoKi it was torn down. A 1905 painting of a Woman, dn display in the foyer, also comes^from the Lafayette On the second''floor there are eight bedrooms anafour more on the third floor. The showpiece in the master bedroom is a shiny brasfl bedythat looks like it has barbells holding'ft together at the foot and ^at the head. It was purchased from an antique dealer in Delaware. ANOTHER BEDROOM SET was owned by a Roumanian countess who bequeathed

it to an Episcopal rector. It eventually fell into the hands of an antique dealer from whom the current owners purchased it. The oldest piece of furniture in the house is a 1770, nine drawer Lancaster County high boy which came from McDonald’s family. While the house is mostly Victorian, there is one big deviation in the backyard. Last year the three men started building a swimming pool. 17 by 35 feet, which is being used for the first time this summer. Save for the masonry, most of the work

they did themselves.

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Is the house used for more than a showplacd? Flynn •emphasizes that it definitely is. "When our relatives come with their nieces and nephews, every room is in use." he says. A few years ago a wedding was held in the lawn gazebo and the 20 or so members of the wedding party stayed overnight at Wilbraham Mansion. The house is not used for public overnight guests, however - Krumrine, Flynn and McDonald prefer to keep it on the list of tour homes and want to concentrate now on their newly acquired guest house next door.

built in 1840 as a simple farm house by Judith Hughes, a Mayflower descendant Sixty yeprs later, at the arrival of the 20th century. Philadelphia industrialist John W. Wilbraham purchased the house and "Victorianized" it by adding a wing, rooms and bay windows Wilbraham. who died in 1922. had a private railroad car which stopped at the back door of the mansion, the tracks into Cape May then running adjacent to (he house The iron fence in front of the mansion is a Wilbraham original, the iron coming from his foundry in Philadelphia The land for the park opposite the house was donated by him to West Cape May and is named in Wilbraham's honor After his death, the property stayed in his family's hands until it was purchased by the current owners in 1971. The contents of the house represent collections ‘from various sources, antique shops, auctiohs. the first bar of Wilm-

6/JULY 14. 1982

'Saratoga Trunk.

and was carried on stage by Carol Lawrence. The 27-year-old parrot, given to the owners by friends, has had a longer run in the Wilbraham Mansion than in the Broadway show which flopped after two months The owners keep the parrot because it was a popular pet of the Vic-

torian Era.

MIRRORS ARE BIO in the Wilbraham Mansion In the first floor foyer, for instance, one mirror, resting on a marble mantle, is eight feet high and six feet wide. Two others, described as Pier mirrors, are 12 feet tall Another in the dining room matches the eight foot tall foyer mirror. On the second floor is a nine foot high mirror purchased at an auction represented to be from the first tavei Wilmington's history. The owners w< like to find out what that tavern is. bu not have the time or inclination to.