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1923 Board of Directors Meeting at Idylease

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MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF DIRECTORS OF IDYLEASE
THE NEWFOUNDLAND HEALTH ASSOCIATION
– No. 73 –

Held at the offices of the Association, Newfoundland, NJ
January 27, 1923

Present: Dr. D.E. Drake, Chairman
Dr. John W Draper
Mr. Stephen Harrison
Mrs Howard Place
Mr John W. Boylston
Mrs George A. Day

The call for the meeting was read by the Secretary who announced that a majority of the Directors were present.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read, corrected, approved and adopted.

The Treasurer presented a financial repair which upon motion, duly recorded, was accepted ratified and approved and ordered on file.

The President reported that the $700.00 appropriated for fare used to the employees, the sum of $525.00 had been expended.

The Chair announced that the elections of officers for the upcoming year was in order.

Mrs. Day moved that the previous officers, Dr. D.E. Drake, President, Dr John W. Draper, Vice President, Dr H.H. Cate, Treasurer and Mr. John W. Boylston, Secretary: be re-elected for a term of one year or until their successors had been elected. The resolution was seconded by Mr. Harrison and carried.

Mr. Harrison moved that Dr. D.E. Drake be appointed Medical Director for a term of one year at a salary of $5,000 per annum and that Dr. H.H. Cate be appointed Associate Physician for a term of one year at a salary of $3,000 per annum. Mr H.G Dickinson be appointed Superintendent for a term of one year at a salary of $3,000 per annum.

Motion was duly recorded and carried.

Mr. Day moved that rent of that portion of the “Day” Cottage occupied by Mr. Dickinson and the rent of the bungalow occupied by Dr. Cate be the same as in 1922 – $200 – Motion seconded by Mr. Harrison and carried.

Mr. Harrison moved that the allowances made to the Dr. Draper and his wife for board and rooms be fixed at $20 per month. Seconded by Mrs Day and carried.

The Committee on the installation of the electric lighting system reported they had received bids for wiring, switchboard, etc within the building and the lowest estimate received was was $1,500 but they had not yet completed the prices for the lower house, garage and sleeping rooms for the employees or for the generating plant.

After source discussion, Mr Day moved that the President be authorized to execute a contract for the wiring system, switchboard etc. within the building at a price not to exceed $1,500 and that the sum of $1,500 be and is hereby appropriated for that purpose. The motion was duly recorded and carried.

On motion, duly recorded, the Committee consisting of Dr. Drake, Mr. George Day and John W Boylston was instructed to report to the Board no later than March 1, 1923. Estimate the cost for a “power house”, garage and sleeping quarters.

On motion, duly recorded the meeting was adjourned subject to call.

John W. Boylston, Secretary
January 27, 1923

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John W Boylston: Architect of Idylease

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John Butler Snook Designed the Original Grand Central Terminal in NYC

John W Boylston was the architect that designed Idylease for Dr Edgar Day who was the founding member of the Newfoundland Health Association. He was born in 1852 and died at the age of 79 on April 19, 1932 in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He retired in 1927 after long association with the New York firm of J. B. Snook Sons. He was Snooks son-in-law.

Snook was responsible for the design of a number of notable cast-iron buildings, most of which are now in and around the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, as well as the original Grand Central Depot for Commodore Vanderbilt, which preceded the current Grand Central Terminal. He also designed several Vanderbilt Mansions that adorned 5th Ave for William Harry Vanderbilt.

Boylstons work was concerned chiefly with the designing of office buildings and hotels. In 1920 he became an associate of the American Institute of Architects and was affiliated with the Brooklyn Chapter.

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Idylease: What’s in a Name?

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For many years two stories have circulated about how Idylease derived its name.

Names for historic structures and landmarks give the people that live in the area a sense of place and speak to those locations and their particular place in time.

Several different explanations prevail about the naming of Idylease. Let’s first determine what is known for certain. Originally the area where Idylease is located was part of a 1,000 acre parcel that was owned by Theodore Brown who established Brown’s Hotel in Newfoundland in 1855. Dr. Edgar Day, a Brooklyn physician, along with 11 other investors built Idylease in 1902-1903. It was a place where cheerful hospitality reigned for persons “wearied or worn with the ceaseless turmoil of the city.” Originally, Idylease was planned as both a vacation spa and resort hotel.

Mention in a 1903 guidebook, yields an entry where State Rt. 23 crosses the Pequonnock River and the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, narrowing the run between the parallel Pequonnock and a shale escarpment. This is a region of small lakes off the main highway, exploited by real-estate development companies as “The Idyl A While of the East”. Did Idylease derive its name from the locale of this reference? Or… does it’s name originate from the combination of syllables that include: Idyll – “an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene, typically an idealized or unsustainable one” and Ease – “absence of difficulty or effort” as in ease of living? Somewhat of a literary romantic, it is also believed that Edgar Day named the resort after Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King,” an epic poem about Camelot and the legendary King Arthur’s court.

The background story of the naming of Idylease may never be known for certain and has probably died along with those who built the structure at the turn of the century.

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