Misc. Notes
Misc. Notes
Donald first came to Bayfield at age 2 years in 1918.
®7003 On 1 January 1920 Donald Chape was 3 years and 3 months old and lived with his married mother, Mary Chape, 22, at his grandparent’s house, John and Anna Brown, on Sixth Street in Bayfield, Wisconsin.
®9883 On 1 April 1930 he was 13 years old and lived with his mother, Mary Olive Chape, 37, and grandmother, Martha Chape, 74, on Sixth Street in Bayfield, Wisconsin.
®9872 He then transferred and finished high school in Chicago, Illinois in 1934. During 1935, he played basketball with the Bayfield Blackhawks, a barnstorming team that competed against other towns. They finished the season with a record of 19-3. During the next five years, he was away from the Bayfield area, and was employed in Flint, Michigan and then in Texas. Donald returned to Bayfield in 1940, and took charge of the town’s recreational programs.
®7003 He enlisted in 1942 in the US Navy in World War II.
®4465 In 1943 he became a Seabee, first serving in North Africa and later in the Aleutian Islands. He was discharged in 1945 with the rate of Petty Officer (SK2) After his discharge, he served as Commander of the American Legion both on the local and District levels. Also in the late 1940’s he attended Northland College, and while attending school, was a ski instructor at Mount Ashwabay, located just outside of Bayfield. During October 1951, Donald became acting Postmaster of Bayfield, an appointment that became permanent in 1953. After becoming Postmaster, he became active in several postal organizations, and served as President of the Wisconsin Postmaster’s Association. He fought for and saw become a reality, a new Bayfield Post Office, dedicated 21 Feb. 1970.
®7003 He died at age 61.
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