Messenger - Vol. 1, No. 3, Page 2 Spring 1992 Inspired by President Taft, Chaplin Tyler sets wonderful example Chaplin Tyler of Hockessin, 94, who recently donated $2 million to the University's College of Business and Economics, has lots of energy and the mental acuity of someone half his age. He chooses to conduct a two-hour interview standing up. "Would you like to sit down, Mr.Tyler?" a reporter keeps asking. "Oh here, let me tell you about this," he responds, darting across the room to point out another interesting memento of his full life. Hanging on the walls of his cottage at Cokesbury Village, which he shares with his second wife, Elizabeth, are several of his paintings. "A relative taught me to sketch and you know that's much better than paying someone to teach you. If you hire a professional, they'll keep flattering you to get your business. My brother-in-law would come right out at times and tell me, 'That stinks.' Now, that's the way to learn." Another hobby is woodworking, and there are generous mahogany shelves that Tyler built in their foyer. Among the projects he has completed since moving to the cottage 12 years ago are enclosing the kitchen, building a weather enclosure off the outside entranceway to keep snow from the front door and putting an addition on the back of the house to hold his gardening tools. His gardening is done at the side and back of the house where he has planted apple, peach and pear trees, grape vines and raspberries. Tyler has lived continuously in Wilmington since 1927, working for the Du Pont Co. except during the war years when he was transferred to Remington Arms in Connecticut. "I organized the public relations and it was a big job. Before the war, the plant employed 4,000 people. During the war it expanded to 88,000. We knew by the kind of orders we'd get (from the government) what was going to happen in the war." Tyler and his late wife Harriet lived most of their lives in Westmoreland, south of the Greenhill Golf Course. They retired to the Devon Apartments, but when the apartments went condo, the couple moved to Cokesbury, which at that time was 2 years old. Harriet, his wife of 63 years, died at Cokesbury, and Tyler married his second wife, Elizabeth, two years ago. Tyler was born in Washington, D.C., and went to schools there. His parents were separated, and his mother supported the family working as a librarian at the Library of Congress. As a boy he sang in the choir at Saint John's on Lafayette Square, which he said was "attended by very prominent politicians. "From our perch in the choir loft, we were very observant-especially when they passed the collection plate. Whenever we heard a tinkle, we knew someone had put in a coin and that was the sign of a real cheapskate. "One Sunday, President Taft was at the service. Money back then was a huge piece of paper, not the size it is today, and it was the custom for people to fold it very small to put it in the collection plate so no one could see the denomination. People then were very modest. "Well, did our eyes get big when we saw the President pull out a $5 bill, which would be about $150 today, and spread it over the top of the collection plate like the cover over a dish of food. "I thought he was showing off, but my choir mate said, no, he was shaming all the other people who were folding up smaller bills. By giving that much, he was really setting a wonderful example." Chap and Elizabeth Tyler each have eight grandsons. Some of her family lives in Australia, and she visits as often as as she can. At home, they walk together and he enjoys listening to her play the organ. For the past l0 years, he also has been working on a book dealing with "the middle career of young people who go into business." "It's a success book, but it's not inspirational. The whole idea is to inform young people from, say, the age of 22, until they are about to make it big, at about age 45. The information is presented in such a way as to assist them in their careers." In the book, Tyler advances the theory that, because senior managerial positions in business are limited in number, there should be a system of promotion and rewards for "people who are creative, people who create ideas and concepts. After all, if it weren't for the creative people, there wouldn't be anything to manage." In the future,Tyler is looking forward to teaching a few classes in the College of Business and Economics as a guest lecturer. "I think I could answer questions about almost anything. After all, I was on the payroll for 60 years. If I didn't learn enough to answer questions in that amount of time I'd be in bad shape! "I told them I don't hear very well, but they told me it's the students who would have to hear me. I think that would be alright." -Beth Thomas