2 minute read

Remembering Drew Lewis

History Spotlight by Doug Humes

Drew Lewis, the man who gave me my first job as a lawyer, had deep roots in both Marple and Newtown. He was a very successful businessman, a turnaround specialist; but also a very smart politician.

1974 election pin

Photo courtesy of Doug Humes

He ran for governor of Pennsylvania in 1974, and lost – the first time in his life he had been unsuccessful at anything he had tried.

In 1976, Drew Lewis backed Gerald Ford, the sitting president, for the Republican nomination. Ford was being challenged by Ronald Reagan, who took the unheard of act of naming, before the convention, his proposed Vice President: Senator Richard Schweiker, one of Lewis' closest friends. Many thought it was an attempt to lure Lewis and the large Pennsylvania delegation to switch their support to Reagan. But Lewis had given his word to Ford. As David Girard-DiCarlo said about him: “If Drew Lewis gave you his word, you could go to the end of the Earth with it, because it was golden.” Ford won the nomination, then lost the election to Jimmy Carter.

Drew Lewis, official portrait as Secretary of Transportation

Photo courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Transportation

But Reagan was impressed by Drew Lewis’ character, and so, in 1980, he asked Lewis to chair his Presidential campaign in Pennsylvania, and handily won the state in the fall. At that time, Lewis was the Trustee in bankruptcy of the Reading Railroad, so Reagan asked him to serve in the Cabinet, as Secretary of Transportation. Budget Director David Stockman said Drew Lewis was the guy with the best political instincts in the Reagan Cabinet.

Drew Lewis, future U.S. Secretary of Transportation!

Photo courtesy of Lewis Family / Doug Humes

When I attended Drew Lewis’ funeral in 2016, I saw on a memorial table a photo of Drew as a child, sitting in a wagon being pulled by a dog. In the background was a sign noting that Rte. 3 was just out of view. When that photo was taken, the Lewis Family lived on Church Lane in Broomall, in a house where the Broomall Manor Nursing Home now sits. Drew’s mother’s family had been in that section of Marple for a long time: Drew’s great-grandfather Jonathan F. Taylor owned the farm that stretched from Sproul Rd at Marple Presbyterian Church all the way down to Darby Creek. Drew’s father, Dr. Andrew Lindsay Lewis, Sr., was named for the doctor who delivered him, Andrew Lindsay, who is buried in the Presbyterian Church cemetery.

The Lewis family is one of the first families of Newtown Township. William Lewis, Sr., came to America from Wales with five children, to settle on a grant of land from William Penn, and they were fruitful and multiplied over the generations. Drew Lewis was the 10th generation in the line of William Lewis. During the Great Depression, Drew’s family left the area, and he never returned, eventually settling in Schwenksville, PA. His sister, Lucy Simler, was a noted historian, and authored The First One Hundred Years: Township of Marple 1684–1784. Drew’s namesake son, Andy Lewis, served as a Delaware County Councilman and is currently a Haverford Township Commissioner. When you come across these names in our history books, now you know that they have deep roots in Marple and Newtown townships.

For more history on Newtown Square, Delaware County, and membership information, please visit the Newtown Square Historical Society’s website:

www.HistoricNewtownSquare.org.

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