#24 on Map

Melanie Elsner Draper was the daughter of Des Moines pioneer Max Elsner, former owner of the oldest continuous business in Des Moines, and the wife of Vernon Draper, whose grandparents Herman and Annie Draper owned and operated the Children’s Industrial Home and Training School. She was a leader of the Des Moines Historical Society and, in 1975, wrote and published the first history of Des Moines: Timber, Tides, and Tales: a History of the Des Moines Area. Melanie made the quilt square depicting her father’s greenhouse.

Max Elsner’s Greenhouse

“Max Elsner began a florist business in Zenith in 1907. He continued until 1945 when he sold to Thys Napjus. In 1981 the business was sold to Lyn Frazier, who operates it under the name ‘Zenith Holland Nursery.’ This is the oldest continuing business in the area. Originally the greenhouse was located where the Masonic Home now stands.”

—from One Hundred Years of the “Waterland” Community: A History of Des Moines, Washington