Republican Presidential candidate Wendell Wilkie campaigned in Yonkers in 1940
By Mary Hoar, City of Yonkers Historian, President Emerita Yonkers Historical Society, recipient of the 2004 Key to History, Member of the Yonkers Landmarks Preservation Board, and President Untermyer Performing Arts Council
Monday, September 25th
September 25, 1932: Trans-Atlantic flyer Captain Lewis Yancey of Yonkers set a new world record; he reached an altitude of 21,500 feet in an autogiro, breaking the record set by Amelia Earhart (18,415 feet) the year before.
Champion Spark Plug Company purchased an autogiro in 1931 they named Miss Champion; they hired Yancey to fly it on a publicity tour around the country. Besides traveling around the US, went down to Mexico and used the unique flight characteristics of Miss Champion to aid an archaeological exploration of the Mayan pyramids. This became a publicity dream for Champion as it got international attention for its sponsorship of this research.
Tuesday, September 26th
September 26, 1932: Another truckload of Yonkers beer was stopped by police! The truck they stopped had the name of a chain store on it and contained 100 barrels of “good stuff” estimated to be worth $1,800. The driver, an unnamed Yonkers man, was held in $1000 bail.
September 26, 1932: An application for permission to knock down the Hollywood Inn was filed in City Hall, spelling the end of the well-known Yonkers landmark.
September 26, 1942: Yonkers Mayor Benjamin Barnes urged the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society to give the canons on the grounds of historic Philipse Manor Hall to the nation’s scrap drive; the Society maintained the Manor Hall as a state museum. He added he believed the cannons in our city’s parks should be donated to the cause.
Wednesday, September 27th
September 27, 1946: Mrs. Warren Spooner, Chairman of Yonkers Women’s Celebration of the Tercentennial, reported meeting with Nettie Onderdonk and Emily Onderdonk Vinal at the Caryl Avenue Apartment. The two women claimed to be direct descendants of Adriaen and Mary van der Donck, who were the first Europeans to settle in Yonkers. The two were unable to participate in the celebration because of ill health; they previously had lived in Lincoln Park until they moved to Caryl Avenue.
Thursday, September 28th
September 28, 1940: Presidential candidate Wendell Wilkie campaigned in Yonkers. Empire City Raceway was prepared for 100,000 people to attend a Republican State Convention rally for Wendell Wilkie. They provided parking facilities for 15,000 cars and 28,000 reserved seats. Additional temporary seating would be placed on the lawn. Members of the Young Women’s Republican Club of Westchester assisted, acting as uniformed Wilkiettes. The State Convention took place at the County Center, and other events took place around the county.
September 28, 1950: Max Alth of Riverdale Avenue wrote an article published in the American Home Magazine; the article compared Halloween here in Yonkers before the PAL Ragamuffin Parade with the celebrations since that tradition started. He claimed the number of police calls, brush fires, false alarms and other incidents of vandalism dropped substantially and noted that the 1949 Ragamuffin Parade had 11,000 children participating, with 70,000 spectators along the parade route.
Friday, September 29th
September 29, 1942: Constance Bennett, Hollywood screen star and former Park Hill resident, returned to Yonkers in the “Stars Over America” musical show presented in Larkin Plaza. Billed as a “Homecoming Day” for Miss Bennett, the program brought several other well-known entertainers to Yonkers as part of a major bond rally. Every person who bought a $100 bond received an autographed photo of Bennett; admission to the show was by purchase of a War Saving Stamp of any size.
Unfortunately, she was not able to visit her former home at 179 Park Hill Avenue. The current owner, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executive William Orr, was out of town on business; he had purchased the home four years earlier after viewing it. Orr appreciated the “high stage and screen traditions” of the home, once the home not only of Constance Bennett, but also of her sisters Joan and Barbara and their famous actor father Richard Bennett.
Saturday, September 30th
September 30, 1918: Deutchman Brothers, owners of the Yonkers Waist Company on Prospect Street, increased bonus system they had adopted. They doubled the bonus from 5% to 10% and would pay it weekly instead of quarterly. The company had recently doubled the size of their plant, and claimed their employees received wages as high as New York City workers. They had a well-lit and clean plant, started new employees at a fair wage, the “best of care would be taken of them after they went to work,” and were promised advancement according to ability. They also claimed the work was light and was “in no way is it hard or unhealthy.
September 30, 1918: More than 60 soldiers contracted Spanish influenza at the new State Armory on North Broadway during the past week. Mrs. Ten Eyck, head of the Yonkers branch of the Red Cross, had to obtain nurses for the armory to care for the soldiers.
Sunday, October 1st
October 1, 1910: Officer Thomas McCaul fired two shots and caught a man attempting to enter the home of world-famous actor Jefferson DeAngelis at 69 Sunnyside Drive. Assemblyman George Rigby, Alanson Prim and Arthur Lawrence, neighbors of the noted actor, joined in the chase of the miscreant.
DeAngelis was a 19th-20th century stage actor who specialized in comedy and acrobatic clowning He achieved fame in vaudeville and on Broadway. One of his better-known performances was in the hit 1927 Broadway play “The Royal Family” by Edna Ferber. He occasionally appeared in short silent films. De Angelis wrote his autobiography in 1931 titled A Vagabond Trouper with Alvin E. Harlow.
Questions or comments? Email YonkersHistory1646@gmail.com.For information on the Yonkers Historical Society, Sherwood House and upcoming events, please visit our website www.yonkershistoricalsociety.org, call 914-961-8940 or email info@yonkershistoricalsociety.org
