1905 postcard of St. John’s Protestant Episcopal Church in Getty Square.
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, February 19th
February 19, 1944: Staff Sergeant Robert Gilmartin finally was home with his parents on Hayward Street! The ball turret gunner’s plane was shot down while on a bombing mission over Greece December 1943; listed as “missing in action,” the War Department sent his family a telegram early January. His parents didn’t hear another word until Robert wired them he was on his way home.
His plane had been hit by German anti-aircraft fire yet managed to stay up for 30 minutes while Nazi planes flew around it. The crew bailed when the aircraft caught fire. The crew landed safely, ditched their parachutes and ran. They were hidden by the Greek Underground for two weeks while their safe passage to Italy was arranged. This Gorton High School graduate had participated in 22 combat missions in African and Italian campaigns… and was very happy to be back in Yonkers.
Tuesday, February 20th
February 20, 1885: Tapestry workers at the Smith Carpet Factory walked out in support of female workers fired for joining the Knights of Labor, and Smith shut the factory down. At the start of the strike, only two dozen workers were union members. The unit was so enraged the “little girls” were fired, by the end of the strike almost 100% of the tapestry workers had joined the Knights of Labor.
February 20, 1942: Rumors swirled as Supervisor John Sechny reported for his preliminary Selective Service Physical with the expectation he would be classified 1-A for immediate induction. People had many questions: Would he resign as Supervisor, or could he keep the position and collect his salary? Could he be reelected to the Board of Supervisors while in the service? Would a special election be held for Fifth War Supervisor? Would someone be appointed to serve the district? Yonkers wanted their questions answered, especially since Councilman Al Richter was scheduled for his preliminary exam.
Wednesday, February 21st
February 21, 1937: Mayor Joseph Loehr signed the bill amending the Yonkers Anti-Handbill Law, allowing unions to distribute literature on the streets of Yonkers.
February 21, 1944: Yonkers War Salvage Committee reported Yonkers School Third Paper Day had contributed 61,405 pounds of paper salvage; all this wastepaper would be recycled into war equipment.
Thursday, February 22nd
February 22, 1926: A large crowd filled St. John’s Episcopal Church for its annual DAR service commemorating George Washington’s birthday; former West Point Chaplain Percy Silver was the principal speaker.
March 22, 1933: More than 4,000 people toured the new Genung’s Store in Yonkers during their 3 hour “Pre-opening” evening open house. Although no sales could be made, the enthusiast visitors asked sales staff many questions about the merchandise. The store also held a private two-hour reception attended by Yonkers officials and better-known citizens.
Friday, February 23rd
February 23, 1942: Industrial Arts students at Franklin, Hawthorne, Longfellow and Mark Twain Junior High Schools and Roosevelt High School began making scale model warplanes to be used by the Army and Navy. Yonkers schools were given a quota; they had to make twelve sets of fifty different types of warplanes being used in the war. Plans for the planes did not arrive, so the first models were made from plans they found in books.
February 23, 1944: Carmela Topazio pled guilty for tampering with records and files of three Yonkers Draft Boards, and was released on bail. Judge Vincent Leibell requested a probation report be prepared. The FBI initiated the investigation, charging she destroyed documents and removed the files of her future husband and her brother-in-law. Topazio was arrested one month after her wedding and faced a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Saturday, February 24th
February 24, 1927: The Chamber of Commerce joined with Yonkers Rotary, Yonkers Lions, South Yonkers Board of Trade, Yonkers Real Estate Board, and the Yonkers Merchants Association to hold Yonkers’ first Civic Harmony Dinner at the Elks’ Club; attendance was confined to men.
February 24, 1947: The Regional Plan Association for the tri-state area proposed two new airports to serve Yonkers residents. As they predicted approximate 20,000 privately owned planes would be in use in the area. One airport would not be in Yonkers, but in the Town of Greenburgh because appropriate land was not available. A second smaller field would be in Yonkers, on County owned property such as the Sprain Brook Golf Course.
Sunday, February 25th
February 25, 1906: Eleven boys were arraigned in City Court on charges of malicious mischief. NY Central Detectives accused them of planting small torpedoes under trains on the Hudson Line to steal rides. The boys, who confessed, put firecrackers on the tracks. When an engineer heard noise when the train hit the firecrackers, he slowed the train down and the boys jumped on. Some days they traveled as far as Poughkeepsie.
February 25, 1944: Three children from Woodworth Avenue returned home after scaring the life out of their parents. The three, eight-year-old Hugh Powers, eight-year-old Ruth Barrett and her nine-year-old brother Edwin, had left home three pm the day before to “join the army!” They headed to the Glenwood Train Station but became cold and tired waiting. They sheltered in a a Glenwood Gardens apartment building lobby and fell asleep. When they woke up in the morning, they were hungry, so went back home to eat!
Parents, relatives and Yonkers Police searched for them throughout the night. According to Yonkers Police, the trio “would not be joining the army anytime soon.”
Questions or comments on this column? 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.
