Postcard of the Yonkers Jewish Community Center, (JCC)
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, May 6th
May 6, 1944: Phelps Dodge announced it was rushing work on the former National Sugar Refinery, foot of Main Street, to convert it into the fourth Yonkers’ Habirshaw Cable and Wire subsidiary. Besides the main plant at Point Street, they had the McLean Avenue unit (by Pelton) and the bare wire plant on Saw Mill River Road.
May 6, 1944: Helen Friberg, Executive Vice Chairman of the Red Cross War Fund, announced the generosity of Yonkers Public Schools pushed the fund total to $158,000! She thanked students “for doing a splendid job on the scrap paper salvage drive as part of their war efforts.”
Tuesday, May 7th
May 7, 1943: Aranya Smart, Women’s Chair of the Yonkers War Saving Staff, announced school children surpassed their original goal of “buying” a fleet of Army jeeps; they sold enough bonds to “buy” six fleets! Yonkers’ total school bond sales of $560,200 was enough to purchase more than 600 jeeps. Leading the campaign was St. Casimir’s with bond purchases of $45,000; School 21 was second with bond sales of $36,000. Eight other school topped $20,000 in bond sales.
May 7, 1943: Thousands visited Larkin Plaza to view a Japanese two-person submarine captured on Oahu where it was grounded during Pearl Harbor. It was the first “Pacific war zone trophy” brought to Yonkers and was part of a bond drive. The drive was extremely successful because of the generosity of John Lewis of Ardsley, who purchased a $100 bond for every $25 bond sold that afternoon.
Wednesday, May 8th
May 8, 1944: Twenty Sarah Lawrence College students began a work-study course on “The Industrial Problems in Wartime” during the summer session. Student’s requirements each week were to work three nights in a local war plant and attend two lectures taught by faculty member Amy Hewes.
May 8, 1952: Refined Syrups and Sugars announced the development of Dextran, created at Refined Syrups and Sugars on our Yonkers riverfront! Dextran was a “volume extender” for blood plasma; the company quickly pointed out it was not a blood substitute, but rather would supplement a short blood supply. It could be bottled and stored indefinitely, ready to use when needed.
Thursday, May 9th
May 9, 1922: Four NYPD officers with Yonkers Police Detectives John Fitzpatrick and Charles Ward arrested four Iridio-Platinum-Gold Company executives on charges of first-degree larceny. At the time of their arrest, the men hey were working a claim on their Yonkers “mining property,” the Sidebotham Estate in Nepera Park. The company description of Yonkers “mother lode” claimed it held eight trillion dollars in gold, two trillion dollars in platinum and one hundred million dollars in silver.
May 9, 1922: In the effort to relieve Getty Square traffic, Yonkers began negotiating to buy part of St. John’s Episcopal Church property to widen Hudson Street and Riverdale Avenue. Since Cochran family members donated property to the church, wills and deeds had to be reviewed to confirm if gift restrictions prevented the sale. If the deal went through, the parsonage and the Home for the Aged had to be demolished.
Friday, May 10th
May 10, 1944: The D’Avanzo family of Yonkers cheered when cousin Dr. Teodor Picado was elected President of Costa Rica! Joseph, Aurello, Alphonso, Vincent, Carmella D’Avanzo and Yolanda Vetrano, who came to Yonkers in 1924, lived on Poplar and Waverly Streets, and Buena Vista and Riverdale Avenues.
May 10, 1954: City Manager Charles Curran asked the Thruway Authority to reimburse Yonkers for cost of buying water from New York City. Thruway construction had dumped dirty water into the Saw Mill River, the chief source of Yonkers’ water, forcing closure of the Tube Water filtration beds. Curran stated, “I cannot impress upon you too much the severity of the health hazard… an immediate and positive solution (must) be found for this problem… causing pollution and increased turbidity in the Saw Mill River.”
At the conference between the contractor, Thruway and local officials, Curran was told there was “…no real solution… the condition would continue for… two to three years.” Curran suggested immediate action and a definitive written agreement remediating the situation. In the meantime, the NYC Board of Water Supply asked permission to take more water from the Delaware River.
Saturday, May 11th
May 11, 1922: Vasilly Padishuk, alleged “propagandist and solicitor” for the Iridio-Platinum-Gold Company, turned himself in! The Manhattan Grand Jury had indicted company officers for selling stock and taking money under false pretenses. Company literature listed several prominent Yonkers people as investors to influence others to buy stock; named restaurateur Peter Shanley said he didn’t own their stock, and others listed were small shareholders.
May 11, 1947: Yonkers residents Marinus Koch and George McIntosh were rescued when their plane overturned while landing in the Hudson near the Ludlow Dock. Able to climb on their overturned plane, they were rescued by nearby Mirsky Launch Service. The Mirsky launch also towed the plane to the Westchester Service Company dock, where it sank in forty feet of water as it was tied to the dock.
Sunday, May 12th
May 12, 1943: The Yonkers community gathered at the Jewish Community Center for the “Remember the Dead—Rescue the Living” memorial service for the two million Jewish people killed by the Nazis.
May 12, 1954: NYS Water Pollution Control Board announced it would hold a public hearing in Westchester on the water in the Saw Mill River. Studies showed sewage pollution at the lower end of the river in Yonkers and in other areas without sewers.
Questions or comments on this column? Email YonkersHistory1646@gmail.com.
For information on the Yonkers Historical Society, Sherwood House and upcoming events, please visit its website www.yonkershistoricalsociety.org, call 914-961-8940 or email info@yonkershistoricalsociety.org.
