By Mary Hoar, President Untermyer Performing Arts Council, President Emerita, Yonkers Historical Society and recipient of the 2004 Key to History
Monday, August 24th
August 24, 1943: Reverend Robert Robinson, Westminster Presbyterian Church pastor, reported to his congregation on how he spent his summer vacation! He spent the month of July in Macon, Georgia, serving as civilian pastor at four large military bases. Standing outside the Werner Robins Air Base one day, a bus at the curb was labeled YONKERS in large black letters. The front destination display read “Rockaway Beach!” On its return trip from camp, the bus display read “Subway.” Military area bus companies could not buy new buses; instead they purchased used buses from companies all over the country… including Yonkers.
August 24, 1946: Local merchants created displays to celebrate the Yonkers Fire Department’s 50th Anniversary! One of the most dramatic was at the French Wine and Liquor Store, an exhibit of photos of the Park Hill Ruins fire. They showed the Hendrick Hudson Hotel burning to the ground shortly before it was to open. Built in Park Hill to resemble Quebec’s Hotel Frontenac, it was high above the railroad tracks with a tunnel and elevator entrance from the tracks, and had a spectacular view of the Hudson.
Tuesday, August 25th
August 25, 1916: A Prospect Street poultry market owner filed a claim for $75 to replace chickens missing from his store. He claimed firefighters let them out while fighting a fire around the corner; as soon as they entered his store, the chickens absconded.
August 25, 1937: As a first step for an organized protest to the Common Council, Anna May Peabody of High Street led a group of women to the City Pound. Armed with umbrellas in pouring rain, the women went to investigate the unsheltered corral for stray animals, to make sure they had proper care.
Wednesday, August 26th
August 26, 1934: Firemen from five companies rushed to a Yonkers home to battle a fire, and instead found an irate neighbor. The man had pulled the alarm to stop a neighbor’s party that was keeping him from falling asleep.
August 26, 1943: George Pisacano, owner of the Pisacano’s Market on South Broadway, announced he bought the biggest swordfish ever sold wholesale in a Manhattan market. It weighed in at 750 pounds at purchase; when cleaned and dressed, the final weight was 530 pounds!
Thursday, August 27th
August 27, 1921: Franklin Woodruff of Sherman Avenue, an announced candidate for state convention delegate on the Wiesendanger ticket, happened to be running against Jessie Woodruff, candidate on the Lynch ticket… and his wife! Both Franklin and Jessie went to White Plains and filed declinations of office with the Board of Election.
August 27, 1942: Right after the officials and the color guard in the parade of Yonkers selectees on their way to serve, a gentleman proudly held the sign “School Street” up high for all to see! He carried the sign from Draft Board 735 to City Hall, where he placed it on a desk during Yonkers’ farewell ceremonies for the men. He then carried it from City Hall to the train station, until a police officer took it for safekeeping… and then lost it! Yonkers men wanted the fellows at camp to know exactly where they came from!
Friday, August 28th
August 28, 1942: Seventy-nine Yonkers secondary teachers started an action against the Board of Education. The action contended the Board had “no right to reduce” the salaries of tenured teachers or those who have stellar reports; the teachers wanted the 12½ per cent salary reduction rescinded the trustees had imposed the previous year.
August 28, 1942: When suspended City Manager Raymond Whitney was notified the Common Council intended to “remove” him from office, he blamed The Herald Statesman, saying it published “lying propaganda and a lot of bunk.” Needless to say, the paper defended its reputation, stating it was willing to let the people of Yonkers make their own judgment on its fairness. The paper stated it would continue to “present the news fully, accurately and without suppression, so that the people may know.”
Saturday, August 29th
August 29, 1935: Captain Dennis Cooper and acting Captain John Ryer commanded a corps of YPD guards for the Hip Sing Tong headquarters on Herriot Street. A war had broken out between the Hip Sings and the On Leongs in Manhattan; our local police force wanted to prevent any spillover of the conflict in Yonkers.
August 29, 1951: Yonkers prizefighter Roger Donoghue fought his first bout in Madison Square Garden. Scheduled to fight George Flores, Donoghue did not want to fight him as he already had knocked Flores out. He again knocked him out, but this time the injured man did not regain consciousness. Diagnosed with a severe concussion and a possible fractured skull, Flores died two weeks later. After giving all his prize money to the Flores family, Donoghue quit boxing. The Yonkers man went on to work as a Hollywood consultant; he taught Marlin Brando how to fight for his role in “On the Waterfront,” and trained James Dean for “Rebel Without a Cause.
Sunday, August 30th
August 30, 1918: NYS Assessors C. R. Hall and E. M. Hart reported the City of Yonkers administration was “earnestly and effectively working to promote economy and efficiency” in the report they submitted to NYS Comptroller Travis.
August 30, 1944: The Herald Statesman received a letter from a young GI serving overseas praising one of Yonkers’ men! Corporal Meyer Goldman wrote the man had no idea the letter was written, and was someone who did not brag about his heroism. Goldman said the Office of War Information would not allow him to share the details, but he felt people in Yonkers should know about the soldier’s achievements, bravery, fidelity and just plain hard work. Staff Sergeant Samuel Martirano of Cowles Avenue had only been in the South Pacific for a few months, yet his actions had earned him another stripe, the Good Conduct medal and the Southwest Pacific campaign ribbon with a bronze star!
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