By Mary Hoar, President Emerita, Yonkers Historical Society, recipient of the 2004 Key to History, Member of the Yonkers Landmarks Preservation Board, and President of the Untermyer Performing Arts Council
Monday, November 16th:
November 16, 1933: Frank Frish, manager of the St. Louis baseball team, was the keynote speaker a dinner held by the Yonkers Baseball League in honor of the championship winning Irwin Post nine.
November 16, 1942: Former Yonkers resident George Lowerre recieved a medal for distinguished service in Citizenship! Several times a week, eighty-seven-year-old George took the Oglethorpe trolley to the Veterans Hospital in Atlanta to visit hospitalized WWI veterans. The original Lowerre family homestead was on the east side of Broadway between Post and Randolph Streets, with the estate encompassing Van Cortlandt Park, Caryl, Park Hill Avenues, South Broadway, and all streets in-between.
Tuesday, November 17th:
November 17, 1924: The Common Council passed a resolution to open a psychopathic hospital here in Yonkers.
November 17, 1926: Health Commissioner Clarence Buckmaster condemned the city dump on Nepperhan Avenue by Roberts Avenue as unsightly and unsanitary. A new dump would be created on Saw Mill River Road near Brandt’s Farm.
November 17, 1953: The Yonkers Chamber of Commerce honored native son Howard T. Brinton, President of Phelps Dodge Copper Products Corporation at its 60th annual dinner; Phelps Dodge was the parent company of Habirshaw Cable and Wire Corporation of Yonkers. Toastmaster for the celebration was US District Court Referee Arthur J. Doran, who served with Brinton on the St. Joseph’s Hospital Board of Trustees.
Wednesday November 18th:
November 18, 1902: Observers from other cities pointed out the number of serious accidents would be cut drastically if they followed Yonkers example. Apparently, Yonkers was a city that drivers who liked speeding dreaded. We strictly enforced our laws concerning automobiles, bicycles and “reckless speed of loose-limbed horses.”
November 18, 1916: Thirteen-year-old Lowerre tennis phenomena Vincent Richards of Van Cortlandt Park Avenue also excelled in basketball! He made twelve field goals in a game in the St. Denis’ Church gym.
November 18, 1952: George Reyes, one of two men indicted for second degree murder of Yonkers war veteran John Pondixter of Runyon Avenue, pleaded guilty in County Court to the reduced charge of first degree manslaughter. Because the other man, Aurio De Jesus, dealt the fatal blow, ADA John Marbach accepted the lesser plea. A month later, Reyes was sentenced to serve seven to fourteen years in Sing Sing Prison. De Jesus was judged insane and committed to the Matteawan State Prison for the Criminally Insane.
Thursday, November 19th:
November 19, 1916: Much of the Hollywood Inn was destroyed by fire, with damage totaling $100,000; only the gymnasium escaped damage. The Hollywood Inn Association later appealed to Alexander Cochran to rebuild the Inn on a bigger and better scale; his father William F. Cochran had funded the original building costing $500,000 to give young men an alternative to going to saloons to drink.
November 19, 1932: The Hollywood Inn, long a staple of downtown life for the Yonkers workingman, was demolished before a crowd of more than 100 people. The Inn, a six-story building at the corner of South Broadway and Hudson Street, had been closed the previous year due to a lack of membership, and an inability to fund operations.
riday, November 20th:
November 20, 1942: The latest story circulating around Yonkers was the Greystone mansion would be used for an Army hospital for wounded soldiers. The rumors actually named the company surveying the property for use, Poirier and McLane Corporation, who quickly denied the rumors!
November 20, 1942: The Yonkers War Council asked housewives and mothers to act as “block mothers” for their home blocks. The women were to visit all homes with preschool children to encourages young ones be vaccinated against diphtheria and smallpox as part of Health Commissioner Eugene McGillian’s child health program; these moms made a strong contribution to Yonkers war effort by keeping our residents healthy.
November 20, 1942: Although Yonkers schools did not allow collecting funds, students in the Yonkers Schools of Aeronautical Manufacturing lobbied Assistant Principal George Schmeltz to allow them to do so “on their own time.” Why was it so important? The students wanted to donate money to the Community and War Chest!
Saturday, November 21st:
November 21, 1923: Mayor Walter Taussig was found shot in his garage behind his Park Avenue home, holding a gun in his hand. Mrs. Taussig later stated if her husband had taken his own life, it was because he was so disappointed at his recent defeat by Ulrich Weisendanger. Common Council President Albert Watson temporarily took over as Mayor, serving until January 1st when Weisendanger was inaugurated.
November 21, 1944: Private First Class Peter Fugaro of the Ninth Air Force, on a short leave at home in Yonkers before heading to rehab, paid a visit to City Hall where he had worked as the bootblack before enlisting. Fugaro shared exciting news; as soon as the war was over, he would head back to Iceland to marry a girl he met while serving there.
Sunday, November 22nd:
November 22, 1927: The Yonkers Art Commission approved the design Yonkers sculptor Isidore Konti submitted for the Spanish-American War Veterans Memorial for the City Plaza, later Larkin Plaza.
November 22, 1946: Fifteen-year-old Dorothy Fagnano of Lawrence Street was notified she won first prize in a nationwide potato chip recipe contest! A junior at Gorton High School, she created “Potato Chips a la Gorton,” a carrot, potato chip and onion au gratin casserole, judged the best from the more than 37,500 entries received from all 48 states. According to Theodore Sachs, President of the sponsoring National Potato Chip Association, her dish was original and “combined economy, nutrition and taste appeal.” Dorothy’s prize was a $100 Victory bond.
For more information on the Yonkers Historical Society, Sherwood House and our upcoming events, please visit our website www.yonkershistoricalsociety.org, call 914-961-8940 or email yhsociety@aol.com.
