By Mary Hoar, President Emerita, Yonkers Historical Society, recipient of the 2004 Key to History, Member, Yonkers Landmarks Preservation Board
Monday, December 21st
December 21, 1917: US Revenue Agents Romolo D’Aloia and Alfred Fox ascertained the legal status of 30 barrels of liquor impounded at Warburton and Wells Avenues by Yonkers Police.
December 21, 1930: Mayor John Fogarty, stating it was in keeping with modern business trends, announced Yonkers would conduct an annual audit of its accounts. Previously, books only were audited at the beginning of each new administration.
December 21, 1946: A woman wishing to remain anonymous shyly approached the Salvation Army Kettle near Woolworth’s on South Broadway. She spoke to Captain Norman Sampson and Band Master Budd and told them she was a soloist at a local church. A friend had just challenged her to sing with the band; they agreed to help and began playing “Silent Night.” Her clear, beautiful voice gathered a crowd. After finishing, she returned with a $5 bill, saying it was the money she had won, and tucked it into the kettle. Several people who had been touched by her singing added their contributions to hers.
Tuesday, December 22nd
December 22, 1894: The St. Andrew’s Golf Club of Yonkers-on-the-Hudson joined with four other golf clubs to form the Amateur Golf Association of the United States. This group soon changed its name to the US Golf Association.
December 22, 1922: Although several Yonkers Republicans objected strenuously to the appointment and traveled to Washington to lobby the president, President Warren Harding nominated former District Attorney and Yonkers Corporation Counsel Francis Winslow of Yonkers to be US District Judge for the Southern District of New York.
December 22, 1964: Mayor John Flynn asked the Yonkers Council to pass a resolution requesting the State legislature to “include us out” of any reapportionment plan to include the Bronx in any our assembly and senatorial districts.
Wednesday, December 23rd
December 23, 1946: Captain Stanley Butt, Legal Officer at Fort Slocum, sent the Family Service Society of Yonkers a very special Christmas greeting, expressing the gratitude of the men stationed at the Fort. The Family Service Legal Committee, headed by Heber Smith, had more than gone out of its way to assist their servicemen with all their legal needs, both during the war and afterwards.
December 23, 1946: The Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation announced G. Edward Pendray of Westchester Avenue was retained as Counsel on rockets and jet propulsion. Pendray, an industrial public relations counselor, was one of the founders of the American Rocket Society. He began experimenting with rockets and jet propulsion and moved to Crestwood in 1932 so he could “carry out experimental work in the swamps in Crestwood,” much to the annoyance of his neighbors.
Thursday, December 24th:
December 24, 1913: Because of the dangerous ice floes in the Hudson River, Yonkers people heading to Albany were forced to take the train instead of the night boats.
December 16, 1916: Yonkers African American residents met in Turn Hall to create a campaign to urge the US War Department not only to recognizeBlack officers, but also to give them opportunities to serve in the Army and National Guard.
December 24, 1943: A photo of Memphis Belle tail runner and Truman Avenue resident John Quinlan appeared on the back cover of Major Ledding’s book, “Skyways to Berlin;” the accomplishments of the Memphis Belle were mentioned prominently in the book. The picture was taken as Sergeant Quinlan and the crew reported to Major Ledding before takeoff. Quinlan often was acclaimed as “Yonkers hero of World War II.” Friday, December 25th:
December 25, 1887: The St. Aloysius Boarding Academy for Boys was destroyed by fire. Opened in 1868 by the Sisters of Charity on the former South Broadway property of the late Judge Aaron Vark, St. Aloysius prospered right from the start, as there was a need for a good school for pre-college boys. Future celebrities John and Lionel Barrymore were among its students. A notice appeared in the Yonkers Statesman ten days later informing the public “…loss by the burning of St. Aloysius Academy will be considerable, … it is only partially covered by insurance.” The school was to be no more. The property later was used to build St. Joseph’s Hospital.
December 25, 1919: Martin Foley, motorman for the Yonkers Railroad Company, saved a child’s life! He snatched the boy from the driver’s seat of a runaway car just a few seconds before it smashed into a telegraph pole on McLean Avenue near Intervale Place; the car was totaled.
Saturday, December 26th:
December 26, 1926: Three overhead “stop and go” traffic lights were installed on Warburton Avenue near Main Street. All three lights were operated by one police officer.
December 26, 1931: Common Council President John S. Davis broke the six-six tie on the long discussed and much-criticized ordinance authorizing Yonkers to operate the Park Hill elevator. Davis voted yes, and it became a city obligation.
December 26, 1941: After a Christmas Day test of emergency mobilization of the 125 Yonkers Auxiliary Police, the Common Council approved the purchase of flashlights, badges and nightsticks for the men, and the men were not properly equipped.
Sunday, December 27th
December 27, 1921: Retired Rear Admiral Purnell Harrington, Chairman of the Mayor’s Honor Roll Committee, announced the committee had finished its assignment. They identified 6,909 Yonkers people who served in the military during the World War; of these people, one hundred seventy-two men and one woman had made the supreme sacrifice.
December 27, 1927: Show Boat, with music composed by Yonkers’ Jerome Kern at his home on Dellwood Road in Cedar Knolls, opened at the Ziegfield Theater.
December 27, 1927: Because of the heavy ice in the Hudson, Leo Schwartzstein, President of the Yonkers Ferry Company, suspended Yonkers ferry service until spring. Heavy ice floes had damaged the hull of the tugboat F. J. Purdy so badly, it sank into the river just off our city pier. Fortunately, the crew escaped safely.
For more information on the Yonkers Historical Society, Sherwood House and upcoming events, please visit our website www.yonkershistoricalsociety.org, call 914-961-8940 or email yhsociety@aol.com.
