By Mary Hoar, City of Yonkers Historian, President Emerita Yonkers Historical Society, recipient of the 2004 Key to History and President Untermyer Performing Arts Council
Monday, November 14th:
November 14, 1906: George T. Kelly won the contract to build School Twenty at Franklin, Seymour and Mulberry Streets for his low bid of $95,470. School Twenty later became Longfellow Junior High School.
November 14, 1956: Dorothy White of Sterling Avenue went all the way to the Singer Sewing Machine National Finals! A freshman at St. Barnabas High School, she modeled her aqua wool dress with white collar and black velvet buttons and bow at the finals, a fashion show at the Hotel Plaza. Dorothy made the dress with the $300 sewing machine she won as the NY Junior Regional winner!
Tuesday November 15th:
November 15, 1944: At a hearing lasting only a few minutes, Acting City Manager Robert Montgomery, also acting Yonkers Public Safety Commissioner, honored the request of Police Chief William Kruppenbacher and four other police officers to adjourn their trials until December 14th. The five men were charged with allegedly failing to report a major gambling operation. In swing three nights a week, the gambling den was discovered at a Copcutt Lane Building three months earlier. Charges were brought against the men by suspended City Manager Walsh; Walsh had received a report several officers were around the building, yet there was no official record of any policemen or police activity there that night.
November 15, 1949: Supreme Court Justice Frank Coyne ordered a three-day adjournment in the battle between Annette LoCascio and husband Joseph LoCascio, Jr. He later gave custody of little Joseph III to his mother.
Wednesday, November 16th:
November 16, 1915: Actor Richard Bennett purchased a large Georgian brick home on Park Hill Avenue, and announced this would be his family’s permanent home. He was the father of Joan, Constance and Barbara Bennett and a successful stage performer in the early 20th century. With the advent of “talkies” he transitioned to a playing character roles; his last role was the ship’s captain in “Journey into Fear,” a 1943 thriller with Joseph Cotton and Dolores del Rio.
November 16, 1933: Frank Frish, manager of the St. Louis baseball team, addressed a dinner held by the Yonkers Baseball League in honor of the championship Irwin Post nine.
Thursday, November 17th:
November 17, 1930: After Yonkers Police raided an office on South Broadway, they turned over all the records and books they removed to the US Secret Service. The office was alleged to be the headquarters of a million dollar liquor ring!
November 17, 1941: Former County Executive William Bleakley, then President of the Yonkers National Bank, announced the merger of the Trust Company of Larchmont with Yonkers National Bank. The new bank was to be called the Bank of Westchester.
Friday, November 18th:
November 18, 1777: British General William Tryon sent Hessian troops to pillage and burn homes in Philipse Manor. They allegedly stripped women and children of their clothing, then turned them out into the cold. Old men and boys were brought back to the enemy lines wearing very little but the halter the Hessians had put around their necks to lead them. Tryon was known for his brutality, and condemned by Americans and British General Henry Clinton for “making war on women and children.”
November 18, 1932: Yonkers joined with the DAR Keskeskick Chapter to celebrate the reopening of the renovated historic landmark in Manor House Square, Philipse Manor Hall. More than 175 merchants and businesses joined the effort by celebrating Yonkers Days, two days selling good quality merchandise at record low prices. A citywide effort was made to advertise the event. A torchlight parade kicked off the celebration, with music, banners, streamers, and theater screens carrying the message. Trolley cars and buses had posters announcing the event. Milk bottles and laundry bundles had the information printed on them. Free bus and trolley transportation was made available to all during morning shopping hours.
Saturday, November 19th:
November 19, 1932: Lieutenant Thomas Morrissey finished 22 years of service in the Yonkers Police Department. Morrissey, assigned to the First Precinct, won the 1908 Boston Marathon, which earned him a spot on the 1908 US Marathon Olympic Team. The Olympic marathon was run on a very hot and humid day; he had to drop out partway through. A WWI veteran, he was promoted to Captain in 1941, and served more than 30 years on YPD.
November 19, 1936: For the first time in almost four years, three thousand city employees were told by Mayor Joseph Loehr they would receive a full pay check on December 31st; Loehr also promised no pay cuts in 1937 for municipal employees.
Sunday November 20th:
November 20, 1947: Members of the newly formed Citizen Marine Reserve were sworn in at a ceremony held at the Yonkers Post Office at the foot of Main Street. Led by First Lt. Peter Pappas, USMCR, and First Lt. Samuel Levitt, seven men—William Cockshutte, Richard Pawiak, Robert McCauley, Casimir Urban, Robert Jones, Benjain Hodela and Edward Conklin—took the oath of office. Six of the men were former Marines; McCauley served in the Army. These reservists would be called to active duty only in the event of war of national emergency.
November 20, 1951: Dellwood Dairy Company of Yonkers filed a $300,000 civil anti-trust suit in Federal Court against Nassau County officials and other dairy companies and their executives. Dellwood charged the defendants conspired to prevent them from operating its milk business in Nassau; the Yonkers company had filed for a health permit to operate there, but it was denied. Nassau told Dellwood their “county was adequately supplied with milk.”
Questions or comments? 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 yhsociety@aol.com.
