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, March 6th
March 6, 1932: On his way to the Wells Avenue Police Station to go on duty, Motorcycle Officer Raymond Connolly chased men driving erratically at Nepperhan and Old Nepperhan Avenues. He fired shots in the air, then cornered and captured them at gunpoint after they abandoned the car. Turned out they had stolen a car from in front of the Armory; the theft was just being discovered about the time Connolly was arresting them!
March 6, 1935: Although the work on the Yonkers Avenue bridge over the Saw Mill River Parkway was not finished, the Yonkers Railroad Company began running its trolleys over the bridge! Officials estimated this state and county project would be finished in a few weeks.
Tuesday, March 7th
March 7, 1932: Our Corporation Counsel Office was chastised when First Assistant Counsel Morris Rosenwasser asked for an adjournment of the New York Central commutation rate case; he stated Corporation Counsel McAneny’s who was ill was the only person qualified to conduct the cross-examinations.
Public Service Commission Chairman Milo Maltbie stated, “Further adjournments of this case will be entirely out of the question… if other members of the Corporation Counsel’s staff cannot acquaint yourselves sufficiently with the facts to conduct it… you will have to let your engineers and accountants conduct the case. In fact, the engineers and accountants might do a better job than has been done so far.” The Central wanted a 40% increase in the commutation fares.
March 7, 1947: The Yonkers Board of Education ruled Yonkers teachers were not eligible for a $300 cost-of-living- adjustment being given to workers earning less than $5,000 annually, as they were not “City of Yonkers employees.”’
Wednesday, March 8th
March 8, 1945:The Kimball Crest Taxpayers’ Civic and Beverly Crest Community Associations asked the Board of Education to take “immediate steps to fix conditions in Mark Twain’s basement classrooms, or abandon them;” according to the community members, the conditions were “deplorable and indeed unsafe.” Beverly Crest sited “dampness, poor ventilation and the general inadequate conditions…” that “must be corrected if the health of the children attending the school is to be maintained.” Kimble Crest President Jimmy Dale added “dust and poor ventilation in the cafeteria make it impossible to keep tables and chairs free of dust.”
Thursday, March 9th
March 9, 1912: Patrolman George Bruce, on New Main Street patrol, saw a white polar bear coming towards him! The patrolman ducked into a hallway to observe the bear. As it got closer, the bear was weaving and a man’s head appeared out of the mass of fur. He jumped the “bear” and found the man was wrapped in a huge bearskin robe and drunk. Brought to the police station, the “bear” refused to give any information, so was held for further investigation. And yes, the bearskin was stolen.
March 9, 1922: Henrietta Livermore of Park Avenue and Bertha Ives, Park Hill Avenue, witnessed Governor Nathan Miller sign the Livermore bill, giving women representation on county political committees. The bill was authored by Assemblyman Russell Livermore, Henrietta’s son.
Friday, March 10th
March 10, 1925: Preston Chapman, Society for Prevention of Cruelty of Cruelty to Children, issued a summons to Warburton Theater manager Sam Taylor for hiring two girls under 16, underage children, to perform in the chorus of the musical comedy “Going Up.”
March 10, 1942: After a decade-long battle by the Library Board of Trustees, the Common Council finally approved construction of a fire staircase from the second floor of the Library to the street. Library Director Grinton Will was “extremely gratified” the Council “decided to put in the stairway, especially in light of war conditions…” Originally requested to eliminate a fire hazard, the request was put in well before the war, becoming even more important for fast evacuation of the building in case of attack. The stairway started in the southeast corner of the Children’s Room, and lead to Nepperhan Avenue.
Saturday, March 11th
March 11, 1928: The Yonkers Federation of Parents and Teachers asked the Board of Education to replace old, unsanitary drinking fountains with modern fountains in all schools… and provide soap and towels so children could wash. The group wanted to prevent spread of disease and possible epidemics among Yonkers public school children.
March 11, 1932: Considered to be one of the true navigation and aviation experts in the country, Captain Lewis Yancey and wife Gertrude Civello of Yonkers, continued on their tour of the United States! A few days earlier, Yancey, received a painful injury when a propellor whacked him on the head; a mechanic started a plane when Yancey was in front. Besides deep cuts on his forehead, his face, head and shoulders were bruised. Gertrude’s parents lived on Rockledge Place; the Yanceys’ home when in Yonkers was at One Lawrence Street.
Sunday, March 12th
March 12, 1953: J. C. Pope, Gasoline Testing Manager at the Ethyl Corporation’s Yonkers Development Lab, announced their new X-ray photometer method developed here cut the time determining the tetraethyl lead content of gas from three hours to ten minutes! Tetraethyl lead was the active ingredient in Ethyl antiknock compounds.
March 12, 1953: Yonkers commuters planning to take the 8:08 am train into New York panicked when the train sped through the Yonkers station! The mistake was realized, the train stopped down the rail and backed up to get the waiting passengers. The engineer, operating the train from the second car instead of the first, realized he should have stopped sooner as he whizzed through the station.
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 info@yonkershistoricalsociety.org
