Yonkers Poet and Author Countee Cullen
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, September 11th
September 11, 1945: Commander Joseph Lennox, USN Reserve, notified Acting City Manager Norman Henderson he soon would be released from active service and return to his job as Commissioner of Assessment and Taxation October 1st. Lennox, called to active duty in 1941, was stationed in Washington. While on active duty, he received an annual Yonkers salary of $1.
September 11, 1952: Schools Superintendent Stanley Wynstra notified school trustees he investigated school staff and found “no evidence indicating any teacher or other board employee had violated the statutory provisions of the “State Law and Civil Service Law.” Wynstra also reported all Yonkers teachers had signed an “oath of allegiance” when hired.
Tuesday, September 12th
September 12, 1942: Although Yonkers residents raised funds to purchase small, inexpensive gifts—cigarettes, an automatic pencil and a two-year diary– for the men and women leaving our city to be inducted into the armed forces, they wanted the Yonkers War Council to purchase gifts from the City treasury; our Common Council approved using city funds for the gifts.
September 12, 1945: A Navy shore patrol was assigned to supervise visiting sailors and merchantmen from ships that put in for repair. Seamen were getting involved in fights; in one case a sailor punched a young girl in the face! Other seamen were fighting soldiers. More concerning to the patrol were groups of young women hanging out on the park benches to “make advances” to the men in uniform!
Wednesday, September 13th
September 13, 1941: The mystery of their missing son was solved for Julia and Joseph Peterson of Waring Place. They had not seen their son John for almost four years; they lost contact shortly after John was honorably discharged from the US Army after service in Hawaii. The Petersons received a letter from a chaplain at a British Army Camp; he said John had come to the priest, ashamed he had not written to his parents. John, it turned out, had joined a Canadian regiment on impulse and was in one of the first Canadian troops to sail for England, and had been promoted to Corporal as a reward for his heroism. Censorship rules prevented the chaplain from revealing John’s location.
Thursday, September 14th
September 14, 1951: The 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library was renamed the Countee Cullen Branch Library in honor of the late Yonkers poet and author, the first time in the history of New York City a library was named solely for a person’s achievements and not for a monetary gift. The exhibit mounted for the occasion included illustrations from “the Lost Zoo,” his children’s story telling of animals lost forever because they did not get on Noah’s Ark. It also featured pictures of the author, manuscripts, and illustrations from other books he wrote. Cullen lived at 41 Grandview Boulevard in Colonial Heights; his widow had presented a collection of her husband’s manuscripts and other materials to the library.
Friday, September 15th
September 15, 1928: Joe Lapchick, star center of the New York Celtics, was signed by M. J. Ryan, promoter of Athletic events at Columbus Hall, to play with his Ryan All Stars at the pivot post. Lapchick played for Ryan for four months and then return to the Celtics.
September 15, 1941: Yonkers retailers kicked off their “Retailers for Defense Week” to help sell Defense Savings Stamps, educate the public about the importance of the stamps, and to encourage the public to regularly purchase the stamps to convert them into Defense Savings Bonds. Department stores, grocery stores, hardware stores, drug stores and variety stores participated, impressing the general public with the increasingly important role Yonkers retailers played in both the social and economic life of the city.
Saturday, September 16th
September 16, 1936: Former Supervisor Joshua Fiero, Jr. shocked and upset Yonkers Republicans when he won the GOP nomination for State Senator in the 26th District in a hotly contested primary; he defeated the party’s choice, Third Ward Leader C. VanNess Wood, by 247 votes. Fiero lost to incumbent James Garrity by 175 votes, confirmed by several recounts.
September 16, 1945: The Washington Post reprinted a proposal made by Navy Lieutenant William Schollmeyer to create a Naval militia headquarters with boating docks and additional facilities at Trevor Park, complete with a warship anchored there for training. The plan, originally printed in The Herald Statesman with a sketch of how it could look, generated a lot of interest in the nation’s capital. The Navy announced they were seriously considering reestablishing militia throughout the Country, and it was “feasible” smaller warships could be used for this purpose.
Sunday, September 17th
September 17, 1891: Dedication of the Yonkers Civil War Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in front of Philipse Manor Hall to honor the men of Yonkers who fought to save the Union in the Civil War.
September 17, 1947: City Manager Montgomery and City Comptroller Kennedy announced their decision to withdraw from the merger of the City Laboratory with the County Lab. Elsie Hochgraf, chair of the Laboratory Board of Managers, was credited with showing how the county was getting “extraordinary benefits” by using Yonkers equipment at our taxpayers’ expense. Apparently previous management of the lab was inadequate, and work sent by local hospitals was not processed. The rent the county paid for the space in the Health Center was very low—50 cents a square foot, and the county used less than half of the equipment they insisted Yonkers order for the lab. The decision had the full support of the Common Council.
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.
