By Mary Hoar, 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, November 9th
November 9, 1902: Postmaster Osterheld requested all Yonkers residents provide mailboxes at their homes and business. He said this action would speed up mail service as most homes do not have them.
November 9, 1927: One of the most joyous political celebrations Yonkers ever saw followed the election of Thomas Larkin as Mayor. More than two thousand people milled around his home, and then carried him in an open car at the head of an impromptu parade.
November 9, 1942: Dozens of people protested to the Herald Statesman about Mayor Benjamin Barnes’ proclamation recommending flags be flown half mast on Armistice Day; the Flag Etiquette Code stated flags should fly at the top of the mast on Armistice Day.
Tuesday, November 10th
November 10, 1942: With the major objective of the City Manager League met, Chairman Horace Gray resigned; he stated with the “establishment of a good city government,” he was anxious to spend more time on his law practice.
November 10, 1946: Highland Place’s Samuel Pinsley’s new Diesel engine was dedicated on the Saratoga-Schuylerville Railroad; a huge celebration was held on the train while heading to Schuylerville. His daughter Marjorie dedicated the engine with a bottle of champagne; children turned out in huge numbers to get a free ride on the train, getting on the train at each station along the route. Pinsley was honored at a banquet held by the Mayor of Saratoga and local businessmen. Several of his Yonkers friends also attended the celebration; Pinsley not only was the Chairman of the Jewish Community Center’s Board of Governors, he had taken over the Presidency of the Railroad six months earlier.
Wednesday, November 11th:
November 11, 1924: Former Park Hill resident Hope Hampton and her attorney, Max Steuer, intently watched the opening of Madame Pompadour. Cast in the title role, Hampton had been let go during the out of town try-outs and replaced with Wilda Bennett. The pair had no plans to stop the production; instead, they planned to sue for Hampton’s weekly salary of $1000 as partial compensation for damage she suffered to her reputation. Hampton at one time lived at 85 Rockland Avenue.
November 11, 1953: The Hudson River Museum opened its exhibition of sketches of Yonkers WACs who served during WW II. The artist, Francis Vendeveer Kughler, had sketched and painted portraits of 50 Yonkers servicewomen who volunteered in 1943 and 1944; the portraits were done under special arrangement with the War Department and T. Armour Smith, former director of the museum.
Thursday, November 12th:
November 12, 1902: Once again Yonkers imprisoned a reckless automobile driver for speeding in our city. Police began “practical measures” to get evidence against all “headlong” drivers; the hope was that irresponsible drivers either would drive at the legal and safe speed or avoid Yonkers all together.
November 12, 1916: Admiral Robert Peary delivered an exciting lecture to the Nappeckamack Club, speaking about his many polar adventures.
November 12, 1925: The Board of Education approved electrification of all school buildings, with both Leslie Sutherland and Lucie Vance stating it was “imperative because of possible fire hazards.” The cost of replacing gaslight in all schools was estimated to be $44,000.
Friday, November 13th:
November 12, 1893: The Westchester County Board of Supervisions met to allow the five Yonkers Supervisors to take their seats in accordance with the decision of the Court of Appeals. The State Legislature had passed a law giving Yonkers, with one-third of Westchester’s population and responsible for one-third of the county tax payments, one Supervisor for each ward. The Board attacked the legislation as unconstitutional and refused to seat the men. They took the dispute to the courts, resulting in ruling after ruling in favor of Yonkers. After the Court of Appeals affirmed the constitutionality of the law, the five Yonkers men finally were seated after waiting for almost eighteen months. Seated were Alanson Prime, T. J. Percival, P. J. Cunniff, Jeremiah Clancey and William McPherson.
November 13, 1922: British novelist and critic Hugh Walpole spoke to a large audience in Philipsburgh Hall about “Books and Friendship.” The lecture was arranged by the Lecture League of Yonkers; Walpole, considered by many to be the foremost English novelist, spoke with an unusual breadth of knowledge coupled with a keen sense of humor.
November 13, 1928 More than 1000 people participated in the parade that followed the laying of the cornerstone of the new Jewish Community Center, South Broadway and Guion Street.
Saturday, November 14th:
November 14, 1926: The city’s fight against the Methodist Episcopal Board of Foreign Missions went to the Court of Appeals. The Corporation Counsel claimed the Board owned Yonkers $80,000 in back taxes for Wallace Lodge in Park Hill. The city contended the defendant operated for profit, not for religious purposes.
November 14, 1949: Dr. Hans Simons of Landscape Avenue, Dean of the School of Politics of the New School for Social Research, was elected Vice President of the New School. Simons, a member of the graduate faculty for thirteen years, had been on a two years’ leave of absence while serving as Chief of the Governmental Structures Branch of the US Office of Military Government of Germany. While in Europe, he was instrumental in forming the West German government.
Sunday, November 15th:
November 15, 1923: The United States Postal Service announced the Yonkers Post Office branch located at Yonkers Avenue by Walnut Street was to be closed; the branch would be relocated to a spot near the Yonkers and Central Avenues intersection.
November 15, 1945: Brigadier General Frederick M. Hopkins, Jr., Commander of Iwo Jima, shared some of his memories attending Yonkers High School and growing up in Yonkers. He spent a good deal of time at the Park Hill Inn and Shanley’s, with his closest friends “Hap” Haviland. He was very pleasantly surprised to meet Hap, whom he had not seen for 30 years, when he arrived in Iwo. Hap was there with the Red Cross, and they had a chance to renew their friendship. Hopkins reported to Hopkins he had 30,000 servicemen who were homesick and anxious to get home.
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.
