By Mary Hoar, President of the Untermyer Performing Arts Council, Yonkers Historical Society President Emerita and recipient of the 2004 Key to History
Monday, May 18th
May 18, 1893: An early morning fire destroyed the Yonkers Hat Manufacturing building on James Street; the corporation was run by Belknap & Company. Because of the expensive machinery in the building, the loss was estimated to be $100,000, and 400 employees were temporarily out of work. Although the building was demolished, the loss was covered by insurance. The company, a 24-hour-a-day operation, announced that they would be back in business as soon as possible.
May 18, 1933: Bryn Mawr Park residents filed a $5000 damage suit against the Yonkers Electric Company, The City of Yonkers and the Corporation Counsel’s Office over the construction of high tension towers near their neighborhood. All three respondents were served the papers simultaneously to maximize the impact of the lawsuit.
May 18, 1939: Edie Reality Company, owners of property on Chicken Island, announced they had leased its property to be part of the largest parking project ever created in Yonkers, a project to be operated by “private interests.“
Tuesday, May 19th
May 19, 1923: The Common Counsel authorized the sale of 386,000 bricks that have been stacked for three years on the Saunders Wharf. Originally purchased to build a stable and garage, a plan that fell through, the city ended up being stuck with a brickyard’s worth of stock.
May 19, 1933: Mayer Joseph Loehr was called to an emergency Washington DC conference. This symposium was for mayors of all leading cities, with the hope this would speed passage of legislation providing immediate credit relief for the debt-stricken cities in the country.
May 19, 1943: Yonkers honored Valentine Lane’s Maurice Mayer for his more than 4000 hours of volunteer service for the war effort, naming him the “Outstanding Yonkers Volunteer.” Mayer served as manager of Yonkers’ Fuel Office of the War Price and Rationing Board.
Wednesday, May 20th
May 20, 1918: Countess Turczynowicz addressed more than 800 people at the YMCA, and spoke about her experiences in Poland during the German occupation.
May 20, 1942: School Trustee Edna Capewell enrolled in the National Defense Aviation Manufacturing School; although she had never handled tools, she had to meet the school standards before she was able to enroll. Her classes ran from 7:30 AM to 4 PM five days a week.
May 20, 1953: Yonkers shortwave radio owners listened to Mrs. Robert McClure, wife of the former City Planning Board Member, broadcast from Ankara, Turkey! The program described Turkish folk music and dance being studied by the Turkish-American Women’s Cultural Society. McClure was one of the leaders of the organization, founded to bring together Turkish and American women living in Ankara. The society planned to broadcast programs monthly.
Thursday, May 21st
May 21, 1907: Yonkers Civil War Veterans announce their claim to the “youngest soldier yet,” with the release of the name of George Hendrickson. Hendrickson was only 14 when he enlisted in Yonkers on September 3, 1862, to fight in the war.
May 21, 1946: Although Gorgon High School had a complete set up to teach aviation courses, including a plane and engines, the course was scheduled to be transferred to Yonkers High School. A similar course had been taught at Roosevelt, but its teachers had been called into the service. There were not enough interested students at either Gorton or Roosevelt to continue the course.
Friday, May 22nd
May 22, 1950: Because of the Common Council resolution asking the City Manager to consider allowing fishing in the Grassy Sprain Reservoir, City Manager Wagner sent a letter to the Council advising against it. An investigation done in 1949 by W. H. Larkin, the Regional Engineer for the NYS Health Department, concluded it was “inadvisable to stock this reservoir with fish or take any action to invite fishermen to the vicinity of the reservoir.” Larkin stated the Waterway was vital to our water supply, and advised Yonkers should “preserve the safe character of the water supply and keep it as free as possible from pollution.” The only alternative was to build an expensive filtration plant to purify the water; at that time, only chlorine was added to decontaminate the reservoir.
May 22, 1950: The Yonkers City March was introduced at the “I Am An American Day” ceremonies held at Larkin Plaza. The March, composed by Frank Alfidi, with lyrics written by Somerville Place’s Tony Labriola, was to be the subject of a resolution introduced by Mayer Kristensen to formally adopt it two days later. The day of the vote, Alfidi and Eugene Ettore performed the tune on accordions for the Council. Labriola was a well known actor, not only for performing on the Ken Murray CBS TV Show, he also was appearing nightly at the Roxy Theatre in New York.
Saturday, May 23rd
May 23, 1923: Reverend Larned and his assistant Reverend Langstaff officiated at an unusual United Veterans Memorial service: veterans of the Civil War, Spanish American war and World War I, including men who served with our allies, gathered at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Getty Square for the program.
May 23, 1933: An unnamed Yonkers beer lover was unhappy with his glass of beer, and did not think he was getting his money’s worth. He took a sample to City Hall to be tested; the analysis revealed he was right! Instead of being 3.2% alcohol, it only was 2.36% alcohol by weight.
May 23, 1942: Cameo Curtains on John Street was awarded a large government contract to manufacture mosquito bars for the Army. The contract was so big, Cameo would have to hire 100 more machine operators and work two shifts until 1943.
Sunday, May 24th
May 24, 1920: The Common Counsel gave Captain Charles Pease, Groschen Avenue, permission to dock the steamboats Daisy and Winthrop at the City Pier during the summer. Pease planned to start a regular service between the Palisades interstate Park and Yonkers.
May 24, 1943: Fifth-eight employees of the Alexander Smith and Sons Carpet Company completed the job methods training course given by the Training with Industry Division of the War Manpower Commission; the purpose of the training was to help workers produce more quality products in a shorter time.
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