By Mary Hoar, President Emerita, Yonkers Historical Society, recipient of the 2004 Key to History, President Untermyer Performing Arts Council
Monday, April 19th
April 19, 1947: The US Shipbuilding Corporation of Yonkers submitted the low bid of $465,000 to the Maritime Commission to reconvert former attack transport Cepheus to a cargo ship within eighty days; they promised to complete the job without dry-docking the ship.
April 19, 1963: Without the knowledge of the Yonkers Police Department, New York State and Westchester County agents raided a suspected bookmaking room, operating 300 feet from a Yonkers Police Station. Carl Vergari, at the time Chief Counsel for the State Investigation Commission, stated YPD was not invited because of “suspicions” that not only were police officers not raiding gambling establishments, some were believed to be accepting bribes for protection. The raid took place in a television tube store; agents found evidence the room was headquarters of 13 other gambling sites in Yonkers, with an “annual take” of more than $1,000,000 a year. Four Yonkers men were arrested.
Tuesday, April 20th
April 20, 1893: A fire broke out in the Standard Oil Company yard in Yonkers, started by crossed electric and telephone wires. Current sent into the company’s office set the woodwork on fire. The fire quickly spread from the office to the yard. Two thousand-gallon tanks of oil exploded, spewing oil all over the facility. Although our Yonkers fire fighters worked all night, once the tanks exploded they were unable to save the yard, causing estimated damages of $15,000.
April 20, 1942: The tip of a German bomb was put on display in the Otis Administration Building lobby in Yonkers. The bomb, dropped on the London Otis factory, damaged a wall and shattered thousands of square feet of glass… but no one was hurt. The nose cone was so badly damaged and rusty, an ordnance engineer stated, “It was a poor grade of metal. If we put out that kind of stuff, we’d be shot.” A silver plaque revealing its story was placed next to it, reading “Nose of 550-pound high explosive bomb dropped on the works of Waygood-Otis Ltd., London, during German air raid, 21st October, 1941. Presented to Mr. J. H. Van Alstyne by W. Wellesley Weaver, works Manager, London Plant.” Jesse Van Alstyne, President of Otis for twenty years, personally directed the company’s war work, including manufacturing gun parts and equipment for Government buildings.
Wednesday, April 21st
April 21, 1913: A White Plains Supreme Court jury awarded Yonkers fifteen-year-old Eddie Wendt $300 for damages from Morris Rothschild for beating up the teenager. Although originally brought before the Yonkers City Court more than a year earlier, the lawsuit was adjourned so many times attorney William Walsh gave up on trying to get a Yonkers trial and moved the case to White Plains. In an interesting twist, it was learned that the lad actually did not know Rothschild’ s first name!
April 21, 1923: Police Captain Edward Quirk received a letter from officials of the US Secret Service praising Patrolmen John Daly and Edward Fitzgerald for their roles in helping the Secret Service resolve a case based in Yonkers.
April 21, 1933: The Yonkers Electric Light and Power Company told City of Yonkers officials to go to court if they intended to obstruct plans to build 81-foot towers; the towers were to be built from North Yonkers to Dunwoodie to carry high power lines.
Thursday, April 22nd
April 22, 1920: Mayor William Wallin and the Honor Roll Committee asked the Common Council to authorize the erection of a bronze tablet to commemorate the part played by “Yonkers boys” in the World War and honor the city’s soldier lost in the war.
April 22, 1927: The Yonkers Statesman canvassed prominent local citizens for their opinions of what they thought the optimal credentials to qualify someone to be Mayor of Yonkers should be. Our local leaders thought the top two qualifications were business ability and legal training.
April 22, 1928: Dr. Isaiah Bowman of Lewis Parkway, Director of the American Geographical Society, announced Captain George Wilkins had discovered no new land in his Arctic flight sponsored by the Society, and it had not been his intention to fly over the North Pole.
Friday, April 23rd
April 23, 1918: According to US Fuel Administrator Dr. Harry Garfield, “Lightless Thursday Nights” were suspended in Yonkers because New York State adopted Daylight Savings Time.
April 23, 1928: The Aldermanic Zoning Committee, after conferring with architects and real estate brokers, limited building height to 75 feet, essentially prohibiting skyscrapers in Yonkers.
April 23, 1959: Drummer and Park Hill resident Gene Krupa married Patty Bowler at St. Denis Memorial Church at a ceremony performed by parish priest Father Marshall.
Saturday, April 24th
April 24, 1949: Senior Major Samuel Toft, Divisional Commander of the Yonkers Salvation Army, spoke at the New York City Reformatory at New Hampton in observance of Prison Sunday. A tradition started in 1916, Prison Sunday was celebrated in every state and federal correctional facility in the US. Religious services, special speakers, musical entertainment and signers were part of every ceremony, and printed messages were given to every prisoner.
April 24, 1954: The Cross County Shopping Center was formally dedicated, forever changing the nature of shopping not only in our city, but also in our country.
Sunday, April 25th
April 25, 1917: Ella Fitzgerald was born in Virginia; her mother Temperance Fitzgerald moved north to Yonkers shortly after Ella was born.
April 25, 1929: After dedicating a flagpole and tablet in memory of the late Mayor Thomas Larkin, “the friend of every policeman,” the Yonkers Police Association officially turned them over to the city. The honor of unveiling the tablet was given to the late Mayor’s son, Thomas Larkin, Jr.
April 25, 1935: Laura Elting of Glenwood Avenue was chosen to be the first woman deacon in the history of the First Presbyterian Church.
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.
