By Mary Hoar, President Emerita, Yonkers Historical Society, recipient of the 2004 Key to History and President Untermyer Performing Arts Council
Monday, September 27th
September 27, 1854: Captain James E. Luce of Yonkers was involved in a fatal collision with another steamship off the shore of Newfoundland. His ship, the SS Arctic, a transatlantic mail and passenger paddle steamship known for its speed and luxury, sank four hours after colliding in the fog with the French steamer SS Vesta. Not realizing the Arctic’s damage, Luce tried to help the Vesta, but headed towards shore as soon as he discovered his ship was “seriously holed” below the waterline. Luce launched the lifeboats, but the lifeboat capacity was 180, less than half of the passengers and crew on board. Only two lifeboats reached shore; a passing ship picked up a third as well as a few passengers floating on makeshift rafts. Of the 400 people on the ship, only 24-male passengers and 61-crew members survived; all women and children perished. Captain Luce followed tradition and went down with the ship; somehow he managed to surface and was rescued two days later, clinging to wreckage of the paddle-wheel box. Although exonerated from responsibility with testimonials to his “noble and heroic conduct,” he retired from the sea afterwards.
Tuesday, September 28th
September 28, 1915: Alexander Smith Cochran entertained the 56 members of the Yonkers’ GAR Kitching Post attending the national encampment of the Civil War Veterans’ Association in Washington.
September 28, 1950: Max Alth of Riverdale Avenue wrote an article for American Home Magazine, comparing Halloween in Yonkers before the PAL Ragamuffin Parade with the celebrations after the parade started. He stated the number of police calls, brush fires, false alarms and other incidents of vandalism dropped substantially, noting the 1949 Ragamuffin Parade had 11,000 children participating and 70,000 spectators along the parade route.
Wednesday, September 29th
September 29, 1913: City Judge Joseph Beall went to Albany to testify in the Sulzer impeachment proceedings. Sulzer, Governor of New York, attempted to institute a series of reforms such as investigations into corruption in the State Legislature. He refused to follow Tammany “suggestions” for state appointments, considered a major threat to the organization. Accusations against the Governor included perjury in an 1890 lawsuit and involvement in fraudulent companies in Cuba. He was accused of using campaign money to purchase stock, a charge his wife admitted right before the hearings. At the same time, a model from Philadelphia sued him for breach of promise, swearing he had promised to marry her in 1903; Sulzer claimed this was a “frame-up.”
September 29, 1918: After the Yonkers Chapter of the Red Cross issued an urgent appeal for clothing for destitute Belgians, more than 500 Boy Scouts scoured the city, looking for available clothing.
Thursday, September 30th
September 30, 1925: Thieves committed a daring robbery of $2,000 worth of meats from the Morris Company storehouse at 6 Ashburton Avenue. They drove their truck into a side entrance and used cable pulleys to swing huge pieces of pork and quarters of beef onto their truck.
September 30, 1935: Three Portuguese societies presented the City of Yonkers a bronze statue symbolizing the liberty of Portugal in a ceremony held at the Polish Community Center. The statue was designed and created by Joseph Ferreira, an employee at St. John’s Riverside Hospital.
September 30, 1951: After negotiations failed between IEWU Local 453 and Otis Elevator, nearly 2,000 workers, both production and office employees, went on strike and shut down the Yonkers plant.
Friday October 1st
October 1, 1910 Office Thomas McCaul fired two shots and caught a man attempting to enter the home of world famous actor Jefferson DeAngelis on Sunnyside Drive. Assemblyman George Rigby, Alanson Prim and Arthur Lawrence, neighbors of the noted actor, joined in the chase of the miscreant.
DeAngelis was a 19th-20th century stage actor who specialized in comedy and acrobatic clowning, achieving fame both in vaudeville and on Broadway. One of his better-known performances was in the hit 1927 Broadway play “The Royal Family” by Edna Ferber. He occasionally appeared in silent films and shorts. De Angelis wrote his autobiography in 1931 titled A Vagabond Trouper with Alvin E. Harlow.
October 1, 1920: October 1, 1921: National League umpire Bill Klem returned to his home at 610 South Broadway after officiating the inter-city series in Chicago. Upon arriving home, he received word he was appointed to be an umpire in the World’s Series for the tenth year!
Saturday, October 2nd
October 2, 1916: Yonkers Public Schools reopened for the fall term after a three-week delay because of the danger of infantile paralysis. Many parents had not let their children leave their homes during the summer because of the seriousness of the Yonkers polio epidemic.
October 2, 1945: People of Yonkers were delighted to see a very large picture of Seaman First Class Richard Stowell chatting with President Harry Truman at the crew’s mess table on the USS Augusta on the front coverer of All Hands, a Bureau of Naval Personnel Information publication. The Herald Statesman had published a similar photo a few months earlier.
Sunday, October 3rd
October 3, 1873: Mrs. Herriot, mother of Doctor George Herriot passed away in the house where she was born. Located on Broadway near New Main Street, she often spoke of seeing General Washington “ride up the lane in the direction of the present Park Hill Avenue.”
October 3, 1914: Theodore Roosevelt and Alfred E. Smith spoke at Philipsburgh Hall to kickoff an automobile campaign tour for Frederick Davenport and the Progressive ticket.
October 3, 1917: Former Yonkers letter carrier James Skowronski of Ingram Street was on the Navy’s Submarine Chaser 22 when it docked at the City Pier. Skowronski was the Quartermaster on the sub.
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 yhsociety@aol.com.
