ON THIS DAY IN 1880, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “FORKED RIVER, N.J., APRIL 24 ― Over three hundred families, who had sustained themselves by the picking and sale of teaberries and whortleberries, are placed in destitute circumstances by the destruction of that industry by the great forest fires of last week. The loss in this production in Southern Ocean County alone will aggregate $75,000 for the season. These poor people have no other means of gaining a livelihood, and it is proposed to ask the general public to raise a fund to assist them. Beside being deprived of the means of making a living, hundreds of them lost their homes by the fires. A meeting is to be called in furtherance of this charitable and pressing project.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1884, the Eagle reported, “LONDON ― The Pope has decided to create another cardinal in the United States. It is intended to always have two in the States and also one in South America.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1904, the Eagle reported, “ROCKAWAY BEACH, L.I. ― The first entertainment for the benefit of a fund to establish an emergency hospital for the Fifth Ward was given at Arion Hall on Saturday night, by a cast comprised of seventy-five children. The play, ‘Snow White,’ was written expressly for this occasion by L. Dinnebeil and was an adaptation from the German fairy tale, ‘Schneewitchen.’ The play had been in preparation for over a month under direction of Mr. Dinnebeil and the children showed marked dramatic skill and careful training.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Eagle reported, “Police Commissioner Enright today took exception to a statement attributed to Norman White, of the Army Intelligence Bureau, in which the latter stated that the Police Department had shown laxity in conducting the fingerprinting and registration of alien enemies. White is supposed to have told the Military Affairs Committee that ‘one New York newspaper had said 32,000 aliens refused to register’ and that he figured ’50,555’ had escaped and that ‘nothing had been done’ to catch them. Enright declared that 32,000 was an exaggerated figure; that no alien enemy so far as he knew had refused to register, and explained that the Police Department had proceeded with the registration with all thoroughness and effectiveness.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Eagle reported, “QUEBEC (AP) ― Floyd Bennett, who flew over the North Pole with Commander Richard E. Byrd, died at 10:50 a.m. today from double pneumonia. Both Mrs. Bennett and Commander Byrd, Bennett’s closest friend, were at the bedside in the hospital when the end came. Mrs. Bennett is herself a patient in the same hospital with tonsilitis. Bennett’s body will be taken to his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. Bennett was brought to the Jeffrey Hale Hospital by airplane from Lake St. Agnes Sunday after being stricken while commanding an air expedition to the relief of the stranded transatlantic Bremen fliers on Greenly Island. Bennett undertook this relief expedition with Bernt Balchen, although both of them had to leave sick beds to do so. After Bennett’s cold turned into pneumonia and he had to drop out of the expedition, Balchen pushed on without him. Bennett’s condition became increasingly serious as the days and hours passed, and at 10 o’clock this morning specialists brought here to tend him from New York announced that everything was in vain and that he was dying.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Eagle reported, “BALBOA, C.Z. (AP) ― Less than 48 hours after the giant aircraft carrier Lexington led the naval parade of the United States fleet on its start through the Panama Canal, the training ship Melville ― bringing up the rear of the great flotilla ― left Gatun Locks shortly before dawn today. No sooner had the last unit been locked through than a strict censorship on cables and dispatches regarding the movement of the vessels in the fleet was lifted. Censorship was imposed when, simulating actual emergency war conditions, an attempt was started before daylight Monday to complete the transit of the 101 war vessels from the Pacific to the Atlantic in 24 hours. It was learned today that authorities had prepared for several months to handle the transit of the fleet as secretly as possible, due to the fact they possessed information that attempts were likely to be made to hamper progress. This information, it became known, was received from the Army military intelligence service. During the transit, the locks were patrolled by the heaviest soldier guards placed there since World War days. A modified guard will remain thus indefinitely, it was understood today. Heretofore, the locks ― which are the most vital part of the Panama Canal ― always have been devoid of protection, permitting an approach day and night.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “MINNEAPOLIS ― This seemingly endless struggle for National Basketball Association honors, which started Nov. 1, 1951, will positively mark its finale here tonight when the New York Knicks and Minneapolis Lakers, squared at 3-3 in their best four-out-of-seven game playoff series, meet in the decisive contest. Not that this finish dash is a new experience for the Knickerbockers. They went all the way down to a last gasp a year ago before bowing to Rochester in the seventh game for the league crown. But Minneapolis has had better luck in the playoffs. Three seasons ago they grabbed the championship in six games, a feat they repeated the following campaign. Thus far, in the current series, it’s been a strict see-saw affair. The Lakers won the first (overtime), third and fifth games while New York took the second, fourth (overtime) and sixth battles. The swing of the pendulum would indicate that a trend toward the Minnies is in prospect again.”
***
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino, who was born in 1940; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival), who was born in 1945; “Rocky” star Talia Shire, who was born in 1946; “The Mist” star Jeffrey DeMunn, who was born in 1947; three-time Super Bowl champion Randy Cross, who was born in Brooklyn in 1954; political commentator and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, who was born in 1961; “The Simpsons” star Hank Azaria, who was born in 1964; Erasure singer Andy Bell, who was born in 1964; sportscaster Joe Buck, who was born in 1969; three-time Super Bowl champion Darren Woodson, who was born in 1969; two-time Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger, who was born in 1969; Basketball Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, who was born in 1976; “Queen of the Damned” star Marguerite Moreau, who was born in 1977; former NFL running back DeAngelo Williams, who was born in 1983; and Olympic gold medal-winning triathlete Gwen Jorgensen, who was born in 1986.
***
ALL HAIL THE QUEEN: Ella Fitzgerald was born on this day in 1917. The Virginia native, known as the “Queen of Jazz,” was a regular at Harlem’s Apollo Theater by age 15. After a stint as a big band singer, she transitioned to bebop and developed her famous “scat” singing style. Fitzgerald recorded more than 200 albums and won 13 Grammys. She died in 1996.
***
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: The Hubble Space Telescope was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on this day in 1990. Named for American astronomer Edwin Hubble, it is the largest on-orbit observatory and can image objects up to 14 billion light years away.
***
Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“The time when there is no one there to feel sorry for you or to cheer for you is when a player is made.”
— Basketball Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, who was born on this day in 1976
