December 26: ON THIS DAY in 1947, winter storm cripples NYC

December 26, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “Eleven inches of blinding snow blanketed the city by noon today and the Weather Bureau forecast 15 inches before night. It was the heaviest snowfall in many years. In the most recent heavy fall, 10.1 inches were recorded in 1944. The result was paralyzed traffic, impassable streets and long lines of buses and trolleys formed behind stalled automobiles and trucks. Springing to action with all available equipment to combat the storm were [the] Police, Sanitation and Fire Departments, in addition to the Board of Transportation. The Police Department ordered all police patrol cars to stand by to act as ambulances in the emergency. A survey revealed that all available ambulances in Brooklyn were either busy or bogged down.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1868, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The President’s Proclamation extending pardon to all who were engaged in the Rebellion comes fittingly at this season and not a moment before public sentiment was prepared for its reception. The farce of trying Jeff Davis is now closed, and twelve men will not be under the necessity of passing an opinion on questions which millions have agreed in accepting as decided.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1897, the Eagle reported, “About two weeks ago [we] sent reporters out to ascertain the sentiment in the city in regard to some appropriate public recognition of the change in the affairs of the city which are to take place at midnight, December 31, when Brooklyn is to become Brooklyn Borough and a part of Greater New York. The response was immediate, though by no means unanimous on any one side of the question. The political struggle was a bitter one, a sort of renewal of the old struggle over consolidation itself, that cut the city interests almost in two. It is a question whether there is not even now a vast preponderance of sentiment against the union, and half the merchants, lawyers, clergymen and others who were questioned were decidedly against any celebration.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Eagle reported, “Associated Press, On Board President Wilson’s Special Train en Route to Calais, December 26 – President [Woodrow] Wilson left Chaumont for England late yesterday afternoon, feeling more strongly than ever the magnificent part American soldiers took in the winning of the war. Yesterday’s review, in which 10,000 American soldiers marched before him, created a deep impression on the president, quite apart from the historic significance of reviewing fighting men on foreign soil for the first time. When addressing his troops as ‘fellow countrymen,’ he told them that he believed that he could ‘promise them a happy New Year.’ This was considered the keynote of the address, and friends about Mr. Wilson construed his words to mean that he was beginning to see the way more clearly toward the attainment of the objectives he has set for himself at the peace conference.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “No one who has ever found escape and pleasure in a movie comedy will fail to feel a pang in the death of W.C. Fields. His raspy voice, the inevitable twinkle in his eye, his bulbous nose were the trademarks of a genuine artist. He was no mere buffoon who relied on slapstick and clownery to achieve a laugh. Instead he was a master mimic whose droll asides carried the stamp of inspired ad-libbing and whose mimicry was of the highest thespian level. It was no accident that Fields resembled nothing so much as a character out of Dickens and, indeed, one of his great roles was that of Micawber in ‘David Copperfield.’ Perhaps he will be best remembered for his conception of Humpty-Dumpty in ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ A master of difficult calling has been lost to the entertainment world in his passing.”