June 19: ON THIS DAY in 1945, City turns out to greet Ike

June 19, 2020 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1865, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “RECONSTRUCTION. — President Johnson has appointed James Johnson Provisional Governor of Georgia and Alex J. Hamilton Provisional Governor of Texas, and directed these gentlemen to reconstruct the government of their respective States on the same basis as is established in the case of North Carolina.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1925, the Eagle reported, “A record-breaking crowd which attended the final meeting of the Board of Estimate today, filling the room and overflowing into the corridors, gave the mayor a tumultuous demonstration when the board passed the $1,670,000 appropriation, which represents the initial outlay for the proposed seven-and-one-half-mile boardwalk at Rockaway Beach, designed to be the finest as well as the longest boardwalk in the world.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “A Brooklyn shoe repairman, lunch in hand and quite excited at the prospect of seeing General Eisenhower, was first to enter the reception stand at City Hall, arriving there at 4 a.m. He was Joseph Weissman of 1073 Blake Ave., who left his East New York home at 3 a.m. for the big event. Short and stocky, and wearing a fisherman’s cap, Mr. Weissman, an amateur poet, had copies of his poems with him, and distributed them to anyone who would accept them. ‘Why did I leave my home at 3 a.m.?’ he stated. ‘Well, just to see the greatest man on earth.’ Another early arrival, who entered the stands at 6 a.m., was Mrs. Francis Le Worthy of 476 E. 18th St., who said of the General: ‘He saved the world. I’d travel any place to see him.’ An unusual angle was given the occasion by Mrs. Delphine Grumbach, 74, of 1306 DeKalb Ave., who brought along the silk American flag which she waved at General Pershing when he triumphantly returned to New York city after the First World War … One of the first to arrive at LaGuardia Field to witness the hero’s arrival by plane was 8-year-old Robert Sackman, of 105-43 Ditmars Boulevard, Corona, a student at Public School 127, who came early to see ‘the best general we ever had.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “A piano recital will be presented by the pupils of Edith May Rohrs tomorrow at 8:15 p.m. at the Parkville Congregational Church parish house, 18th Ave. and E. 5th St. Among the participants will be Anita Ross, Roy Gordon, Leslie Gordon, Marc Edelstein, Norman Obst, George Obst, Mark Levine, Rodney Leathers, Barbara Streisand, Andrea Arnaud, Susan Advocate, Hally Pankin, Carol Norman, Greta Boxer, Joann Voraski, Brian Pellicano, Leonard Zaslow, Antoinette L. Savarese, Mary Hershberger, Paulette Archambault and Bonnie Leathers.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “Washington (UPI) — President Kennedy said he will make two visits to the Berlin wall during his controversial 10-day trip to Europe starting Saturday. By announcing details of his itinerary yesterday, the president reaffirmed his intention to visit Britain, Italy and West Germany despite unsettled political conditions in those countries. He also will pay a call on Ireland. The president’s sister, Mrs. Eunice Shriver, is expected to be the official stand-in for Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy on the president’s trip. The First Lady, who is expecting her third child in August, announced some time ago that she would not be going.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “London (UPI) — Buckingham Palace denied a London newspaper report that Prince Charles, heir to the throne, drank cherry brandy in a hotel bar at Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis Monday night. A palace spokesman said: ‘The story (reported by the Daily Telegraph yesterday) is completely untrue. We have made inquiries into this and this was not the situation at all.’ The Telegraph quoted a barmaid as saying the Prince had the drink when he dined at the hotel with four other boys from Gordonstoun School. Drinking regulations in Scotland set a minimum age of 18 for drinks without meals and 16 for certain alcoholic beverages served with food.”