December 9: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “New York City, and the entire Northeast Coast, today had its first air raid alarm. New Yorkers found themselves in the midst of what they had heard about in reports from Europe and Asia, more recently the Pacific Islands and the West Coast. Enemy planes were approaching Long Island — from New England and then from off the Virginia coast. Bombers, apparently, were heading for the Brooklyn Navy Yard, for Mitchel Field and other points. Reports were confusing, but the defense organizations, in view of what had happened in Hawaii, were taking no chances. Interceptor planes took to the air from Mitchel Field to seek out the enemy. Air raid sirens were sounded. Schools were closed. Employees were sent home. Police warned pedestrians to keep off crowded streets. At 1:45 p.m., the police sounded the all-clear signal and a minute later the Fire Department followed suit. But at 2 p.m. the air-raid alarm was renewed by both departments, a minute apart. Police announced the second all-clear at 2:41 p.m.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “Public school Christmas programs, by decision of Mayor [William] O’Dwyer, Superintendent of Schools William Jansen and Andrew G. Clauson, head of the Board of Education, today were back in the hands of local school principals. The mayor, after a conference with the school officials at City Hall, announced his approval of Dr. Jansen’s statement of policy on the ‘Bildersee ban’ on Christmas carols mentioning the Nativity and other religious references. Clauson, emerging from the conference, figuratively rapped the knuckles of Assistant School Superintendent Isaac Bildersee, who issued the controversial ban to the 23 Brooklyn schools under his supervision. ‘It was simply a case of a person overstepping his authority,’ Clauson declared. ‘There was absolutely no reason for Bildersee’s order.’ The selection of public school Christmas programs will now be definitely at the discretion of principals, teachers and participants. Bildersee, meanwhile, bowed to the decision of his superiors, but maintained his personal opinion that his order had been right in the first place.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.