June 5: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

June 5, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1921, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Shall reinforced concrete or creosoted timbers be used in the construction of Coney Island Boardwalk, the Jamaica Bay Boulevard and general bulkhead work along the city’s waterfront? This is a question that is puzzling the city administration. Engineers of prominence and wide experience differ upon it radically. It is charged on the one hand that timber construction is not at all permanent. On the other, it is asserted that concrete is subject to quick and serious deterioration from exposure to salt air and salt water. Again, its defenders declare that if proper care is taken in the mixing of the concrete and the application of proper preservatives to the steel reinforcement, concrete is by far the better construction. There is a big difference in the cost — and in these days of a $27,000,000 school deficit, a mounting budget and a narrowing debt limit, that is important. Concrete is far more costly than creosoted timber. On the Coney Island Boardwalk alone, according to some engineers, nearly one-half of the estimated cost of concrete can be saved if timber is used. The plan is to build the surface of the walk entirely of timber.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1927, the Eagle reported, “Completion of the sandfill along the Rockaway coast during the past week, in preparation for the seven-mile ocean front boardwalk along the peninsula, has given an impetus to real estate in the Rockaways that promises to convert the community from a summer resort to a thriving all-year-round residential suburb of Greater New York. With the granting of a $500,000 appropriation for preliminary work on the boardwalk, a tremendous increase in real estate values and prolonged activity in building operations is foreseen as soon as the long-expected improvement gets under way. Businessmen and civic bodies in the Rockaways are anxious to have substantial and permanent buildings erected throughout the section so as to lessen the fire hazards. They are confident that nothing will start this movement with greater force than a boardwalk similar to the one at Coney Island, which will encourage the investment of capital on an elaborate scale.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Eagle reported, “WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The will of John D. Rockefeller, who died in Ormond Beach, Fla., May 23, at the age of 97, was filed for probate today in the office of Surrogate William J. Sheils of Westchester County. The estate was valued at approximately $25,000,000. The entire estate was left in trust for Margaret Strong de Cuevas, granddaughter of the oil magnate, who is to have the income during her lifetime. Mrs. De Cuevas is the daughter of Dr. Charles Augustus Strong and the late Bessie Rockefeller Strong. They were married May 22, 1889. Mrs. Strong died Nov. 4, 1906. Dr. Strong, who was formerly professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, now lives in Fiesole, Italy. Miss Strong and George de Cuevas were married Aug. 3, 1927. They live at Lakewood, N.J., but spend a great part of their time abroad. They have two children, Elizabeth and John. Mr. Rockefeller’s reason for disposing of his estate as he did is explained by a statement in one of the codicils to the will: ‘I am setting up a trust for the benefit of my granddaughter Margaret and her descendants to the exclusion of my other grandchildren and their descendants because when the time came that I felt it wise to place upon my children the responsibility of owning and administering substantial sums and for that purpose made large gifts to or for them, my oldest daughter Bessie, the mother of my granddaughter Margaret, was not living.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Eagle reported, “BELMONT PARK RACETRACK — War Admiral and his shadow, Pompoon, go after more gold and fame today. Recalling the famous duels of Cavalcade and Discovery three years ago, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness and the horse that shadowed him both events come together with five other three-year-olds in the 69th running of the $50,000 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. Each time they have met this year, the shadow from J.H. Louchheim’s stable has moved a little closer. Pompoon was two lengths back of Samuel Riddle’s ace in the mile and a quarter of the Derby. A week later he reduced the margin to a head in the mile and three-sixteenths of the Preakness. The big question to the 40,000 fans expected to pack the picturesque Long Island course is whether the shadow can pass his rival over the longer mile and a half — a test that calls for both speed and stamina.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include journalist and commentator Bill Moyers, who was born in 1934; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who was born in 1941; USA Track & Field Hall of Famer John Carlos, who was born in 1945; musician and filmmaker Laurie Anderson, who was born in 1947; financial advisor and media personality Suze Orman, who was born in 1951; Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain, who was born in 1952; Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who was born in 1953; “Matlock” star Nancy Stafford, who was born in 1954; jazz saxophonist Kenny G, who was born in 1956; singer-songwriter Brian McKnight, who was born in 1969; “Uncharted” star Mark Wahlberg, who was born in 1971; Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz, who was born in 1979; and former N.Y. Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, who was born in 1997.

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NEW HEIGHTS: The first public demonstration of a hot-air balloon flight took place on this day in 1783. In Annonay, France, brothers Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier succeeded in launching the 33-foot-diameter globe aerostatique they invented. The unmanned balloon rose an estimated 1,500 feet and traveled, wind-borne, about 7,500 feet before landing after a 10-minute flight — the first sustained flight of any object achieved by man.

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GRIDIRON GREAT: Marion Motley was born on this day in 1920. A fullback and linebacker, he was one of the first two African-Americans to break the color barrier in professional football when he and teammate Bill Willis debuted in the same game in September 1946. After serving in the Navy from 1944-45, Motley played for the Cleveland Browns (1946-53) and Pittsburgh Steelers (1955), winning a championship in 1950. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968 and died in 1999.

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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

Quotable:

“How can you ask someone to live in the world and not have something to say about injustice?”

— track and field champion John Carlos, who was born on this day in 1945