June 8: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

June 8, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1919, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Changed world conditions as a result of the great war, the improvement in business and financial affairs and the lifting of restrictions on the railroads by the government have combined to make the summer resort season for 1919 an exceptional period. The war over, peace near at hand, wages increased in many lines and the outlook for the future bright, mean that a prosperous season is in store for hotel and boardinghouse keepers, the railroads and boat lines and all other interests which are usually benefitted by the great tide of summer travel. The vacation days approaching also have in them more than the ordinarily pleasurable anticipation for the inhabitants of the metropolis. Two years of war have strained the average human machine almost to the breaking point and the 1919 rest period in the mountains, at the seashore or in the farm country comes as a heartily welcomed relief for the tension. It will be the first real vacation for many families in several years.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND (U.P.) — Three-year-old Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwall and son of Queen Elizabeth II, asserted his will yesterday when he greeted his grandmother at nearby Dyce Airfield. ‘You wait here,’ he told Queen Mother Elizabeth after she arrived by plane on her way to the royal country estate at Balmoral. Then the little prince trotted off toward the plane which he boarded to welcome her. He was afraid he had left some candy inside. His nursemaid told him she had picked up the candy and was keeping it for him.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Toy guns which had been converted into lethal weapons by means of information gleaned from ‘so-called comic’ books were displayed by Special Sessions Justice John E. Cone Jr. last night at a meeting of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Bay Ridge Masonic Club in the clubhouse at 7602 Fourth Ave. Justice Cone, speaking on ‘Crime and Sex Comic Books,’ said the recent passage of a bill by the State Legislature banning ‘tie-in’ sales ‘should have a beneficial effect in that retail dealers no longer need purchase objectionable periodicals in order to be able to get the good ones.’ The jurist also hailed the public statement made last week by magazine publishers wherein they said that they were taking steps to police their own industry to rid it of periodicals which glorify crime, criminals and sex.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1963, Eagle sports columnist Jim Murray wrote, “The most pampered guy in the whole spectrum of sports spectating is the horseplayer. All he ever needs is a scratch sheet, two horses and the old lady’s grocery money. For surroundings, the Sahara Desert would do. Yet they build him Taj Mahals with tote boards, great soaring architectures of beauty with green grass, comfortable seats, cool trees, plenty of bars, and expensive live poultry in the infield guarded by a gorgeous tomato who has to have won a minimum of three beauty contests and keep her hair one color, at least throughout the meet. Contrast this with baseball where you got 16 out of 20 chances in the big leagues to sit in some termitic trap, probably behind a pole, eat soggy hot dogs with green beer and let sweat run down your neck while you get a seat next to some loudmouth who insists on rooting for the wrong team. In football, you freeze to death unless you take along the wife’s best bedspread and Kentucky or Scotland’s finest anti-freeze. At a prizefight, you need a surgical mask or you’ll asphyxiate yourself on cigar fumes. In auto racing, you need earplugs. Even in newer, swankier ballparks, history has shown you almost have to go to court to get a drink of water. But they can’t do enough for the horseplayer — statues of Beethoven in the walking ring, rare Old English prints on the top of the escalators. Its getting like spending the afternoon in the Huntington Library.”

***

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “The Time Tunnel” star James Darren, who was born in 1936; “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” singer Nancy Sinatra, who was born in 1940; “Lowdown” singer Boz Scaggs, who was born in 1944; “Picket Fences” star Kathy Baker, who was born in 1950; “Moon over Parador” star Sonia Braga, who was born in 1950; “Total Eclipse of the Heart” singer Bonnie Tyler, who was born in 1951; “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams, who was born in 1957; “In Living Color” creator Keenen Ivory Wayans, who was born in 1958; “ER” star Julianna Margulies, who was born in 1966; gun control advocate Gabby Giffords, who was born in 1970; composer and music producer Kanye West, who was born in 1977; TV personality Maria Menounos, who was born in 1978; and “Chicago Med” star Torrey DeVitto, who was born in Brooklyn in 1984.

Julianna Margulies
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

***

AMERICA’S TOP 10: The Bill of Rights, which led to the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, was first proposed by founding father James Madison on this day in 1789. It was ratified on Dec. 15, 1791. An original copy is on permanent display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

***

LEAVE ’EM LAUGHING: Jerry Stiller was born on this day in 1927. The Brooklyn native married actress-comedienne Anne Meara in 1954. As a comedy duo in the 1960s, Stiller and Meara became a phenomenon. In the 1990s, Stiller reached a new generation of fans when he was cast as Frank Costanza on “Seinfeld.” He then played Arthur Spooner on “The King of Queens.” Stiller and Meara were married for more than 60 years and had two children, Ben and Amy, who also went into show business. Meara died in 2015 and Stiller died in 2020.

***

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

Quotable:

“Never go for the punch line. There might be something funnier on the way.”

— comedian Jerry Stiller, who was born on this day in 1927