June 13: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

June 13, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1923, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The weather is clear today, says the Weather Man, except for the fact that forest fires make it seem otherwise and have treated the boro and city to a dull day. ‘The winds are variable,’ said Forecaster Scarr. ‘They are also light. The forest fires in New Jersey and up-State are heavy. So is the atmosphere around New York.’ ‘When the winds are light and variable,’ continued the boss of the weather, ‘they fall down on the job of policing up the air above us. There is haze out there, mixed with smoke. The smoke comes from as far as the Canadian border. It also comes from the chimneys of the city. And for the next day or two, it appears to have settled down for a snug visit.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1923, the Eagle reported, “Arrows on sidewalks of New York now indicate where pedestrians shall cross the street. Next thing may be a star to mark the spot where they are to be run over.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “The acquisition by C.N. Hilton of New York’s 1,200-room Roosevelt Hotel — one of the finest hostelries in the country — is the fulfillment of the dream of a young man who at a very tender age met the incoming early trains at San Antonio, New Mexico, in the hope of influencing one or two persons to his father’s five-room Hilton Hotel. The Roosevelt is directly connected with Grand Central Terminal and occupies the block bounded by Vanderbilt and Madison Aves., between 45th and 46th Streets. The transaction, which was arranged by Albert B. Ashforth, Inc., through James C. Blainey, the firm’s hotel expert, is the first transfer of stock interest in the hotel since it was opened in 1924. The State Realty and Terminal Company which is the New York Central has arranged to give the Roosevelt Hotel Inc. another 21-year lease on the structure, which in 1924 represented an investment of upward of $12,000,000 … Mr. Hilton needs no introduction, particularly to the West and Southwest. His vision and enterprise is largely responsible for the steady expansion of the Hilton chain which now comprises the well-known Town House at Los Angeles; Hilton Hotels in Abilene, El Paso, Lubbock, Longview and Plainview, Texas; Hilton Hotel, Albuquerque, N.M.; Hilton Hotel, Long Beach, Cal., and Palacoi Hilton at Chihuahua, Mexico.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “Mighty Citation took his place among the great performers of the turf at Belmont Park yesterday where he breezed to an easy victory in the Belmont Stakes, his third jewel in the ‘Triple Crown.’ The crowd of 43,046 gave the Calumet Cannonball a tremendous ovation as he straightened away in the stretch run to come home by eight lengths. The time for the mile and a half was 2:28 1-5 which equals the mark set by Count Fleet in 1943. Jockey Eddie Arcaro never used the whip on Citation. He let the son of Bull Lea-Hydroplane II run, and like all of his other efforts, Citation was willing and able, enjoying a five-length lead when he hit the stretch turn and lengthening it out to eight through the home lane. Arcaro was also riding for turf history. As Citation became the eighth horse to win the ‘Triple,’ the Newport, Ky., Italian became the first jockey to win the Triple for the second time. He rode Whirlaway, another Calumet flyer who turned the trick.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “Additional startling revelations about the prevalence of dope addiction among the city’s school students were expected today at the second session of the State’s public hearings, which yesterday unfolded the dramatic story of a 16-year-old schoolgirl and how she was introduced to marijuana, cocaine and finally heroin. The tape-recorded confession of the girl, who ended her recital with the fervent hope ‘I will not go back to using dope any more,’ was one of the dramatic highlights of the day’s session, overshadowing in its dramatic impact a long afternoon of squabbling between Attorney General Nathaniel Goldstein and Dr. William Jansen, Superintendent of Schools, over whether the school system was doing its share in trying to combat the evil. Whether Goldstein would use any more ‘unseen witnesses’ was not known, but the effect of the flat voice emanating from loudspeakers on the audience in the State Building room was so noticeable he was expected to produce more such testimony from time to time to pinpoint the over-all problem.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, an Eagle editorial said, “Medgar Evers, the NAACP official murdered on his own doorstep in Jackson, Miss., was followed by Jackson police day and night — except during the period just before he was assassinated. He had been under constant surveillance by the defenders of the law of white supremacy in Jackson. But he did not enjoy their protection while being shot in the back, almost in sight of his own children. The cowardliness of the murder speaks for itself. It also cries out against the Jackson police, and in favor of federal protection for NAACP leaders and other integrationists in the South. If the Jackson police department is not actually guilty of murder — which would not surprise us one whit — it certainly is responsible for turning its collective back so that the crime could be committed.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include lawyer and politician Eleanor Holmes Norton, who was born in 1937; “A Clockwork Orange” star Malcolm McDowell, who was born in 1943; “The Waltons” star Richard Thomas, who was born in 1951; “Last Man Standing” star Tim Allen, who was born in 1953; “St. Elmo’s Fire” star Ally Sheedy, who was born in 1962; sports journalist Hannah Storm, who was born in 1962; Weezer co-founder Rivers Cuomo, who was born in 1970; “Avengers” star Chris Evans, who was born in 1981; former NFL cornerback Nate Jones, who was born in 1982; “2 Broke Girls” star Kat Dennings, who was born in 1986; “Full House” stars Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, who were born in 1986; former N.Y. Mets catcher James McCann, who was born in 1990; and “Kick-Ass” star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who was born in 1990.

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A WAY WITH WORDS: William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin on this day in 1865. The Nobel Prize-winning poet and dramatist once wrote: “If an author interprets a poem of his own, he limits its suggestibility.” Yeats died in France in 1939. After World War II, his body was returned to Ireland for reburial.

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ON THE RIGHT TRACK: The world’s first roller coaster opened in Coney Island on this day in 1884. Built and later patented by LaMarcus Thompson, the “Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway” boasted two parallel 600-foot tracks that descended from 50 feet. The cars traveled at six miles per hour and riders paid five cents each for their rides. The roller coaster was a sensation and soon amusement parks all over the world featured them.

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

Quotable:

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”

— poet William Butler Yeats, who was born on this day in 1865