October 25: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

October 25, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “DETROIT (U.P.) — The C.I.O. auto workers union today obtained strike-vote authority for a walkout in the General Motors system to enforce wage demands and pushed for similar power against the Chrysler Corporation. Returns from yesterday’s strike ballot in G.M.C. gave the United Automobile Workers Union (C.I.O.) overwhelming support in its fight for a 30 percent wage increase throughout the automobile industry. Across the nation the NLRB election results were of one trend — ranging from 70 to 90 percent in favor of a walkout in General Motors plants. Official returns will be tabulated and announced in Detroit tonight, but the scattered unofficial tallies appeared conclusive. There was no indication of the trend in the Chrysler balloting on the strike issue. Despite the strike sentiment, which both industry and labor anticipated, U.A.W. officials said no walkout would be called immediately, or until ‘we have exhausted every other avenue of remedy for our problem.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “The city today rushed plans to put Floyd Bennett Field into full operation as a commercial airport in order to relieve the pressure at LaGuardia Field, which will have to be closed for reconstruction within nine months to two years because the eastern end of the field is sinking rapidly. Token operations at the Brooklyn field are slated to start in about two weeks, according to Frederick G. Reinicke, Commissioner of Marine and Aviation, who said that 150 commercial flights daily would be handled there when full-scale operations get under way some four months hence. In announcing that the Queens airport would have to be closed down for repairs, Commissioner Reinicke said that engineers have found that it is sinking at the rate of six inches a year and that if this is not checked ‘it may all be awash’ in two years. Declaring that the city was in immediate need of a field and that the Navy in relinquishing a major part of Floyd Bennett Field realized that an emergency existed, Mr. Reinicke declared, ‘We are desperately trying to create facilities to catch up with our needs. The increase is such that we can’t possibly keep up with the needs, even though we are extending our facilities to the limit within the restrictions under which we work.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “Another straw in the inflationary wind blowing up college tuition fees is the announcement by Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., that it will increase its annual tuition fee from $600 to $650. This announcement followed similar ones by other centers of collegiate education. Dr. Victor L. Butterfield, Wesleyan president, explained that rising costs have made increases necessary for most independent colleges in the past five years. He pointed out that since 1941, Wesleyan’s annual expenditure per student has doubled — from $1,000 to $2,200 — while the cost to the student has gone up only one-third. The last tuition increase was made in 1947-48. It was from $500 to $600.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon arrives in New York City tomorrow, and the town fathers are making quite a fuss about it. The woman with the long name is, of course, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, the famous grandmother who got a goodbye hug on the other side of the Atlantic from a future king. The Elizabeth, with the Queen Mother and 1,922 passengers aboard, was scheduled to dock at Pier 90, foot of W. 50th St., Manhattan, at 8 a.m. tomorrow. But Cunard Line officials announced at noon that bad weather had delayed the liner and she would not dock until 5 p.m. Not only has the Mayor’s reception committee brushed up on royal protocol, but city officials held lengthy planning sessions with photographers and reporters assigned to cover the Queen Mother’s arrival to be sure that the strict rules of British royalty are observed. No questions, no approaching too near the Queen Mother and no friendly shouts from photographers to smile at the cameras. The gracious, smiling daughter of a Scottish nobleman, who chose for herself the title of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, after the death of King George VI, will spend 10 days here, then visit Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va., and Canada before leaving to return to England on Nov. 18.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1962, the Eagle reported, “Students on several American college campuses have demonstrated against the nation’s Cuban policy. But some of the groups encountered opposition from collegians who approve the quarantine. University of Wisconsin students passed out handbills which called President Kennedy’s actions a ‘bellicose, unilateral act.’ The Wisconsin students said they were from two organizations — the Socialist Club and Students for Peace & Disarmament. Students from Michigan’s Wayne State University joined other demonstrators in Detroit yesterday carrying signs that said, ‘Hands Off Cuba’ and ‘There Are Alternatives to War.’ They said they were members of the Student Peace Union, Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy and the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom. But their picketing attracted other students, also from Wayne State, carrying signs that said, ‘JFK We’re With You,’ and ‘To Hell with Fidel.’ Some members of this group said they were members of the Young Democratic Club and others said they were Young Republicans.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Happy Days” star Marion Ross, who was born in 1928; Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, who was born in 1935; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Anderson (Yes), who was born in 1944; political consultant James Carville, who was born in 1944; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest), who was born in 1947; Basketball Hall of Famer Dave Cowens, who was born in 1948; Basketball Hall of Famer Dan Issel, who was born in 1948; hockey player and Olympic gold medalist Mike Eruzione, who was born in 1954; “The Simpsons” star Nancy Cartwright, who was born in 1957; “Square Pegs” star Tracy Nelson, who was born in 1963; “Spin City” star Michael Boatman, who was born in 1964; actress and TV host Samantha Bee, who was born in 1969; “The Equalizer” star Adam Goldberg, who was born in 1970; Baseball Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, who was born in 1971; “Firework” singer Katy Perry, who was born in 1984; and “Level Up” singer Ciara, who was born in 1985.