December 11: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 11, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1848, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “GRACE CHURCH — The opening of the new Episcopal church in Hicks street yesterday called out a crowded house. Rev. Dr. Vinton, the pastor, preached from these words: ‘Hitherto the Lord hath helped us.” In the course of his sermon he stated that the church was nearly paid for, there being on it only a debt of $6,000 which he hoped would be entirely liquidated by the sale of the pews. He also stated that when the debt was wiped off, the church would receive an annuity of $1,000 from Trinity, which with the pew rents, would be ample to meet the annual expenses. It was intended the church should ultimately be entirely free and about one third of the pews are to be free from the first. This church is one of the handsomest in our city and its pastor, Dr. Vinton, ranks among our ablest and most popular clergymen. The architecture of the building is of Gothic and Mosaic. The interior is finished very elaborately. The wood work is of black walnut, the windows are stained and in the latest and best taste, and the large one in the rear of the chancel is particularly beautiful. This part of the church is very imposing and hardly surpassed in beauty by any church in the country. In the south end of the building is a gallery, immediately over the chapel, containing an organ of tones full and sweet. The ceiling is cancellated, and supported by eight sextagonal pillars.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1904, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, DEC. 10 — Lieutenant General Chaffee, chief of staff, who has been appointed grand marshal of the inaugural parade today, contradicted reports that the parade will be ‘a military affair and that civic organizations are not wanted,’ and added: ‘It is the intention to secure the participation in the parade of civic organizations from all parts of the country and special attention will be given to that feature.’ General Chaffee today issued his first general order as grand marshal of the parade. It announced the appointment of the following members of his staff: Chief of staff, Brigadier General John A. Johnson; Adjutant general, Major William P. Duvall, general staff; Assistant adjutant generals, Captain Frank DeW. Ramsay, Robert E.L. Michie and John J. Pershing, all of the general staff.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1921, the Eagle reported, “Mr. and Mrs. Payne Whitney of Greentree, Manhasset, have issued invitations for a ball which they are to give on Dec. 20 in the new ballroom of the Plaza to introduce their daughter, Miss Joan Whitney.” (Editor’s note: Forty-one years later, Joan Whitney Payson became the first owner of the N.Y. Mets.)

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “New York City service men will be discharged from the armed forces at the rate of 1,000 a day after Jan. 1 into a city already facing the worst housing shortage in its history, Joseph Platzker, Commissioner of Housing and Buildings, said today. Mr. Platzker urged immediate summoning of the State Legislature by Governor Dewey to authorize dwelling law changes in the face of the impending avalanche of returnees. ‘I have been advised that the army and navy will discharge men at the rate of 1,000 a day,’ the commissioner said. ‘The waiting list for housing is long now, how long nobody knows. With more coming back the situation can only get worse.’ Meanwhile, State measures to meet the emergency were reported from Albany. Governor Dewey announced ‘a revolution in State procedure’ which would cut time lags in the clearing and preparation of $50,000,000 worth of military installations for temporary housing. The Governor’s announcement said that new procedures would cut what was formerly weeks of work to minutes. The speedup was worked out at a meeting yesterday of department representatives.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “Nineteen-year-old Sid Krofft, whose puppet act is one highlight of ‘Howdy, Mr. Ice of 1950,’ the Sonja Henie-Arthur M. Wirtz show at the Center Theater, has the distinction of being the youngest professional puppeteer in the business. Sid started receiving instructions from his father at the age of nine. At 12 he put on his own puppet show. It was a production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which he presented in schools throughout New England. Admission fee was a War Bond or Stamp. His tour was such a success, raising thousands of dollars, he was asked to get together a second production. This time, with the permission of Walt Disney, he produced a musical version of Pinocchio in 18 scenes, using 27 puppets. Manufacturing the puppets Sid uses is a family affair. The bodies are made by his father, who established a reputation as a puppeteer in Europe, while the costumes are hand-sewn by his mother. Each puppet takes between three and 400 man-hours to make. While the basic number of strings for a puppet is seven, some of Sid’s contain as many as 36, said to be a record.” (Editor’s note: 1970s kids fondly remember Sid Krofft and his brother Marty as creators of the Saturday morning TV shows “H.R. Pufnstuf,” “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters” and “Land of the Lost,” among others. Sid turned 94 in July. Marty died Nov. 25 at age 86.)

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Hailee Steinfeld
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Oscar-winning actress Rita Moreno, who was born in 1931; “Knots Landing” star Donna Mills, who was born in 1940; former Secretary of State John Kerry, who was born in 1943; “Mission: Impossible” star Lynda Day George, who was born in 1944; “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” singer Brenda Lee, who was born in 1944; “My So-Called Life” star Bess Armstrong, who was born in 1953; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jermaine Jackson (The Jackson 5), who was born in 1954; Motley Crue co-founder Nikki Sixx, who was born in 1958; Oscar-winning actress Mo’Nique, who was born in 1967; “The Italian Job” star Mos Def, who was born in Brooklyn in 1973; “Boy Meets World” star Rider Strong, who was born in 1979; and “True Grit” star Hailee Steinfeld, who was born in 1996.