September 15: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

September 15, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1925, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Although the new James Madison High School is greatly over-crowded, the opening yesterday morning was one of very orderly fashion. The school was looked after better than the average school on opening day. As the lunch room was not yet in perfect condition, the students had some difficulty in securing their lunches. The first concern of the faculty will be to see that the students are properly placed in classes. General organization elections will then be held and all expect a very bitter fight, due to the fact that many students are from Erasmus, where a very strenuous quarrel took place last term. The choosing of the school colors will be left up to the student body. The school is exceedingly over-crowded and the handling of the pupils has become a burden to the administration as they are over their quota now. It will take at least a week to arrange the school and have everything run smoothly, the principal declared today. Only two periods were held on the opening day to let the students get a good idea of their respective programs and rooms.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — Acting Secretary of Agriculture Norris E. Dodd today called for voluntary rationing by Americans to avert famine and actual starvation in Europe this Winter. Whether some people eat at all, he said, depends on whether Americans are willing to eat less meat, poultry and dairy products. Dodd, just back from a meeting of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Geneva, said the Government is powerless to force people to eat less. ‘Voluntary rationing is the only way I can see that you can get supplies to keep famine out of some countries,’ he said. He suggested some European governments might fall into the hands of Communists unless more food is sent abroad. Dodd also urged the nation’s farmers to reduce the amount of wheat that is fed to meat and dairy animals. He was asked if the nation’s brewers and distillers would be likely to go along in any voluntary rationing program by reducing their use of grain. ‘I don’t know,’ Dodd replied. ‘You can’t force them to go along.’ There have been some reports that distillers, because of their present huge stocks, might be willing to curtail grain consumption which would give them an excuse to retain present prices. During the Winter of 1945-46, the Government limited the amount of grain used by distillers and reduced the size of wheat content of bread loaves, creating the so-called ‘gray bread,’ to conserve wheat supplies. The Government, however, does not have that power now.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “Only one major upset was reported today from the scores of primary election contests staged yesterday in seven States. It came in Michigan where Representative Bartel J. Jonkman, a veteran of eight years in Congress, was defeated in his bid for the Republican nomination to another term. The victor was Gerald R. Ford, Jr., 35-year-old Grand Rapids attorney and former navy lieutenant commander. Otherwise, incumbents generally won or were leading in the top contests in Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Colorado, Vermont and Washington.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “SUTTON, W. VA. (U.P.) — Eyewitness accounts of a tall, glowing monster with a blood red face skulking in the hills divided Braxton County today into two camps — believers and skeptics. Seven persons said they saw the unearthly being, described as ‘worse than Frankenstein,’ in the hills above Flatwood Friday night. State police and a number of residents hooted at the reports as a product of mass hysteria. Police said the eyewitnesses’ guess as to the monster’s height varied from seven to 17 feet. The excitement began when the two young sons of Mrs. Kathryn May, a Flatwood beautician, said they saw a ‘flying saucer’ land on C.B. Fisher’s farm near here. Mrs. May, Gene Lemon, a National Guardsman, and five boys climbed a hill on the farm to look for the ‘saucer.’ Mrs. May said a ‘fire-breathing monster, 10 feet tall with bright green body and a blood-red face,’ bounced and floated toward them. ‘It looked worse than Frankenstein,’ she said. ‘It couldn’t have been human.’”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Bull Durham” director Ron Shelton, who was born in 1945; Oscar-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones, who was born in 1946; Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone, who was born in 1946; Night Ranger singer Kelly Keagy, who was born in 1952; Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino, who was born in 1961; “Titanic” star Danny Nucci, who was born in 1968; “The Good Wife” star Josh Charles, who was born in 1971; “Venom” star Tom Hardy, who was born in 1977; “Blue Bloods” star Marisa Ramirez, who was born in 1977; former N.Y. Giants offensive lineman and two-time Super Bowl champion David Diehl, who was born in 1980; Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, who was born in 1984; singer and TV personality Heidi Montag, who was born in 1986; “Jonas” star Chelsea Kane, who was born in 1988; and Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who was born in 1995.

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BEST OF THE WEST: “The Lone Ranger” premiered on TV on this day in 1949. The character was created for a radio serial in 1933 by George W. Trendle. The famous masked man was the alter ego of John Reid, a Texas Ranger who was the only survivor of an ambush. He was nursed back to health by his Native American friend, Tonto. Both men traveled around the west fighting injustice. The theme music was Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.” The last episode aired Sept. 12, 1957.

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PRESSING ISSUES: USA Today was first published on this day in 1982. Media corporation Gannett introduced a new kind of daily — the “Nation’s Newspaper” — that featured general interest articles for a national audience.

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

Quotable:

“When you go into court, you are putting your fate into the hands of 12 people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty.”

— comedian Norm Crosby, who was born on this day in 1927