January 3: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 3, 2025 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1935, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “FLEMINGTON ― The prosecution today prepared to put its principal witnesses ― Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, Mrs. Anne Lindbergh and Miss Betty Gow ― against the stolidity of Bruno Richard Hauptmann at the earliest possible moment. It was entirely possible, as the humdrum business of adding two jurors to the ten solid Hunterdon County citizens was begun this morning in the historic Hunterdon County courthouse, that one or more of these chief witnesses will be on the witness stand before today’s adjournment. The three, the State is confident, will place on the trial record tomorrow night the tragic chronology of the events about the Lindbergh mansion at Hopewell the cold, stormy night of March 1, 1932. That was the night on which the State claims Hauptmann kidnaped the 20-months-old Charles Augustus Lindbergh, subsequently slain and left in the Sourland foothills, from his crib. The same Hauptmann hands wrote the kidnaping and ransom notes and received the $50,000 that Colonel Lindbergh paid in vain hope for his heir’s recovery. (These hands are now constantly twitching.)”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Eagle reported, “That the annual southern trek will be heavier this year than for some time is proved by the increased number of cars over the Ocean Highway from New York to Jacksonville, Fla. This route is becoming more popular every day with motorists, as it affords a direct route from North to South, with a minimum of traffic delays and congestion, and takes one through highly picturesque country that makes the trip a pleasure. Leaving the Holland Tunnel, motorists desiring to follow the Ocean Highway follow U.S. 1 across the viaduct, bear south via Newark airport and continue on N.J. 25 to Hightstown, then follow U.S. 130 to Pennsville, N.J. Here the Pennsville-New Castle Ferry, offering 24-hour year ’round service, takes you across quickly to New Castle, Del., then on U.S. 13 straight down the Del-Mar-Va Peninsula to Cape Charles, Va., where one is afforded a delightful interlude in motoring in the form of a ‘sea voyage’ on palatial automobile transports across the mouth of Chesapeake Bay to Little Creek, Va., a few miles outside of Norfolk. From Norfolk U.S. 17 takes one all the way to Jacksonville. Motorists who have used this route favor it because it avoids congested areas and thus saves wear and tear on both car and nerves.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1938, the Eagle reported, “SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ― Charles O. Pickel, 59, engineer and sanitation inspector during the construction of the Panama Canal, died here yesterday after a long illness. An authority on sanitation problems, he was awarded a distinguished service medal by President Theodore Roosevelt for his work in eliminating unsanitary conditions in the Canal Zone. Presidents Taft and Wilson added bars to the medal.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “Freezing weather continued today as additional thousands of homes in the metropolitan area were reported to be without heat and Mayor O’Dwyer threatened to take over fuel oil deliveries if rumors of a black market were found to be true. The number of homes without heat could not be estimated, but the Mayor said the city had been receiving 2,500 calls daily for help in getting fuel since the record 25.8-inch snowfall of last week. A crisis was developing as thousands of city residents, including many Brooklynites, shivered in heatless flats. More than 25,000 calls from hardship cases had been registered ― many of them involving persons suffering from colds or pneumonia. In addition, it was reported that more than 28,000 homes were without electric power and 31,000 without telephone service ― an aftermath of the spell of freezing rain, the weight of which toppled telephone wires all over the city. Emergency crews were busy and service was expected to be normal soon. The city transit system was in full operation taking care of the thousands who left their automobiles home because of the passenger car ban. All 40 bus lines and 30 trolley routes in Brooklyn were functioning.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “The Rose Bowl, granddaddy of all the glittering post-season football shows, topped ’em all again this year. The honors had to go today to the 36th renewal of the Pasadena, Cal., game because it had the largest crowd ― 100,963; the closest score ― Ohio State 17, California 14, and the most dramatic play ― Jimmy Hague’s tie-breaking field goal with less than two minutes to play. There was plenty of thrilling action in the other bowl games, though, and for each the stadium was crammed with fans. A crowd of 83,000 at New Orleans saw Oklahoma turn the Sugar Bowl into a rout by 35-0 over Louisiana State, while 75,347 filled the Cotton Bowl at Dallas to see Rice turn back North Carolina, 27-13. The Orange Bowl in Miami, Fla., drew 64,816 as Santa Clara downed Kentucky, 21-31, and 22,000 were on hand in the Gator Bowl at Jacksonville, Fla., as Maryland whipped Missouri, 20 to 7. The attendance at the Rose Bowl was one of the largest in the long history of that event. The fans got their money’s worth, for they were kept in a wild frenzy from start to finish.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stephen Stills (CSNY), who was born in 1945; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), who was born in 1946; “Dallas” star Victoria Principal, who was born in 1950; Oscar-winning filmmaker Mel Gibson, who was born in 1956; Basketball Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller, who was born in 1964; “The Wonder Years” star Danica McKellar, who was born in 1975; “The Good Doctor” star Nicholas Gonzalez, who was born in 1976; former N.Y. Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett, who was born in 1977; former N.Y. Giants wide receiver David Tyree, who was born in 1980; former N.Y. Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who was born in 1981; “Black Widow” star Florence Pugh, who was born in 1996; and environmental activist Greta Thunberg, who was born in 2003.

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MIDDLE MAN: J.R.R. Tolkien was born on this day in 1892. The South Africa native is best known for his sagas of Middle Earth: “The Hobbit” (1937) and “The Lord of the Rings,” which was published in three volumes from 1954 to 1955. He died in 1973.

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FROZEN IN TIME: Alaska became the 49th state on this day in 1959. Purchased from Russia in 1867, its area is nearly one-fifth the size of the rest of the U.S.

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“HALL” MARK: “The Arsenio Hall Show” premiered on this day in 1989. Hall became the first African-American to host a successful, syndicated late-night talk show and was named by TV Guide as its first “TV Person of the Year” in 1990.

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

Quotable:

“In New York, they like winners. They don’t like second place.”

— two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, who was born on this day in 1981