The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

"Hey Joe -- lookit! The Crown Pickle Woiks!" "Yeahhhhh, I been woikin' there for four years now. I know what goes in them pickles. No thanks."

I think it might be that these businesses use Mr. Johnston's service to run their company lunchrooms on a concession basis. I don't imagine the Kings County Cigarette Service would set a very good table otherwise. Mr. Johnston appears to be running a more upscale version of the Waldorf Lunch or Childs -- a restaurant chain serviced out of a central commissary -- and that type of operation would lend itself to this type of arrangement with client companies.

Young Vito's problem is that a .32 is too hard for a kid his size to handle. Better he should start easy with a .22 or a .25. Maybe he should take a trip down to the -- ah -- vacant lot on Avenue U -- and try out a few other models.

Larry MacPhail went thru his entire baseball career getting into fights with the help. During his tenure in Brooklyn he fired and rehired Durocher at least twenty times. Steinbrenner had nothing on him, and he was a mean drunk besides. Mr. Camilli is known as a rather good-natured fellow, but he's also built like Primo Carnera, and his brother was an actual prizefighter under the name of Frankie Campbell. Dolph knows how to use his fists, and it might do Mr. MacPhail well to remember that.

As for Mr. Bert Haas, he may be thinking Ebbets Field, but I suspect his destination will be Montreal. "The flowers that bloom in the spring" and all that.

I am waiting for the Lounge to implode at any moment once it absorbs the idea of an adult woman in 1940 wearing a sports jersey as casual attire. BUT THEY NEVER DID THAT!

 

[LizzieMaine]

And as for Mama, I think she's divine retribution on Bim. Before he married Millie DeStross, he tried very hard to get back together with Henrietta Zander -- only to have her fall in love instead with the strip's eternal punching bag Tom Carr. Bim was furious, and in an uncharacteristic pique of petty vengeance, he maneuvered to take control of the mortgage on Tom's company, foreclosed on it, and threw Tom, penniless, into the street. And then Henrietta married Tom anyway. So there Mister Austrialian Billionaire, that'll show you.

Bim, though a decent man most of the time, never repented for this cruel act -- and it wasn't long after this that Millie and her blessed Mama entered his orbit. Though he and Millie seem to be happy enough, Mama will be a thorn in his side for the rest of his days. See what happens when you tempt fate?

 

[Fading Fast]

"Hey Joe -- lookit! The Crown Pickle Woiks!" "Yeahhhhh, I been woikin' there for four years now. I know what goes in them pickles. No thanks."

I think it might be that these businesses use Mr. Johnston's service to run their company lunchrooms on a concession basis. I don't imagine the Kings County Cigarette Service would set a very good table otherwise. Mr. Johnston appears to be running a more upscale version of the Waldorf Lunch or Childs -- a restaurant chain serviced out of a central commissary -- and that type of operation would lend itself to this type of arrangement with client companies.

Young Vito's problem is that a .32 is too hard for a kid his size to handle. Better he should start easy with a .22 or a .25. Maybe he should take a trip down to the -- ah -- vacant lot on Avenue U -- and try out a few other models.

Larry MacPhail went thru his entire baseball career getting into fights with the help. During his tenure in Brooklyn he fired and rehired Durocher at least twenty times. Steinbrenner had nothing on him, and he was a mean drunk besides. Mr. Camilli is known as a rather good-natured fellow, but he's also built like Primo Carnera, and his brother was an actual prizefighter under the name of Frankie Campbell. Dolph knows how to use his fists, and it might do Mr. MacPhail well to remember that.

As for Mr. Bert Haas, he may be thinking Ebbets Field, but I suspect his destination will be Montreal. "The flowers that bloom in the spring" and all that.

I am waiting for the Lounge to implode at any moment once it absorbs the idea of an adult woman in 1940 wearing a sports jersey as casual attire. BUT THEY NEVER DID THAT!

You and 3Fingers nailed the CJ thing - I missed it completely; that's what I get for skimming the list with my head up my butt.

As to our Amazonian soccer-top-wearing friend: I hear ya, but all rules are off when you are in China in '40 in the middle of a war. That said, Pat's still gotta do something about those bangs.

How are you feeling - better/worse?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Still sniffling a little bit. I went out and got some fresh air and that seemed to help, but I didn't go to work. At the rate things are going with cancellations and all, there may not be any work to go to tomorrow anyway.

 

[Fading Fast]

Still sniffling a little bit. I went out and got some fresh air and that seemed to help, but I didn't go to work. At the rate things are going with cancellations and all, there may not be any work to go to tomorrow anyway.

Glad you seem a bit better. Work is going to disappear for many, hopefully, for not too long.

I believe my girlfriend said the movie theaters in the city are shutting down.

 

[vitanola]

If I had to venture a guess, I might wonder if Mr. Graberson hand't decided to shoot a little business to his shady cousin/nephew/whatever Mr. Horowitz, who is a plumber in the sense that he knows how to change a sink washer, sort of. Why waste time with O'Dwyer, though? Let Mr. Amen poke a stick into this for a while and see what he can turn up. Somebody had to issue permits for that work, and somebody had to sign off on an inspection of that work. And they need to find out who that was.

The Depp-Barrymore parallel goes even further when you consider that Mr. Depp was once a fine actor who has descended into a bizarre self-parody.

I'm still convinced that Harold has been in a fugue state ever since he left Covina, and everything that's happened in the last month and a half is a product of his fevered brain. When he finally does come to, he'll want to know two things: 1 -- did Lillums get married? And 2 -- why am I dancing the rhumba with Dick Tracy?

Plumbers and heating plant installers have been notorious for laying waste to the structural integrity of houses for more than a century. I myself have seen antique structural damage caused by those ginks which would curl your hair!

 

[vitanola]

Still sniffling a little bit. I went out and got some fresh air and that seemed to help, but I didn't go to work. At the rate things are going with cancellations and all, there may not be any work to go to tomorrow anyway.

I’m so sorry to read that. Please take care of yourself.

I have developed a slight (100.6) fever and a mild cough, and so must to sequester myself in the cellar as if I were Typhoid Mary, though I doubtless have only a common cold, for every one else in the house is a high risk patient. Monday I’ll have the boys at work set up my tent in the yard so that I can bundle up and take the fresh air and sunshine treatment. It worked in 1918, so it should work today.

I can direct our firm’s work from a distance if a dozen feet, but I already miss my housekeeper terribly. She’s adept at making life worth living for the four single men who live here, particularly after last week when both my 97 year old father and Patrick (who both use walkers) came down with a little bug simultaneously. Talk about a, -er-, “storm”!

I cannot find ammonia or Quatricide anywhere. I need the ammonia to clean the winter grime off of our windows. The Quatracide is needed for a mold abatement that is scheduled at one of our lakeside rental cottages on Tuesday.

Thursday of last week everyone in our town was babbling about how this contagion was nothing more than a political plot. On Friday, everyone panicked, and now there is not a paper good or cleaning supply to be found, even the professional stuff coming from our hardware distributor.

 

[Fading Fast]

I’m so sorry to read that. Please take care of yourself.

I have developed a slight (100.6) fever and a mild cough, and so must to sequester myself in the cellar as if I were Typhoid Mary, though I doubtless have only a common cold, for every one else in the house is a high risk patient. Monday I’ll have the boys at work set up my tent in the yard so that I can bundle up and take the fresh air and sunshine treatment. It worked in 1918, so it should work today.

I can direct our firm’s work from a distance if a dozen feet, but I already miss my housekeeper terribly. She’s adept at making life worth living for the four single men who live here, particularly after last week when both my 97 year old father and Patrick (who both use walkers) came down with a little bug simultaneously. Talk about a, -er-, “storm”!

I cannot find ammonia or Quatricide anywhere. I need the ammonia to clean the winter grime off of our windows. The Quatracide is needed for a mold abatement that is scheduled at one of our lakeside rental cottages on Tuesday.

Thursday of last week everyone in our town was babbling about how this contagion was nothing more than a political plot. On Friday, everyone panicked, and now there is not a paper good or cleaning supply to be found, even the professional stuff coming from our hardware distributor.

I know these are only words, but I wish you the best.

 

[vitanola]

I know these are only words, but I wish you the best.

Thanks, but I really think that this is an ordinary cold. No congestion, mild fever, minor aches.

 

[LizzieMaine]

10,000 Brooklyn Sons of Erin celebrated St. Patrick's Day one day earlier than usual this year. Since March 17th falls on Palm Sunday in 1940, the traditional celebrations moved up a day, including the borough's traditional parade. Marchers lined up at Court and Congress Street and proceeded down Court to Livingston to Bond to Fulton and past the reviewing stand in front of Borough Hall, where Borough President John Cashmore, District Attorney William O'Dwyer, and other local dignitaries observed the festivities. From there it was on to Manhattan, where the ten thousand marching Brooklynites merged with the parade down 5th Avenue past St. Patrick's Cathedral, where Archbishop Francis J. Spellman waved a greeting from the front steps. Even the elevator operator in the Brooklyn Eagle Building got in on the festivities, dispensing with his usual "Good Morning" in favor of a lilting "Top o' the marnin' to ye!" followed by a jig tune played on his harmonica.

The Rumanian government is extending the hand of fellowship to the pro-Nazi Iron Guard, with King Carol ordering the release of more than a hundred members of the banned organization on the condition that they swear allegience to the throne, bringing to nearly 800 the number of Guardists released over the past few months. The Iron Guard was banned last September after members assassinated Premier Armand Calinescu. It is expected that Premier George Tatarescu will deliver a broadcast tonight in which he will "clarify" the government's current position toward the organization. Official reports out of Bucharest have denied reports that the current easing of restrictions on the Iron Guard is the result of German pressure on Rumania, and that Germany is demanding that Iron Guardists be included in Premier Tatarescu's cabinet in exchange for Germany guaranteeing the security of Rumania's borders. There are also reports that Germany is demanding that the German minority in Rumania be allowed to form a youth organiztion affiliated with the Hitler Youth movement.

The leader of the All India National Congress told the United Press today that he is willing to wait until after the end of the European War for statutory independence for India. Mohandas K. Gandhi acknowledged that he faces opposition from more radical parties demanding immediate and complete independence, and is hoping that until the war is over Great Britain will treat India as a free nation. "The Mahatma" promised that the fight for Indian independence will go on "unceasingly."

The thirteen year old boy who fired a shot into a fifth-grade teacher's bedroom window is not being held at Bellevue Hospital, as previously reported by the Eagle. Vito Gambino is in the custody of the Brooklyn Children's Society where he is excelling in his classes, according to teachers there. Superintendant Charles H. Warner of PS 401, which is affilliated with the Children's Society, says Vito gets along well with the other 35 children in his class and that he is "a good pupil." (And Mr. Schroth really hopes that his family will be pleased with this correction and that they know that the Eagle really does appreciate what a fine and well behaved boy little Vito is.)

The 38 year old pilot whose plane crashed in New York Bay following a mid-air fight with a passenger is being held on charges of felonious assault. Joseph Rosemarin was arraigned today in Staten Island Felony Court based on his own testimony that he struck passenger Emmanuel Eisenberg as the plane flew low over Prospect Park on Thursday afternoon. Staten Island Assistant District Attorney Joseph A. McKinney questioned Rosemarin for four hours after his release from Jersey City Medical Center, and declared that he finds the pilot's story that he struck Eisenberg during a struggle over the plane's controls to be "unbelievable."

(You're working that mic way too close, kid. Back off to about eighteen inches. And get your hand off the stand! Engineer, bump the gain on that preamp to about -55 db, her output's weak in the midrange. And kid, angle your percussives off the face, like I showed you at rehearsal.)

Mayor LaGuardia is promising out-of-town visitors to the 1940 World's Fair that they'll be able to live in New York for the duration of their visit as cheaply as they can at home. Presiding over the opening ceremonies for the new World's Fair Housing Bureau, the Mayor stated that accomodations for up to 600,000 visitors a day will be available at rates of $1 a day and up per room for the duration of the Fair season. At least 200,000 rooms in hotels and private homes will be available at prices no higher than $1.50 a day. The 1940 edition of the Fair opens on May 11th.

The Eagle Editorialist is very much looking forward to the impending demolition of the Fulton Street L, now that the Board of Estimate has fixed the cost of the project at $2,000,000. It will be money well spent, he declares, to see the grimy old structure removed from the borough's primary business district.

(What, no tax joke? When I saw this one I had an immediate sense memory of actually being *in* this store -- the oiled wooden board floor, the scale on the counter, the bananas hanging from a hook, the fruit in an open basket. We still had neighborhood stores like this when I was a kid, and they had a very distinctive mingled smell of linseed oil, ripe produce, and cigarette smoke.)

People write to Helen Worth today looking for advice on where they could learn to lip read, find a hiking club, and get involved with square dancing. No matter what you want to do in Brooklyn, somebody's out there doing it.

And speaking of which, gossip columnist Clifford Evans reports that Brooklyn's greatest safecracker, "Mexican Pete," is languishing at the Raymond Street Jail after being judged legally sane. Did you know he isn't really Mexican?

(In 1940, we'll still have baseball.)

The Dodgers are officially off the beam, losing their third straight Grapefruit League contest yesterday to the Boston Red Sox. Veteran free-agent pickup Wes Ferrell's comeback bid took a setback as the Bosox slapped him around for three runs and five hits in a two-inning stint. Durocher is very concerned about his outfield's anemic hitting for the spring, with the Dodger outfielders combining for a measly .218 average so far in the pre-season.

Meanwhile, there may be developments in the offing concerning Joe Medwick, still unsigned by the Cardinals. Manager Ray Blades and his coaching staff were summoned yesterday to a meeting with general manager Branch Rickey, suggesting that the club is working on serious trade negotiations. There is no comment whatever from the Duck himself, nor from the other significant Cardinal holdout, outfielder Don Padgett. Both men have been openly coveted by the Dodgers.

Dolph Camilli is still unsigned, and Larry MacPhail refused to meet with him last night. Camilli sent the fuming president a note via Durocher asking for a conference yesterday and was rebuffed.

Arch Oboler, the little man in the sweatshirt and sneakers who galvanized the radio world with last weekl's dramatization of "Johnny Got His Gun" starring James Cagney, has another high-powered production tonight, offering Ronald Colman in an adaptation of "The Most Dangerous Game." With Oboler very much in fashion among the Hollywood smart set these days, Colman, like Cagney, is willing to do the broadcast for the AFRA scale of $21.

Uh, point of order? Weren't we advised at the start of this storyline that this rich uncle *hates all Bungles?* So how is this -- ah -- direct approach in any way a good idea. You should have let Jo handle this, George. She'd have come up with a better plan.

Whoa whoa whoa, slooooooooow down you two. Fiancee? Why not just, you know, live together for a while first. I mean, it works for Mary and Bill...

"Yeah, isn't this a great setup? Underground lab, secret tunnel, the works. Got the whole rig for real cheap from this guy that used to run a car-stripping ring."

 

[LizzieMaine]

Another busy day.

And then some.

"Did you just grow three inches taller, or are you just glad to see me?"

I hope Nick doesn't have a secret underground base too. It's too declasse for someone like him.

It's been a couple of months at least since we last saw Tracy actually do any detecting. Hope he still remembers how.

Hahahahahahaha! Reverse snood!

Skeezix might be more mature than Harold, but only by a small matter of degrees. Harold does dumb stuff. Skeezix does stuff dumb.

From the ample curve of his tuchas there in panel one, I think our boy is taking this role-play a bit too seriously.

Now just a minute. Exactly who married whom? Let's get this straight so Moon can figure out if he needs to kill Elmo or not.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Mayor LaGuardia is promising out-of-town visitors to the 1940 World's Fair that they'll be able to live in New York for the duration of their visit as cheaply as they can at home. Presiding over the opening ceremonies for the new World's Fair Housing Bureau, the Mayor stated that accomodations for up to 600,000 visitors a day will be available at rates of $1 a day and up per room for the duration of the Fair season. At least 200,000 rooms in hotels and private homes will be available at prices no higher than $1.50 a day. The 1940 edition of the Fair opens on May 11th....

And that's without Airbnb.

...People write to Helen Worth today looking for advice on where they could learn to lip read, find a hiking club, and get involved with square dancing. No matter what you want to do in Brooklyn, somebody's out there doing it....

That has not changed. Early on, one of the things you notice when living in NYC is that you can find almost anything in this city - be it something to buy, something to learn or something just odd, it's all here.

... Whoa whoa whoa, slooooooooow down you two. Fiancee? Why not just, you know, live together for a while first. I mean, it works for Mary and Bill......

But very 1940's movie-style fall in love in a flash and get married immediately thereafter. All we need is a crazy midnight car race to a Justice of the Peace and we can cut to the scene of them kissing as they walk out of the JOTP's house (always a charming cottage in a quiet neighborhood where the JOTP and his wife are a charming, grandparent-looking couple).

... "Yeah, isn't this a great setup? Underground lab, secret tunnel, the works. Got the whole rig for real cheap from this guy that used to run a car-stripping ring."

I had the same thought; clearly, March loves secret hideaways, labs and underground tunnels.

Another busy day.

View attachment 220446 And then some.....

No kidding, what a freakin' day.

I'm leaning to believing the pilot. To be sure, not every detail of his story, but if I was flying a plane and being subject to a surprise physical assault, I might not remember everything exactly as it happened as I tried to fend off the attacker and keep the plane in the air. That said, I could be all wrong; it will be interesting to see where this one goes.

View attachment 220445 ... "Did you just grow three inches taller, or are you just glad to see me?"....

I'm still waiting for the sport jersey explanation.

View attachment 220445 ...
Skeezix might be more mature than Harold, but only by a small matter of degrees. Harold does dumb stuff. Skeezix does stuff dumb....

View attachment 220445 ... From the ample curve of his tuchas there in panel one, I think our boy is taking this role-play a bit too seriously....

 

[LizzieMaine]

There was another story a few years before this involving a Dodger ballplayer, a fellow by the name of Len Koenecke. Seems Mr. Koenecke had missed the team train on a road trip and chartered a small plane to get him to where he was supposed to be. What happened next is a bit hazy, just as with this current story, but the end result that Koenecke "went berzerk," tried to take control of the plane, and was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher by the pilot. Koenecke died as a result of the incident, so his side of the story will never be known, but the way it went according to the media of the time was that alcohol was involved.

So who knows. Flying was a new experience for a lot of people eighty years ago, and maybe Mr. Eisenberg indulged in liquid reinforcement before his flying lesson. It certainly sounds like something like that has to be involved.

Pat had better hope the Dragon Lady doesn't show up when Number 2 there is climbing all over him like that.

And may I pause to say that ever since Leona started wearing that hat, I have wanted one like it. It probably looks horrifying in three dimensions, but on the comic page it's quite fetching.

 

[Fading Fast]

There was another story a few years before this involving a Dodger ballplayer, a fellow by the name of Len Koenecke. Seems Mr. Koenecke had missed the team train on a road trip and chartered a small plane to get him to where he was supposed to be. What happened next is a bit hazy, just as with this current story, but the end result that Koenecke "went berzerk," tried to take control of the plane, and was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher by the pilot. Koenecke died as a result of the incident, so his side of the story will never be known, but the way it went according to the media of the time was that alcohol was involved.

So who knows. Flying was a new experience for a lot of people eighty years ago, and maybe Mr. Eisenberg indulged in liquid reinforcement before his flying lesson. It certainly sounds like something like that has to be involved.

Pat had better hope the Dragon Lady doesn't show up when Number 2 there is climbing all over him like that.

And may I pause to say that ever since Leona started wearing that hat, I have wanted one like it. It probably looks horrifying in three dimensions, but on the comic page it's quite fetching.

That's an interesting parallel story and smart observation about the newness of the flying experience. Heck, I was surprised the pilot was even arrested.

Hey, Pat's only human - IRL, he's taking a run at the Amazon as she seems open to fun and games (I thought she was going to throw him on the ground and jump on top in panel 2) - April would probably want a ring first - and he'll worry about the Dragon Lady when she shows up. Which I can say since, so far in my T&TP's experience, I haven't met the DL.

I like LS' hat (and have seen similar ones in old movies), but the real problem is every hat that isn't a baseball or ski cap today stands out. But also, we live in a do-what-you-like time, so I say, go for it.

I want to like LS, but they need to settle her personality down to something consistent. Yes, your point about her being in shock makes sense, but regardless, at some point, she needs to come back to earth. Her oh-so-good phase doesn't fit with what came before.

 

[Fading Fast]

 

[LizzieMaine]

President Roosevelt declared in a special nationwide broadcast on the eve of Palm Sunday that there can be no true peace in the world unless it is based on a foundation of lasting brotherhood. The President called on all mankind to build such a peace on the basis of morality without oppression, starvation or cruelty. Also participating in the broadcast, under the auspices of the Christian Foreign Service's convocation in New York, was Queen Wilhelmina of Holland, who, speaking via shortwave from the Hague, stated that the "first need" in these troubled time is "a radical renewal in the life of every individual."

An incendiary bomb hidden in a suitcase detonated in Grand Central Terminal yesterday afternoon, throwing the busy terminal into an uproar. The explosion of smoke and flame in the terminal's checkroom was extinguished before it could cause serious damage by 34-year-old baggage handler Caesar Manzione of the Bronx, who downplayed his heroic deed with a shrug. With the fire out, Manzione resumed handing bags back to passengers with an apology for the charring and the smoke. The remains of the bomb were being examined last night by police, who say the device was made from a beer can filled with what seemed to be black powder, intended to be fired by two watches with their stems wired to a pair of flashlight batteries. The bomb was set to detonate at 9 o'clock, but went off at 12:38 pm, suggesting that the mechanism had malfunctioned and that the bag was checked at the station in preparation for a planned bombing elsewhere later in the evening.

The slushy, unseasonably cold weather that failed to put a damper on yesterday's St. Patrick's Day festivities will continue thru Palm Sunday, although there might be enough of an increase in temperature to melt the inch or so of snow that fell yesterday. Operations at LaGuardia Field were hampered by the storm, with most airlines canceling outgoing flights and diverting incoming air traffic to Newark.

A 39-year-old Garden City woman was killed yesterday when her brand-new car stalled in the middle railroad crossing and was demolished by an oncoming Long Island Railroad train. Miss Edith Rankin of 34 Wellington Road was en route to visit her mother during the snowstorm when her car stopped on the tracks and was struck by an eastbound Ronkonkoma express. The engineer, David Watawa of South Ozone Park, told police he saw the car but was unable to stop the train in time. Miss Rankin was pronounced dead at the scene, but her Boston bulldog, riding with her in the car, was uninjured.

Someone's been reading too much Hammett.

The Dodgers Knot-Hole Club will welcome the Flock back to Brooklyn on Sunday night, April 14th in a celebratory dinner at the St. George Hotel. Some 1500 persons are expected to attend the banquet, with club president Larry MacPhail, manager Leo Durocher, and radio broadcaster Red Barber on the dais as guests of honor.

(And Miss Vernie Bauer one day would grow up to be -- a competitive roller skater. That's show biz!)

The Sisterhood of the East Midwood Jewish Center will meet tonight at 7pm at 1625 Ocean Avenue for a dinner intended to raise funds for Jewish war refugees. Cards and mah jong will follow the dinner.

Brooklyn artist Marion Greenwood will decorate the walls of the new Community Center at the Red Hook Houses housing project with original frescoes under the auspices of the WPA. The 28-year-old Miss Greenwood studied fresco work and mural painting under the noted Mexican artist Diego Rivera.

The Visiting Nurse Association of Brooklyn reminds you that this is Respiratory Illness season, and to drink plenty of water and get your vitamins. A pint of milk per day is essential for adults and a quart for children in order to fortify the body against colds, flu, and other respiratory complaints.

This year's midway at the World's Fair won't have quite the "sky's the limit" atmosphere as last year's, according to Queens County Sheriff Maurice A. Fitzgerald. Last year's abundance of "leg shows" happened, according to the sheriff, because the Commissioner of Licenses and the Police Department failed to adequately exercise their authority. But this year, the nudie concessions will face much stricter scrutiny, with all operators required to obtain proper licenses which may be revoked in the event of violations.

Reader Dorothy Glazer writes in to complain that the Eagle gives space every day to the poetic ramblings of Edgar Guest, who isn't hurting for money, when younger, better poets are going hungry. "Three cheers for the Eagle!" she snorts.

Former Yankee and current Parole Commissioner Lou Gehrig matches wits with Charlie McCarthy on the Chase & Sanborn program, tonight at 8pm on WEAF. Or if you prefer, Orson Welles offers his production of "Huckleberry Finn," featuring Jackie Cooper, at 8 pm on WABC.

A few flakes of snow on St. Paddy's Day. Feh! say the Old Timers, who wax nostalgic about the Blizzard of '88. Henry Fink remembers he was running a grocery store then, at Bedford Avenue and Lorimer Street, about where McCarren Park is now, and the snow was completely up to his roof. He dug his way out and tried to take his horse and wagon down to market to get a load of eggs, butter, and turnips, and nearly froze to death on the trip. When he finally got home, Henry says, he had to run cold water on his face to try and thaw out. His horse wasn't too happy either. And all he could get for milk to sell was condensed. (Uphill. Both ways.)

Father Curran's Favorite Boy gets the front page of the Trend section this week...

("Hey," says Sally. "Didn't this monkey write some o' them little blue books you ordered out of the back of the Popular Mechanics that time?" And Joe snaps to attention, banging his feet on the top of the oven. "How d'you know 'bout them books?" "Well," says Sally, "hide 'em someplace other than in ya sock drawer."

Sisters of Sheridan, Unite!

Now at the Patio, Max Fleischer's animated cartoon feature "Gulliver's Travels," paired with Melvyn Douglas and Joan Blondell in "The Amazing Mr. Williams."

And to boot, Camilli's still not signed.

Elocution lessons?

Ever notice that Sunday Mary is much sassier than Daily Mary?

Hmph. Nick Gatt would eat this guy for breakfast and pick his teeth with the bones.

If anyone should go in for Social Isolation, it's George.

 

[LizzieMaine]

This has been quite a week for the News.

Awww, I love a happy ending.

Damn! Do you know how much it COSTS to replace a microphone ribbon????

I believe that in Miss Raven Sherman, our Pat has finally met his match.

If there's one thing that keeps me going in these troubled times it's knowing that we're getting that much closer to the moment when Nick and Axel finally meet.

Kinda puts Mama's black eye into perspective.

It's nice to see that while Harold is off doing unspeakably bizarre things in the big city, back home his pal Shadow is keeping up on all the latest Rattle Brained Hepcat slang.

Fedora Lounge member gets put in his place.

All of Willie's problems could be solved very simply if he just took a vow of silence. And in a bit of synergistic promotion, Antoinette Donnelly is the actual beauty columnist for the News. I bet she just loves getting an endorsement from Mamie Mullins.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A 39-year-old Garden City woman was killed yesterday when her brand-new car stalled in the middle railroad crossing and was demolished by an oncoming Long Island Railroad train. Miss Edith Rankin of 34 Wellington Road was en route to visit her mother during the snowstorm when her car stopped on the tracks and was struck by an eastbound Ronkonkoma express. The engineer, David Watawa of South Ozone Park, told police he saw the car but was unable to stop the train in time. Miss Rankin was pronounced dead at the scene, but her Boston bulldog, riding with her in the car, was uninjured.....

Put that in a movie plot and it isn't believable - seriously, new car stalls right on the tracks as a speeding train approaches and the human dies but the dog survives.

Also, did they not mention the make of the car (an obviously interesting fact) because car companies / auto dealers are probably large advertisers in The Eagle?

...This year's midway at the World's Fair won't have quite the "sky's the limit" atmosphere as last year's, according to Queens County Sheriff Maurice A. Fitzgerald. Last year's abundance of "leg shows" happened, according to the sheriff, because the Commissioner of Licenses and the Police Department failed to adequately exercise their authority. But this year, the nudie concessions will face much stricter scrutiny, with all operators required to obtain proper licenses which may be revoked in the event of violations....

"See Sally, we shudda gone last year" [Sally simply responds with a look of disdain directed toward Joe whose feet are still propped up on the oven door.]

...A few flakes of snow on St. Paddy's Day. Feh! say the Old Timers, who wax nostalgic about the Blizzard of '88. Henry Fink remembers he was running a grocery store then, at Bedford Avenue and Lorimer Street, about where McCarren Park is now, and the snow was completely up to his roof. He dug his way out and tried to take his horse and wagon down to market to get a load of eggs, butter, and turnips, and nearly froze to death on the trip. When he finally got home, Henry says, he had to run cold water on his face to try and thaw out. His horse wasn't too happy either. And all he could get for milk to sell was condensed. (Uphill. Both ways.)...

Had the same thought. Ok, late'-1800s Boomer.

... View attachment 220730
Sisters of Sheridan, Unite!....

And the original "Oomph girl" herself:

... Ever notice that Sunday Mary is much sassier than Daily Mary?....

While I continue to read any Sunday comic that breaks with its regular storyline under protest, I will point out that I have memories of my Dad taking a very young (7 or 8, I think) me to the racetrack with him when my mother's father was sick and he was stuck with me on a Saturday. He also shot pool, but other than the Elks' poolroom, I don't remember going to a pool hall with him. Perhaps for obvious reasons, basically, it was my mother's job to look after me and I only wound up with him when a household force majeure occurred.

...[ Hmph. Nick Gatt would eat this guy for breakfast and pick his teeth with the bones.....

Yes he would. Also, panel 9, Marsh channelling his inner Hammett - he's no Hammett.

[
This has been quite a week for the News.....

Grand Central has had quite the history. Today they never would be as detailed in describing the bomb in the paper as the Eagle was - it was practically an instruction manual.

...
Awww, I love a happy ending.....

How did Hollywood miss this all-but-written film noir script including the scene where Lizabeth Scott gives Rita Hayworth (movie license to "alter" the age/comeliness of character) a jailhouse alcohol rub? Post "Gilda," it would have been box-office gold.

... View attachment 220738 ... I believe that in Miss Raven Sherman, our Pat has finally met his match.....

Still getting my hands around Miss Raven Sherman, but I'm thinking April isn't going to be too happy to meet her. (And again, love the artwork.)

[...
If there's one thing that keeps me going in these troubled times it's knowing that we're getting that much closer to the moment when Nick and Axel finally meet.....

Nick's good at this game.

Did you notice that Beeman's stole Chiclets' space - my guess, both are owned by the same company; otherwise, too coincidental and would anger both companies, which is not something the paper's advertising department would do.

 

[LizzieMaine]

This isn't the first homebrew bombing incident that New York will see in 1940. I wonder if people were clipping that article for future reference?

I have to admit when I read the story of the unfortunate Miss Rankin the first thing I thought of was a Harold Lloyd picture where exactly the same thing happened -- he's this rich young wastrel who buys a new car, it stalls on the tracks, and a train demolishes it. He then walks over and lights his cigarette from the smoking rubble. I doubt poor Miss Rankin was able to do that.

In addition to knowing the make of car, I want to know the name of the dog. The Eagle is usually on the ball with stuff like that.

The best thing on the News front page is the face on LaGuardia. "Three cheers for the Irish, ya ya ya, let's get outta here."

Beemans and Chiclets were indeed products of the Adams Gum Company. They must have a lease on that spot, which must be very disappointing to fans of "Maw Green," who only shows up when there's no gum ad that week.

 

[Fading Fast]

...
The best thing on the News front page is the face on LaGuardia. "Three cheers for the Irish, ya ya ya, let's get outta here."....

And if you buy a LS hat, I want pics - you have the look to pull off the vintage vibe with panache.