The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

Namath is doing a series of TV commercials now for some kind of Medicare supplemental insurance deal, and he's trying to work the old charm like it's still 1969.

It's a fact that the Dodgers had the best-looking players in the National League. Cookie Lavagetto, Dolf Camilli, Pete Reiser, Carl Furillo, the list goes on and on...

 

[belfastboy]

Namath is doing a series of TV commercials now for some kind of Medicare supplemental insurance deal, and he's trying to work the old charm like it's still 1969.

It's a fact that the Dodgers had the best-looking players in the National League. Cookie Lavagetto, Dolf Camilli, Pete Reiser, Carl Furillo, the list goes on and on...

And The Duke, can't forget the Duke.

 

[Fading Fast]

Namath is doing a series of TV commercials now for some kind of Medicare supplemental insurance deal, and he's trying to work the old charm like it's still 1969.

It's a fact that the Dodgers had the best-looking players in the National League. Cookie Lavagetto, Dolf Camilli, Pete Reiser, Carl Furillo, the list goes on and on...

I caught that commercial the other day and thought he's probably about my grandmother's age now.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Meanwhile, in the Daily News ---

"That's SCHMUCKLER! NOT 'SCHMECKLER,' DAMMIT!"

"Settle down, Maxie, he din't mean nuttin' by it."

"Yeah, 'ats what you always say! Don't t'ink I don't know what youse guys say behin' my back!"

On the Bay Parkway trolley on his way home from work, Joe Punchclock says to the guy hanging from the strap behind him, "Hey, howzabout this. These kids today. I ask ya. They go to collitch, an' looka what they do. I tell ya. These kids." And the guy says "Hey, Joe, gimme that paper when ya done wit' it."

And remember, Bohack Turkeys come already dressed for dinner.

"Nothin' to worry about, me 'earties. 'Tis naught but me personal ethnic stereotype henchman."

Tracy's city has it all over New York. I bet LaGuardia is jealous of that tree. A LOUDSPEAKER, YET!

And the long awaited psychotic break finally comes. Poor Harold.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Reports from Norwegian border points report Soviet troops in retreat from Arctic Finland, with the southernmost point of the Russian lines having withdrawn as far as Salmijarvi. Meanwhile, Finnish authorites claim that the total of Soviet war dead for the war thus far exceeds 30,000.

Russian planes continued their bombardment of Helsinki today, with fifteen bombs dropped and two persons reported injured. Finnish authorites report anti-aircraft guns brought down a tri-motored Soviet bomber, and its crew burned to death.

Governor Herbert Lehman today bowed to pressure from Brooklyn and appointed borough Supreme Court Justice Albert Conway to a seat on the Court of Appeals. Conway, a Brooklyn Democrat, will ensure that the borough has continuing representation on that Court, as it has for over forty years.

A light snowfall dusted Brooklyn today to mark the arrival of Winter, which officially begins at 1:04 this afternoon. The city received just a touch of snow, while up-state New York is digging out from a blizzard.

A 33-year-old prisoner escaped from the Tombs en route to Manhattan General Sessions Court today, but later turned himself in to police. "Broadway Harry" Richman -- who is not the famous entertainer of the same name -- was being held on a petty larceny charge for stealing four womens' coats, slipped away while in a convoy of prisoners being brought across the "Bridge Of Sighs" and fled out a courthouse exit. Shortly after his escape, Richman called the District Attorney's office from a nearby candy store, asking to be picked up. In tears, Richman told authorites he was afraid someone was going to beat him up.

Twenty-four hour bus service will be provided to LaGuardia Field beginning today. The bus routes will connect to the IRT subway at the regular five-cent fare.

Italian Premier Benito Mussolini is reported by "reliable sources" to have sent a message to Adolf Hitler today, which some believe to be related to a proposed Christmas peace. Official sources decline comment, but the message is understood to have been carried to Berlin by Nazi secret police chief Heinrich Himmler.

A fire causing an estimated $50,000 in damage swept a historic carbarn on Bergen Street last night, destroying a relic of the days when horses pulled the borough's streetcars. The four-alarm fire at 1406 Bergen Street broke out shortly before 7 pm and firemen were unable to save the building, focusing their efforts on protecting an adjacent lumberyard. The barn long outlasted the horsecars it once housed, and was still being for storage of modern trolleys as recently as last year.

The former film critic of the Communist Party's newpaper the Daily Worker claims he was fired because he was insufficiently critical of "Gone With The Wind." Howard Rushmore had called the film "a magnificent bore," and says he was told by "Negro member of the editorial board" Ben Davis to rewrite the piece to make it more of an attack in line with the paper's call for a boycott of the film. Rushmore acknowledged he hadn't paid his Party dues since February, but said that he hasn't been paid by the Worker since August.

We have an offer at $1.75. How about you, Howard Johnson's? Eddie at the Midwood? Horn & Hardart? Sip-n-Save?

A father of nine children accused by his wife of disorderly conduct for punching her after she accused him of infidelity drew scorn in Coney Island Court today. 42-year-old Julius Fuentes is being held on $500 bail pending trial, and was denounced by Magistrate Jeanette Brill as "a perfect Don Juan." "All you need," sneered the Magistrate, "is a permanent wave."

"One Who Needs Advice" writes to Helen Worth looking for help with bunions. Helen, no doubt rolling her eyes and counting the days till her next vacation, recommends not bothering with chiropodists -- just talk to your family doctor.

We have $1.35. One-thirty-five-one-thirty-five-one-thirty-five-who'll make it one and a quarter?

The best thing about "That's Right--You're Wrong!," opening last night at the RKO Albee is that bandleader Kay Kyser realizes he's not an actor, and doesn't try to be. Herbert Cohn finds the film bright and gracious and swingy, with fine support from May Robson and Dennis O'Keefe, with Adolphe Menjou and Edward Everett Horton present without a lot to do.

A new program of Yiddish films opens at the Continental Theatre with Maurice Schwartz in "Tevye." A trite plot from a story by Sholem Aleichem that's driven by fine characterizations. (Hey Herb, what if they added songs?)

At the Patio, Deanna Durbin gets her first kiss in "First Love," but that's as far as it goes. Also on the bill, Edward Ellis in "Three Sons."

Reader F. J. Worrell writes in to complain about the cruelly-drawn-out case of Bob the Spitz, arguing that the law is far too technical for the case, and that Bob and his mistress have suffered enough. It would be shameful for this unfortunate dog's life to be taken.

See GULLIVER in person -- at Abraham & Straus! 50,000 have seen him -- tomorrow's your last chance!

Full of the Christmas spirit, Brooklyn-Queens Night Court magistrate Thomas Cullen last night suspended sentence on a 24-year-old blind accordion player arrested for soliciting money in the subway. Robert Miller of 257 Cooper Street had been banned earlier from Broadway for playing his instrument on the sidewalk, and turned to playing it in the subway in order, he told the magistrate, to buy his wife a Christmas present. He was freeed on the condition that he stay out of the subway, but when Miller asked the Magistrate what he should do now, the Magistrate declared, "I have no advice on the matter." ("And the workhouses -- are they still in operation?")

The New York Americans won a game last night, beating the Red Wings 3-0. Coach Red Dutton was pardonably proud as he exhibited his team to his two sons, who arrived in New York yesterday from the family home in Winnipeg. The Amerks are now 5-12-1 on the season, with the win lifting them out of the cellar.

MOVE TO A NEW BUILDING.

Wait, we don't get to see Leona dump a bowl of consomme over The Handsomest Man's glossy head? That's kind of anticlimactic. Is Norman Marsh our guest writer today?

I mean, it's not like he's got anything going on here...

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News --

Aw, I love a good romantic subplot.

(Psssst -- in case you didn't notice, STOOGE IS DRUNK.)

This dopey young doofus who puts Skeezix's vacation plans at risk is one Wilmer Bobble. Mr. Bobble will bedevil Skeezix for the next eighty years, first as a co-worker, later in the Army, still later as a business partner, and eventually as a fawning lackey of his uncle, the corrupt loansharking landlord Uriah Pert. In all these incarnations, Wilmer Bobble will be a scheming, devious weasel who cannot be in any way trusted to ever do the right thing.

In the current continuity of "Gasoline Alley," at the age of ninety-something, Wilmer Bobble is a member of the United States Senate.

Lillums Lovewell is approximately nineteen years of age. Truck McClusky appears to be somewhere west of forty.

Ew.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Twenty-four hour bus service will be provided to LaGuardia Field beginning today. The bus routes will connect to the IRT subway at the regular five-cent fare.....

Eighty years later and there's still no direct train or subway to La Guardia.

...

We have $1.35. One-thirty-five-one-thirty-five-one-thirty-five-who'll make it one and a quarter?

....

Based on Thanksgiving, I'm betting H&H comes in the cheapest.

But to be fair, Hotel Pierrepont, for ~$25 for Christmas dinner in 2019 dollars, seems pretty darn good value if the food's decent.

Bedford's taking the lead, but hard to compare without a menu. My bet is still H&H to be the low-cost leader.

New Year's Eve looks like it was always an expensive night out - even in the Depression.

...At the Patio, Deanna Durbin gets her first kiss in "First Love," but that's as far as it goes. Also on the bill, Edward Ellis in "Three Sons."....

Deanna Durbin with a ridiculously young Robert Stack (in his first role) who will become 1950's TV's Eliot Ness:

...[ MOVE TO A NEW BUILDING.



Wait, we don't get to see Leona dump a bowl of consomme over The Handsomest Man's glossy head? That's kind of anticlimactic. Is Norman Marsh our guest writer today?


I mean, it's not like he's got anything going on here...

Re: The Bungle Family - good line on the coal bin.

Re: Mary Worth - Prediction, Leona's going to take a hard run at Ted again

Dan Dunn: No kidding Lizzie.

 

[Fading Fast]

And in the Daily News --

View attachment 201821
Aw, I love a good romantic subplot.

View attachment 201823
(Psssst -- in case you didn't notice, STOOGE IS DRUNK.)

View attachment 201824
This dopey young doofus who puts Skeezix's vacation plans at risk is one Wilmer Bobble. Mr. Bobble will bedevil Skeezix for the next eighty years, first as a co-worker, later in the Army, still later as a business partner, and eventually as a fawning lackey of his uncle, the corrupt loansharking landlord Uriah Pert. In all these incarnations, Wilmer Bobble will be a scheming, devious weasel who cannot be in any way trusted to ever do the right thing.

In the current continuity of "Gasoline Alley," at the age of ninety-something, Wilmer Bobble is a member of the United States Senate.

View attachment 201828
Lillums Lovewell is approximately nineteen years of age. Truck McClusky appears to be somewhere west of forty.

Ew.

The illustration style of "Terry and the Pirates" is very Art Deco/Noir cool.

Not familiar with the characters or storylines in "Gasoline Alley -" are those tears of joy or sadness in the last panel?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think Lillums realizes that marrying this blowhard will bring her money and security -- while going back to poor, dumb butchers' apprentice Harold Teen will bring her free pork chops every Tuesday. It's a tough decision. (Earlier this year, Harold and Lillums actually eloped and ran across the state line to get married -- only for Harold to have forgotten to get a marriage license, because he's such a dumb soda-sipping sap. And that's when Truck entered the picture, much to the delight of Lillums' parents, who were horrified at the thought of Harold living with them for the next ten years.)

Gasoline Alley is the first strip where the characters aged in real time. Skeezix was found on bachelor Walt Wallet's doorstep as an abandoned baby in 1921, and he grew up in a neighborhood full of cranky middle-aged men who liked to play with their cars, hence the title. He graduated from high school this past summer, and is now living on his own in the big city of "Detropolis," with an $11 a week job as a clerk for the firm of Wumple & Company. Wilmer just joined the firm as an annoying plot device after the previous office boy tried to get Skeezix fired in a scheme involving stolen postage stamps and a mail-order roulette wheel.

Skeezix has a Best Girl back home, a young lady named Nina Clock (punny names are an unfortunate tradition in this strip), and he is desperate for a chance to go back home and see her for the holidays.

Skeezix and Nina will get married in 1942, while Skeezix is in the Army, and they are still married today. Uncle Walt Wallet is, in the strip's continuity, the oldest man in the United States and the last living veteran of World War I, and he probably votes to keep sending Wilmer Bobble back to the Senate. The years have not been kind to poor Uncle Walt, but the syndicate won't allow the current artist to kill him off. And Skeezix will turn 99 in February, and currently seems to spend much of his time being annoyed by a retail salesman who looks and acts like Frank Nelson from "The Jack Benny Show."

"Gasoline Alley" is running on fumes nowadays, but in its heyday from the 1920s thru the 1950s, it was one of the most involving, true-to-life serial strips around. It's being collected in hardcover volumes that come out every four or five years or so, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Finnish troops along the Karellian front are reported to have launched a major counter-offensive against Soviet forces trying to break thru the Mannerheim Line. The Associated Press reports Finnish planes are attacking Russian ground troops, supply centers, and transportation arteries. Meanwhile, an air raid warning sounded again in Helsinki today, and a loud report was heard as if from a bomb, but no planes were sighted and the all-clear sounded shortly after.

Reports in the Danish press say two small Finnish forces attacked a Russian flank on the Salla front, with one of the companies hiking 155 miles in the snow in order to make the assault. The Danish reports contradict reports in the Russian press of a rout in the Petsamo area near the Arctic Circle.

There is an unconfirmed report in a Stockholm newspaper claiming that the entire Terijoki Government in Finland, aligned with the Soviet Union, has been arrested on charges that it provided false information on the strength of the Finnish Army.

Fifty were killed and thirty injured in a rail crash in Germany, in which a freight train collided with a passenger train near Rudolfzell on Lake Constance. The collision came less than a day after two passenger trains collided near Berlin, killing 132 persons and injuring 200. Railroad officials in the two towns from which those two trains had departed were arrested immediately after the crash.

In Brooklyn, "the jovial and bountiful spirit of St. Nicholas pervaded all sections of Brooklyn today as the young and old and rich and poor joined in welcoming in enthusiasm what promises to be the most joyous and merriest Yuletide since 1929." The Department of Welfare and Corrections will serve chicken fricasee to more than 35,000 persons in prisons, lodging houses, and hospitals.

In great stretches of the world outside Brooklyn and the United States, the Christmas holiday moved near in an atmosphere of guns and bombs, food shortage, death and war -- declared and otherwise. British troops on the front lines are issued 100,000 pounds of Christmas pudding.

An unemployed truck driver was shot and killed in Bushwick last night when he tried to hold up a delicatessen. 25 year old William Ficco of 108 Devoe Street held up the store at 1124 Bushwick Avenue, and was fleeing with $22 in cash as the proceeds of the robbery when he was shot in the back of the head by proprietor Hugo Garbers with a .22 rifle. Assistant District Attorney Leonard Russi exonerated Garbers of any crime, noting that he had a permit for the gun.

In Brookline, Massachusetts, a woman left her 4-year-old German Shepherd dog in her car to guard Christmas packages while she shopped. When she returned, the presents were still there, but someone had stolen the dog.

Aviation pioneer Alfred H. G. Fokker has died in Manhattan at the age of 49. Fokker began his flying career at the age of 21, just eight years after the Wright Brothers made their historic first flight, and achieved fame for his Fokker airplanes, used by Germany during the World War. He came to the United States to pursue his business here in 1922. Fokker was suffering from pneumococcus meningitis, and despite blood transfusions, lapsed into a coma early today.

The only woman on the new City Council will serve as its Minority Leader. Mrs. Genevieve Earle of Brooklyn, representing the City Fusion Party, was selected by a coalition of the non-Democratic parties represented on the Council, and will be paid an additional $2500 per year on top of her regular $5000 Council salary.

A 55-year-old Norman Avenue man was pronounced guilty of disorderly conduct charges after he disrupted activities at the Greenpoint Police Station while on a hunt for "Nazi Spies." Louis Gelb appeared today before Magistrate Jacob Ellerin in Bridge Plaza Court, on charges that he appeared at the police station in a state of heavy intoxication demanding to arrest a "German Spy." He was put out of the station twice, and kept returning with the same demand. On his third appearance, he was locked up. Magistrate Ellerin suspended sentence, on the conditions that Gelb abstain from all intoxicating liquors, and that he see no movies with a spy, war, or gangster motif for a month.

The release of official National League pitching statistics for 1939 demonstrate the poor state of hurling in the senior circuit, says Tommy Holmes. Pointing to a steep decline in complete games pitched during the most recent campaign, Holmes observes that too many pitchers are no longer able to get the job done, and that several who had done well in 1938 took a sharp drop in 1939.

Reader Jane Wilson seconds the Eagle's recent editorial demanding that movie distributors recognize Brooklyn's status as a leading city in allowing borough theaters early access to first-run films. She notes that most of the movies now playing at Brooklyn's big downtown houses are shows she saw in the Catskills in September.

Since Brooklyn is the "Borough of Churches, there is a special pull-out section listing all Christmas church services for the coming holiday, illustrated by reproductions of famous religious paintings. For some reason, though, they don't list the Fenimore Street Methodist Church. What have you got against us Wesleyans, Mr. Schroth?

As a Christmas Eve treat for television viewers, W2XBS will present a special full-hour performance of "Cinderella," starring radio's "Singing Story Lady" Ireene Wicker as Cinderella and Jolly Bill Steinke as the Wicked Stepmother.I would gladly stand around on the sidewalk in the cold out in front of the Davega store just to see this.

Helen Mack, Denis Greene and Elliot Lewis star in Arch Oboler's play "These Are Your Brothers," tonight at 8pm over WEAF.

George is NEVER in the right building.

And the beauty of it is, "M" can stand for "Murdock" -- or "Mary!"

I"ll only ask this one more time. WHAT KIND OF HOSPITAL TREATS BOTH PEOPLE AND DOGS? Or -- did Dan take Kay to a vet? By the way, this strip reads even better if you imagine Dan and Irwin as George and Lennie from "Of Mice and Men."

 

[LizzieMaine]

1124 Bushwick Avenue. Try the pastrami, but don't mess with Hugo.

 

[Fading Fast]

...The only woman on the new City Council will serve as its Minority Leader. Mrs. Genevieve Earle of Brooklyn, representing the City Fusion Party, was selected by a coalition of the non-Democratic parties represented on the Council, and will be paid an additional $2500 per year on top of her regular $5000 Council salary....

~$140,000 in 2019 dollars. I'm sure that job position pays more today, but that's really good money for city gov't work in '39.

...A 55-year-old Norman Avenue man was pronounced guilty of disorderly conduct charges after he disrupted activities at the Greenpoint Police Station while on a hunt for "Nazi Spies." Louis Gelb appeared today before Magistrate Jacob Ellerin in Bridge Plaza Court, on charges that he appeared at the police station in a state of heavy intoxication demanding to arrest a "German Spy." He was put out of the station twice, and kept returning with the same demand. On his third appearance, he was locked up. Magistrate Ellerin suspended sentence, on the conditions that Gelb abstain from all intoxicating liquors, and that he see no movies with a spy, war, or gangster motif for a month....

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there is no chance he met the first condition and little that he met the second one.

...The release of official National League pitching statistics for 1939 demonstrate the poor state of hurling in the senior circuit, says Tommy Holmes. Pointing to a steep decline in complete games pitched during the most recent campaign, Holmes observes that too many pitchers are no longer able to get the job done, and that several who had done well in 1938 took a sharp drop in 1939....

Based on the complete-game standard, they might as well just shut down baseball today considering 2019's full-games-pitched numbers. How odd would the "bullpen" game sound to 1939 baseball? Although, I'll bet there are a few examples of some variation of that happening back then - probably as an emergency solutions, but still, as we know, few things are ever completely new.

...

And the beauty of it is, "M" can stand for "Murdock" -- or "Mary!"...

That's quite the WASP waist our Leona has / nice to see her humbled a bit / still predict a rebound run at Ted

...I"ll only ask this one more time. WHAT KIND OF HOSPITAL TREATS BOTH PEOPLE AND DOGS? Or -- did Dan take Kay to a vet? ...

Seriously. That said, in the movies (like "Jonny Belinda") it was not uncommon for regular docs to do animal deliveries.

View attachment 201986

1124 Bushwick Avenue. Try the pastrami, but don't mess with Hugo.

Like our kick-the-thief-out-of-the-bus-and-tackle-him bus driver from yesterday - they made some serious men back then.

 

[LizzieMaine]

So many of these neighborhood crime stories read like plots for "Barney Miller" episodes. I imagine Detective Fish actually knew the bibulous Mr. Gelb in his younger years.

Bucky Walters of the Reds, whom Mr. Holmes agrees was the best pitcher in the NL in 1939, started 36 games. He pitched 31 complete games, winning 27, with 313 innings pitched. He pitched in the major leagues for sixteen years -- and never had any extended spells of arm trouble. He was also an outstanding pinch hitter, and was even capable of playing third base if he had to. Who needs specialization?

That wasp-waist deal was very much la mode in late 1939, much to the annoyance of women over thirty, and much to the delight of corset and high-waist girdle manufacturers.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Meanwhile in the Daily News...

"Harvey D. Gibson Stadium. I like the sound of that. Oh, hello, Mr. Moses, no, I was just -- ahh -- daydreaming, that's all."

Pat, why don't you just try your luck with the Invaders. You couldn't do any worse than you're doing now.

You should call Dan Dunn. I hear he knows a cabin up in the woods that's very restful. When you get there, ask for Mr. Dook.

That reminds me, I wonder what my brother is doing for Chrsitmas this year?

 

[LizzieMaine]

President Roosevelt today appointed the former chairman of the United States Steel Corporation as his personal envoy to the Vatican. The President emphasized Myron C. Taylor, currently connected with the International Commission on Refugees, will serve only as his personal representative, and will carry no official status as a United States representative to the Pope. The US terminated diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1870. The President declared that the appointment represents an effort to work with the Vatican to further "common endeavors for peace and the alleviation of suffering" growing out of the current world situation. The President noted that since Protestant and Jewish faiths do not have a centralized authority such as the Pope represents to Roman Catholics, he will meet individuall with representatives of those faiths.

The United States joined with twenty other American republics to formally protest the recent incident involving the the German pocket battleship Graf Spee off the coast of Uruguay. The 21 American republics communicated their position to the governments of Britain, France, and Germany, protesting the presence of military vessels in neutral American waters, and declaring their intention of taking steps to protect the neutrality of the American continents.

A Finnish communique today claims that an advancing counterattack in southeastern Finland killed 2000 Soviet troops, with 600 captured as prisoners. There was further aerial bombing by Soviet planes over the south coast of Finland but reports state that there were no injuries. There are also reports that Russian planes fired their machine guns into the streets of some of the towns along their route, but there were no casualties.

Santa Claus will have plenty of snow for his landing in Brooklyn tonight, with snowfall expected to begin early this afternoon, with slowly rising temperatures. Meanwhile, the borough is preparing for its whoppingest holiday ever, with the Federal Reserve releasing statistics showing an increase in circulating money in the US of more than $115,000,000 over last week for a new all-time record of $7,679,000,000.

Justice Albert T. Conway, appointed this week by Governor Herbert T. Lehman to a seat on the State Appeals Court, will also retain his Brooklyn Supreme Court seat for at least another year while serving in that position. Legal authorites say there is no constitutional reason why Justice Conway should have to resign his local seat to accept the position on the Appeals Court.

The chairman of the Dies Committee expects proceedings of that panel in the coming year will lead to the deportation of 7,000,000 aliens -- if Congress agrees to continue its funding. Representative Martin Dies says that if the committee is continued, he will present evidence in the coming year proving the existence of a network of sabotage, espionage and murder on the West Coast, particularly involving the motion picture industry, CIO unions, and the Government. Funding for the Dies Committee expires on January 3rd.

THE BROOKLYN EAGLE WILL NOT PUBLISH ON CHRISTMAS DAY, DECEMBER 25th.

The Chrysler Corporation has signed up for the 1940 edition of the World's Fair. The automaker will occupy the same building in the Transportation Zone that it used during 1939, where its exhibition of three-dimensional movies, a talking car, and a futuristic rocketport drew over 7 million persons.

Season's Greetings from Brooklyn -- America's biggest small town.

AFTER CHRISTMAS FASHION SALES AT ABRAHAM & STRAUS! STARTING TUESDAY! OUR SMARTEST APPAREL GREATLY REDUCED! NEW MERCHANDISE PRICED LIKE MARKDOWNS!

The World's Fair and all it had to offer made for the biggest local news story of 1939 -- with even the King and Queen of Great Britain getting in on the fun. Over 25 million persons paid their way into the Fair, for memories that will last a lifetime. Other local stories that stand out include the opening of the world's greatest airport, LaGuardia Field at North Beach, the assassination of Mayor Louis F. Edwards of Long Beach, the milk strikes, and the murder of Nazi consular secretary Dr. Walter Engelberg in Flatbush.

Pope Pius XI and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. lead the list of famous personalities who died during 1939. The world also bade farewell to Jacob Ruppert, Charles Schwab, Dr. Sigmund Freud, Carl Laemmle Sr., Floyd Gibbons, Zane Grey, Alice Brady, Artur Bodansky, and Heywood Broun.

Old Timer "Myrtle" wonders how many of you remember the real old-time Brooklyn Christmas like the ones she knew back in the old 7th Ward, when fruit and vegetable wagons lined Myrtle Avenue, with the chatter, song, and laughter of the young at heart, where the boundaries of the old neighborhood marked a world where no discordant notes sounded to mar the song of youth...

AFTER CHRISTMAS CLEARANCE AT LOESER'S! CLOTHING FOR MEN WOMEN BOYS AND GIRLS! HOUSEWARES! LAMP SHADES! BOOKS! TRUNKS!

Also tonight, Orson Welles' production of "A Christmas Carol," starring Lionel Barrymore, on the Campbell Playhouse, 8pm on WABC.

Tomorrow morning, open your presents to "Christmas In The Empire," featuring the annual Christmas message of King George VI, 9:15 am over WOR. WJZ and WABC will pick up the program starting at 10.

Cover boy for the Trend section this week is Postmaster Oscar L. Phillips of Santa Claus, Indiana. This is his busy time of year.

Now that's my idea of a Christmas Eve.

Herbert Cohn picks "Good Bye Mr. Chips" as the best film of 1939, with "Wuthering Heights" second and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" third.

Garbo Laughs at Loew's Metropolitan starting tomorrow, for the Brooklyn opening of "Ninotchka." Second feature is "Nick Carter, Master Detective," starring Walter Pidgeon as the famous dime-novel gumshoe.

The Year In Sports.

Red Ryder's doing well in the rodeo -- until Little Beaver runs out onto the field and gets chased by a bull. This is why kid sidekicks are a bad idea.

Jane Arden is still tailing the spy.

(I still can't even.)

Meanwhile, Leona no doubt sits in her darkened, lonely room sipping an ice-cold cup of Bitter Dregs of Disappointment.

Dan and the gang check into a hotel near the Acme Dog And Person Cut-Rate Hospital, and...

"I hope it's insured!!!"

 

[LizzieMaine]

Russian shells are reported to be falling on the Finnish city of Viipuri, cutting off gas and water service, and closing shops and restaurants, and exploding into craters six feet deep and twelve feet across in the frozen earth. Telephone communication with the city is reported to be intermittent. The shelling follows a day of air raids over the city. Meanwhile, Finnish communiques state that Finnish forces have penetrated as far as Russian soil along the frontier north of Lake Lagoda, and are now in a position to threaten the Leningrad-Murmansk Railroad, vital supply line to Soviet troops in the North.

President Roosevelt has been advised that his new personal representative to the Holy See will be "cordially received" at the Vatican. In a letter relayed to the White House Pope Pius XII assured the President that Myron C. Taylor will be welcomed in the interests of working to secure world peace.

Adolf Hitler celebrated Christmas Day standing on French soil on the Western Front, crossing the frontier during a visit to German front-line troops. The Nazi Fuherer distributed gifts to soldiers on watch and promoted the captain who guided him on his visit to the rank of major. It is reported to be the first time Hitler has been in France since 1918.

Meanwhile, reports from Paris charge the Germans with violating the spirit of an unofficial Christmas truce by engaging in patrol operations that erupted into a small-scale battle near the Moselle River. Several French soldiers were said to be wounded.

Fourteen persons were killed yesterday in the sinking of a British steamer by a German U-Boat off the west coast of England. The 2473-ton steamer Stanholm was torpedoed as its crew celebrated Christmas below decks. Ten survivors were recovered by a passing Norwegian steamer.

British aircraft bombed German patrol boats in a Christmas Day attack in the eastern North Sea. RAF sources state that the bombing came in response to anti-aircraft fire from the German vessels. No damage was reported to either side.

The Board of Education is hoping to save $10,000 by refusing to fill what's described as a "useless job." The Board has declined to appoint a new Chief Attendance Officer, in opposition to an order from the State Commissioner of Education that the position must be filled. The position has been vacant since 1938.

Pilots flying to LaGuardia Field at North Beach will be advised to "use extra caution" to control noise when flying over Brooklyn. The advisory emerged from a conference today bringing together representatives of the Civil Aeronautics Authority, the four airlines using the new airport, the Mayor's office, and other governmental officials.

Dancing film star Ruby Keeler obtained a divorce today from Al Jolson, after claiming that he ridiculed her so severely that she had developed "an inferiority complex." Jolson will be required to pay $400 per week alimony for life, or until she remarries, in which case he will pay her a lump sum of $50,000. Miss Keeler will also receive custody of the couple's adopted son Al Jr, for whom Jolson will place $100,000 in trust. Jolson is twenty-one years older than his now-former wife.

Motorists are reminded not to discard their 1939 license plates until they are no longer legal to use. The head of the Motor Vehicle Bureau for Brooklyn and Queens warns that thieves might use discarded plates and cause confusion. 1940 plates may be used starting January 1st, but 1939 plates remain valid thru a grace period ending January 31st.

At least 633 people around the nation met violent deaths on Christmas Day, compared to 508 in 1938. The death toll includes those who lost their lives in traffic accidents, fires, shootings, stabbings, and other tragedies. Of the 48 states, only Delaware had no violent deaths on the holiday. No fatalities were reported in Brooklyn, but there were several accidents and three suicides.

"Okay, lady, take them shoes off. I can see ya flinchin'. Ya bunions hoit, don't they? Naaah, ya ain't foolin' me. Get them shoes off right now. You know th' rules. We ain't lettin' ya wear 'em. Sez so right there in th' ad."

The parents of a 14-year-old Brooklyn girl who has been missing now for eight days fear she has gone to Hollywood because her friends at PS 152 told her she looks like Judy Garland. Roslyn Lipps disappeared after her father, bed manufacturer Morris Lipps of 924 E. 23rd Street, gave her $50 to buy a Christmas present for her mother. Roslyn is described as five feet seven inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, with brown eyes and dark hair. She was last seen wearing
a brown tweed coat trimmed with fur, and a brown fur hat. (She also looks like Judy Garland, if that helps.)

Garbo doesn't just smile, she scampers and soars in "Ninotchka," now playing at Loew's Metropolitan. Herbert Cohn finds her performance as the "gay, charming Russian Commissar" a personal triumph.

The Eagle editorialist congratulates Mrs. Genevieve Earle, Fusionist City Council member from Brooklyn, for her appointment as Minority Leader, calling her one of the best-informed and most effective members of the body.

The Brooklyn Chrismas Seal drive netted over $45,000 in an incomplete tally that shows sales will at least equal the 1938 mark.

A would-be desperado armed with a toy pistol failed in his attempt to rob a bakery when he stopped to enjoy the lollipops given him by the baker. 25 year old William Actonacion of 357 W. 125th Street in Manhattan was arraigned today on a charge of attempted robbery stemming from a botched heist at a chain bakery at 318 Flatbush Avenue. 25 year old manager Wesley Jackson responded to Antonacion's demand of "give me money -- give me anything" by handing him some lollipops. The robber placed his toy gun down on the counter and sampled the sweets, while Jackson called the police.

Young Brooklyn College graduate Dorothy Zaconic knows everything there is to know about puppets -- and she's putting her knowledge to work. Dorothy tells Jane Corby that her goal is to turn her little figures into real actors. She's putting them thru their paces in a miniature production of "Pinocchio," now playing at the Waldorf Theatre in Manhattan.

"Onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn the road to Man-da-lay-ay....."

Burly Johnny Mize, National League leader in batting average, home runs, and total bases for 1939, is easily the most consistent good hitter in the circuit, says Tommy Holmes. But neither Mize nor "Muscles" Medwick bothers the Dodgers as much as red-headed Don Padgett, who hit .399 in 92 games as a part-time player.

Joe Louis has been named Fighter Of The Year for 1939 by The Ring magazine. So what else is new?

Glenn Miller and his Orchestra will broadcast three nights a week over WABC in a new CBS feature sponsored by a cigarette manufacturer. The fifteen-minute program will be heard Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 10 pm beginning next week. The fast-rising Miller ensemble will be supplemented on the broadcasts by the Andrews Sisters, hottest singing trio on the air.

Ah, those good old fashioned family Christmases.

Sure, ruin Christmas for everybody.

Uh, wait, is that really such a good idea? I mean, geez, do you really want to leave such an easy trail? I mean -- oh, hell, this is "Dan Dunn." MERRY CHRISTMAS SUCKER!

 

[LizzieMaine]

318 Flatbush is the Cushman's Bakery storefront next to the theatre. FREE LOLLIPOPS WITH EVERY ROBBERY! The kids at foreground right are debating whether to attempt it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!

When class consciousness comes to Gangland.

Is Cap'n Blaze listening to the "Terry and the Pirates" radio show? How meta.

A month and a half should be just about right to put Harold in a state of complete psychosis. It's a good thing he doesn't have the Internet to egg him on.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Finnish ski troops are reported by Finnish sources to be driving across Russian territory 115 miles north of Lake Lagoda in hopes of cutting the Murmansk railroad, vital Soviet supply link. Meanwhile, Finnish sources state that fresh Red Army troops are massing for a new attack along the central and Arctic fronts.

Meanwhile, reports are circulating "among responsible sources" that more than 50,000 Scandanavian volunteers will fight alongside the Finns by spring, with two Swedish volunteer units having already left for the front.

Hundreds were reported killed and entire villages reported destroyed in an earthquake that rocked northern Turkey early today. Four shocks were felt in Ankara between 2 AM and 5 AM local time. Accurate information on the extent of the damage is not yet available due to the disruption of communications, but all reports point to a major catastrophe.

An earthquake was also felt today in Los Angeles. The Associated Press building felt the tremor at 11:29 AM Pacific time, 2:29 PM Brooklyn time.

Snow began falling over Brooklyn early this afternoon, marking the start of the winter storm forecasters had originally predicted for Christmas Day. Temperatures dropped as low as 12 degrees this morning before rising slightly to an icy 14 degrees as of 3 PM -- twenty degrees lower than at the same time yesterday.

William O'Dwyer was sworn in today as the new Kings County District Attorney, and assured the borough that he will serve out his full term in office. The declaration puts a halt to speculation that the new DA will run as a Democratic candidate for Mayor in 1941.

The "Bard of the Gowanus," 77-year-old former state legislator Luke O'Reilly, put an end last spring to twenty years of life as a widower by marrying a woman fifty-one years his junior, but is only now announcing the marriage. 26 year old Fordham College graduate Honora Petterson married O'Reilly last May 9th in Richmond, Virginia, and have been living since June on Clinton Avenue. "There is a great discrepancy in our ages," says O'Reilly, "but sometimes these things happen." O'Reilly, long a noted Brooklyn defense attorney, served in the State Assembly from 1929 to 1934, developing a reputation as one of the most caustic orators in the lower house.

Convicted bail-bond racketeer Max Lippe is said to be prepared to tell all to the Amen office, and as a result, sentencing in his case has been "postponed indefinitely." Lippe, born Lipschutz, is said to have "run the courts" in Brooklyn for years and could face up to 80 years in prison following his conviction on perjury charges. It is believed that if Lippe provides "valuable disclosures" to the ongoing investigation of law enforcement corruption in Brooklyn, Assistant Attorney General Amen will act on his behalf to shorten his sentence.

President Roosevelt is reported to be budgeting for a Federal Treasury income of $6,000,000,000 or more in 1940 based on projections of continued improvement in business. Such a sum of tax revenue would be the third largest on record, exceeded only by revenues received in 1920 and 1938. Secretary of Commerce Harry Hopkins anticipates that the national income for 1940 will exceed $70,000,000.

More than 17,000 bids have been received for 2000 available jobs with the Sanitation Department. The positions pay $2000 a year.

The father of runaway Brooklyn schoolgirl Roslyn Lipps has flown to Hollywood to bring his daughter back home. The 14-year-old eighth grader at PS 152 is being held in a Los Angeles County Children's Shelter after she was picked up by authorities as she stepped off a bus. She has been missing for over a week, and reportedly left home with $50 in hopes of a career in the movies.

An exploding oil heater in a Court Street poolroom damaged the theatre next door, forcing the evacuation of more than 350 moviegoers. The manager of the Lido Theatre noticed smoke leaking thru the wall and oversaw the evacuation of the auditorium. Eleven persons were reported injured in the rush of the crowd. The majority of the audience -- most of them children -- had gained the street before the explosion. Plaster and fixtures in the theatre were damaged by the blast, but the theatre building sustained no major structural damage. The poolroom at 269 Court Street was severely damaged by the blast and the subsequent fire.

(The Lido Theatre, under reconstruction, with the boarded-up remains of the poolroom next door.)

A 67-year-old Ridgewood man faces charges after admitting that he wrote indecent letters to a 22-year-old neighbor. Henry Marshall, who lives in a four-family house at 1667 Stevens Street, is being held on $500 bail after a complaint from the woman, who says he sent her an eight page letter containing offensive references, shortly after she received an unsigned note of the same type.

A baritone vocal solo by Magistrate Nicholas Pinto led to the conviction of a 21-year-old Hopkins Street woman on charges of possession of a policy slip. Mrs. Wilhemina Legaspi was charged after police found her in possession a slip bearing what appeared to be a coded message. Mrs. Legaspi's husband claimed that the writing was the lyrics of a song he'd heard on the radio, translated into the Filipino language, and after Mr. Legaspi furnished the name of the song, Magistrate Pinto attempted to sing the words on the slip. The Legaspis then admitted that the words were actually coded policy numbers.

Figure-atively Speaking the Pencil Silhouette Starts With Corset! (Wait, "pencil silhouette?" I haven't even figured out the wasp-waist yet.)

("Bowling Allies?" I'm all for non-violent resolutions to international conflict, but I don't think Hitler will go for it.)

Helen Worth says people are entitled to spend as much or as little as they want to spend for Christmas gifts, so stop judging. This means you, Josephine Bungle.

"The Great Victor Herbert," now playing at the Brooklyn Paramount, is hardly a biography at all, says Herbert Cohn. It's mostly music, all smoothed and molded satisfactorily, with Walter Connolly, Mary Martin, and Allan Jones all fine in their roles. Also on the bill, "Blondie Brings Up Baby," which is as frivolous and light-hearted as it sounds.

Now at the Patio, "Drums Along the Mohawk," with Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda, with The Jones Family in "Too Busy To Work."

The Eagle editorialist is all for the drive to eliminate radio horror programs, as mounted by the American Library Association, the General Federation of Womens Club and the United Parents Association. Blood and thunder, say these groups, has no place on the air where it can upset children, and the Eagle fully agrees.

Ray Tucker, in the "National Whirligig" column, says Vice President Garner's declaration of his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination was a political dud, since it's inspired precisely no rush of opposition among Democrats for a possible third term for President Roosevelt. Meanwhile, Mayor LaGuardia is being talked up as a potential vice-presidential candidate if the President does declare for a third term.

Dime-novel author Luis Senarens, once known as the "American Jules Verne" for his blood-and-thunder adventure stories featuring globetrotting inventor Frank Reade, widely relished by schoolboys of the 1890s, has died at the age of 76. Senarens wrote over 1500 futuristic novels for popular fiction magazines, mostly under the name of "Noname."

According to experts consulted by the Eagle, 1940 will bring the following: bigger and better movies, dazzling fashion styles, progress in Atomic Science, the development of a World Society, more church cooperation, and Business Will Make Progress. (Yeah, but more important, who will get Ted -- Leona or Sue? To say nothing of Truck McClusky vs. Harold Teen. And most important of all -- will the Dodgers ever get Joe Medwick?)

No Ducky yet, but the Dodgers did pick up infielder Louis "Boze" Berger, purchased from the Boston Red Sox at the interleague waiver price of $7500. The move is widely seen as opening a route by which the Dodgers may use infielder Johnny Hudson as trade bait.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will strike a more colorful image when they take the field in the spring -- instead of the scripted "Pirates" insignia on their uniforms, their blouses will bear an impressive red-and-blue life-size head of a swashbuckling buccaneer. Caps will change to a light blue with a bright red "P."

(The secret ingredient? Baby oil.)

Okay, let's get to it --

Hmmmm. Eddie is always a safe bet -- but just how Royal is this Montgomery joint. Let's run over and take a look.

Where is this joint anyway? I've been going back and forth for half an hour and I can't find it. Is that it way down the end of the block? Pretty stark neighborhood. OK, that settles it. Eddie and the Midwood it is.

George knows a lot of people who could use a good massaging.

"?" indeed.

The Chief is played today by Lionel Atwill. Whatever you do, Dan, don't let him take you down cellar.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Pilots flying to LaGuardia Field at North Beach will be advised to "use extra caution" to control noise when flying over Brooklyn. The advisory emerged from a conference today bringing together representatives of the Civil Aeronautics Authority, the four airlines using the new airport, the Mayor's office, and other governmental officials....

In a very small coincidence, I flew into La Guardia this morning. Owing to the extensive renovation work going on right now, you can see old signs and building that, in my experience, haven't been visible for many years. It was a very Fedora Lounge moment.

...
Sure, ruin Christmas for everybody....

Great illustration showing that Sue knows the Leona Fury is coming her way.

...A 67-year-old Ridgewood man faces charges after admitting that he wrote indecent letters to a 22-year-old neighbor. Henry Marshall, who lives in a four-family house at 1667 Stevens Street, is being held on $500 bail after a complaint from the woman, who says he sent her an eight page letter containing offensive references, shortly after she received an unsigned note of the same type.....

It seems like this guy ⇧ should have sought advice from this guy ⇩

...The "Bard of the Gowanus," 77-year-old former state legislator Luke O'Reilly, put an end last spring to twenty years of life as a widower by marrying a woman fifty-one years his junior, but is only now announcing the marriage. 26 year old Fordham College graduate Honora Petterson married O'Reilly last May 9th in Richmond, Virginia, and have been living since June on Clinton Avenue. "There is a great discrepancy in our ages," says O'Reilly, "but sometimes these things happen." O'Reilly, long a noted Brooklyn defense attorney, served in the State Assembly from 1929 to 1934, developing a reputation as one of the most caustic orators in the lower house....

...A baritone vocal solo by Magistrate Nicholas Pinto led to the conviction of a 21-year-old Hopkins Street woman on charges of possession of a policy slip. Mrs. Wilhemina Legaspi was charged after police found her in possession a slip bearing what appeared to be a coded message. Mrs. Legaspi's husband claimed that the writing was the lyrics of a song he'd heard on the radio, translated into the Filipino language, and after Mr. Legaspi furnished the name of the song, Magistrate Pinto attempted to sing the words on the slip. The Legaspis then admitted that the words were actually coded policy numbers.....

What's going on here? I get that it's some kind of insurance fraud / scam - are they submitting false claims, stealing policy benefits, what?

...Helen Worth says people are entitled to spend as much or as little as they want to spend for Christmas gifts, so stop judging. This means you, Josephine Bungle.....

... View attachment 202419

(The secret ingredient? Baby oil.)....

That's just a bad ad anyway you look at it.

...
Okay, let's get to it --



Hmmmm. Eddie is always a safe bet -- but just how Royal is this Montgomery joint. Let's run over and take a look.

View attachment 202432

Where is this joint anyway? I've been going back and forth for half an hour and I can't find it. Is that it way down the end of the block? Pretty stark neighborhood. OK, that settles it. Eddie and the Midwood it is....

Odd you can't find it. Heck, I'm still holding out to see what Horn and Hardart is doing for New Years.

...
"?" indeed....

Huh! I don't know that I can wait 'till tomorrow.

...

The Chief is played today by Lionel Atwill. Whatever you do, Dan, don't let him take you down cellar.

In the '70s and '80s, in NYC, many side streets, old factory areas and even highways in and out were - literally - strewn with stripped cars (literally down to the frame). It was crazy - had a "Mad Max" feel to it.