Easter Rebellion Dead Recalled In December 1916

Easter Rebellion plaque and Proclamation. Get into a conversation with a longtime Queens resident and you’re likely to discover a former subscriber of the Long Island Star Journal, a daily paper that informed the community about local and world news until it folded in 1968. A banner across the Star Journal masthead reminded readers that the newspaper’s name came from the merger of the Long Island Daily Star (1876) and the North Shore Daily Journal–The Flushing Journal (1841).

Welcome to December, 1916!

On December 1, 500 attendees braved rain to honor the memory of Irish slain during the Easter Rebellion earlier that year. The event was sponsored by the George Washington Branch, Friends of Irish Freedom, and the Celtic Club of Greenpoint and was held in St. Mary’s Auditorium.

Keynote speaker Nora Connolly, daughter of Patrick Connolly, slain commander of the Irish provisional forces during the Easter Rebellion, was scheduled to talk. A sudden attack of appendicitis kept her in the German Hospital (today Lenox Hill) in Manhattan.

The Friends of Irish Freedom (who were organized the previous March and had chapters in most of the major cities in the country), displayed a portrait of Patrick Pearce, president of the provisional government. Pearce, who some years earlier had a grocery in Greenpoint, was the past president of the Celtic Club and was well known in the community.

Images public domain In another part of Long Island City, a mass meeting of at least 500 citizens formally launched an effort to extend the Astoria elevated train to Steinway Street and Ditmars Blvd. The December 13 rally was held at Fessler’s Hall on Woolsey (today 24th) Avenue and Steinway Street. It was organized by the Steinway Manhattan Rapid Transit Committee. Cheering and applause greeted a letter that offered $2,500 in financial support by Theodore Steinway, president of Steinway & Sons. The money was to help defray the committee’s expenses.

On December 8, the Queensboro Bridge was the subject of a report that confessed the sad truth: the start of service on that span’s elevated train was delayed by months. When service finally started, both the Corona and Astoria lines were to go over the Queensboro Bridge, then down to City Hall along the Second Avenue line in Manhattan.

Gazette archives Queensboro Bridge today. For the immediate future, the report cautioned that although orders were out for trucks and wheels, manufacturers were focused on making munitions for the war in Europe. This war production, which created a shortage of materials, was also blamed for the slow construction pace at the nearby Queensboro Plaza station.

At that time in 1916, about 20,000 passengers traveled each way on the daily commute through the Hunters Point and Manhattan tunnel. The figure was expected to substantially increase with the completion of Grand Central Terminal.

The city also announced that the cold weather would halt the repaving of the Queensboro Bridge. All traffic (some 10,000 vehicles daily) had been routed to the northern lanes while work crews toiled around the clock to complete the Queens-bound side. The work involved relocating trolley tracks from the middle to the outer roadway, and the laying of wood blocks set in concrete. The use of a lighter weight wood was to offset the additional weight on the upper level by the elevated train.

Queens was a magnet for manufacturing. In just two years, from 1914 to 1916, the value of manufactured products nearly doubled, from $164 million to more than $323 million. During that same period, the number of employees increased from 37,200 to nearly 64,000 and payrolls from $25.75 million to $46.9 million.

S. Bauman furniture store of 2 Flushing Avenue (in Old Astoria), suggested the public do their shopping early. A three-piece living room set, a couch and two chairs made of mahogany and leather, went for $47 and an eight-piece dining room set (solid oak and leather) including a buffet, table and six chairs for $31.98. A Pathe record player, with 6,000 record selections available, was a rather pricey $25 and a “musola” talking machine was an expensive $55.

Advertising always gives an interesting picture of life at a given time. Jack Murphy, “the tailor with no regrets” of Bridge Plaza, opened a new shop on Fulton Street, Jamaica. Ready to wear overcoats were $7.50 or $10 made to order. Dr. Bloom, dentist, offered a full set of teeth for $3 and 22-karat gold crowns for $2. Silver fillings were as low as 50 cents.

On December 19, police invited 400 children to Christmas in the Hunters Point Precinct (today the 108th Precinct) stationhouse. Donations totaled nearly $500 and Captain McNally’s office in the stationhouse was filled with toys and clothing. A 30-foot tree was to be lit up free of charge by the local utility. Santa handed out gifts of a toy, a piece of clothing and food.

On December 9, Mrs. Isabel Wright Freund, class of 1883 and the first graduate of the old Third Ward School at Hunter Avenue was honored by the P.S. 4 Alumni Association (P.S. 4 in Dutch Kills had replaced the older school).

After her talk, a handsome bouquet of roses was presented to Freund by Miss Ethel Zimmerman, age 8. Later, little Miss Zimmerman entertained with dances in costume. This was Zimmerman’s first documented public performance. She would later receive much wider notice as Ethel Merman.

That’s the way it was in December, 1916!

Love your neighborhood? Then do your shopping at the Greater Astoria Historical Society. Holiday gift ideas include historical pictures of your community and books, mugs, tote bags and tee shirts with a local theme. Shop in person at the Society, which is open to the public on Saturdays, noon to four at the Quinn Gallery, 4th Floor, 35-20 Broadway, Long Island City, or order online at www.astorialic.org. For more information, call the Greater Astoria Historical Society at 718-278-0700 or visit www.astorialic.org.