This Detroit Publishing Company photograph is from 1900. We are looking east along 23rd Street.  The corner of Madison Avenue and Madison Square Park is visible on the left.

The 11-story building completed in 1893 is the home office of The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

To the left of Metropolitan Life is the Madison Square Presbyterian Church. The church was led from 1880-1918 by Dr. Charles Parkhurst, a vocal foe of municipal corruption, vice and human suffering. The Metropolitan Life Building would be expanded (1906-1909) by constructing a tower north of the original building.. The tower portion of the Metropolitan Life Building was built upon the site of Parkhurst’s church. The congregation would hire the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White to  build a new church in 1906 on the adjacent corner of 24th Street and Madison Avenue.

But with land being so valuable in the Madison square area, the new church was sold and demolished in 1919.

There are a few things in this photograph that might escape your notice with just a quick glance.

Some Details

In the background, a large banner stretches across 23rd Street.

The sign promotes the headquarters of the Republican National Committee. The ticket of President William McKinley and New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt would prevail in the 1900 election.

In the foreground is a street clock with advertising. Written atop the clock is “Dorlon’s” and the bottom reads “6 & 7.”

Dorlon’s was a popular oyster restaurant at 6 & 7 East 23rd Street with wholesale operations at Fulton Market as well as mobile oyster stands operating throughout the city. Barely visible on the clock’s face instead of numbers it spells out – OYSTERS.

Dorlon’s menu from January 10, 1900 gives an idea of the fare served. The prices for oysters are by the dozen,

There are a number of vendors along the curb near the clock and several more vendors in front of the Metropolitan Life Building. The corner of Metropolitan Life houses the Madison Square Station of the New York Post Office, insuring a steady flow of potential customers.

Similar to modern street vendors these manual pushcarts are offering various food items. Clearly one man is selling peanuts.

Finally, a delivery cart and hansom cab wait in front of the main entrance of Metropolitan Life.

Crossing the street is a man dressed all in white with a pith helmet. Believe it or not he is a member of New York’s Sanitation Department. The “White Wings” as they were called because of the distinctive uniform, was the creation of Colonel George Waring (1833-1898). a sanitary engineer, who in 1896 would establish a modern street cleaning department for the city. The White Wings efforts dramatically improved the city’s cleanliness.

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“Loyalists” Were Merely On The Losing Side Of History Says John Hyde Preston

We all know the saying that history is written by the victors. But, as the United States celebrates America 250 on July 4, we don’t acknowledge an overlooked fact.

There were a great number of colonists that did not want to be free of England. These were the  Loyalists; those remaining faithful subjects of King George III. And the Loyalists were the losers.

Many colonists had grievances with the King of England. But they did not necessarily wish to dissolve ties with Great Britain.  As far as government, a great number of the colonists did not wish to “alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,” as the Declaration of Independence states.

Most Americans today assume the revolution was inevitable due to British oppression. They assume most colonists were rabid patriots starving for liberty and those loyal to the King were a small minority.

That is not the truth.

John Hyde Preston’s dynamic, yet forgotten history of the Revolutionary War, Revolution 1776, Harcourt, Brace and Company (1933), delves into the topic of the numbers when it comes to “Patriots” during the rebellion.

In two short passages, Preston lays out a fascinating analysis, parsing out which side the colonists were on. Revolution 1776 is long out of print. That is a shame because Preston’s writing is highly entertaining with its short, snappy prose.

Preston’s final words on the subject of “which side would you choose” are prescient, with the rise of today’s  socialist / communist “revolutionaries.”

From Revolution 1776:

Part IX

It is rather breath-taking now—after all the bunk about unanimous resistance that our school histories choked down our young throats—to realize that 40 per cent of the population of the colonies was flamingly pro-British. Let us pause a moment for figures.

The total population of America on the day that Washington took command of the army at Cambridge was approximately 2,500,000. Let us say, generously, that half this total were women. That leaves 1,250,000 males. In the Revolution there was no age limit.

Men from sixteen to sixty fought side by side in the rebel army. Consequently—considering the appalling child mortality, which cut down most children before they reached sixteen—about five out of every seven males were within the limits of a draft. That leaves perhaps 892,850 effectives, But from this we must subtract the 40 per cent who were loyalists. 535,700 remain.

Now we must remember the element that were neither loyalist nor patriot. We must remember the lukewarm, the neutrals who trembled between the two extremes, vacantly waiting to see which side would win out. When the war was over and America triumphant, these people claimed to have been as patriotic as the rest. But during those seven soul-harrowing years these lukewarmers numbered about 25 per cent—or over 300,000—of the male population.

After all these eliminations, about 225,000 remain as the potential military equipment that Washington ought to have been able to rely upon. As things turned out, he never once had an army of over 25,000 men, and most of the time, straggling and bedraggled, it numbered between 3,000 and 15,000. The 15,000 at Brandywine was the largest force Washington ever took into the field for a single engagement.

It is hard to reconcile these cold facts with our pink and white  American traditions of “The Spirit of 1776.”

Part X

The American army held the loyalists in fear and hatred. After the Revolution was over this hatred was so magnified by “patriotic” historians that these British sympathizers emerged as great hairy monsters crushing a delicate young virgin named Liberty. They have since been so reviled and muddied that we have forgotten that they numbered among them some of the most patient, wise, and wholly admirable men in this country. They merely made the mistake of being on the losing side. The irony of history has it that you may be as fine and honest and sincere as any man in the world, but if your side loses in a great struggle, to posterity you automatically become a frenzied tyrant and a gorgon.

Before we condemn the loyalists of the American Revolution let us wonder that, considering the supposed hopelessness of the patriot cause, there were not more of them. And let us reflect, too, how today the majority of us would be “loyalists” just as ardent if our present government were threatened or if we were suddenly plunged into the midst of a Communist revolution.

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When my grandfather was returning from World War II to civilian life in November 1945 he managed to accumulate a bunch of ribbons and medals during his years in the service. He was quick to put the war behind him, discarding much, except for a few precious possessions.

My grandfather saved some photographs of his fellow soldiers and all the correspondence exchanged to and from my grandmother.

Recently I was going through his things and I was a bit surprised that he saved what appears to be a form letter of sorts.

General Fay R Upthegrove

The short letter is personally addressed to my grandfather from Brigadier General Fay R. Upthegrove (that is quite a name).

But I would think that every soldier serving under General Upthegrove received this letter. Maybe not.

The General

General Upthegrove took command in June 1942 of the 99th Bomb Group at Davis-Monthan Field, Ariz., taking it to Gowen Field, Idaho, Sioux City, Iowa, and then to North Africa in January 1943. A year later he assumed command of the 304th Bomb Wing, 15th Air Force, in Italy.

Returning to the United States in August 1945, General Upthegrove assumed command of the 76th Flying Training Wing at Smyrna Field, Tenn., and at the time that this letter was written, General Upthegrove was commander at the flying training school at Maxwell Field.

Regardless that it is a form letter, my grandfather felt it was something worth saving. He never showed it to me.

Maybe it was special to him because many of the soldiers he trained and served with did not come back from the war.

The letter is beautifully written. And the sentiments expressed feel genuine and patriotic.

Re-reading the letter  today I only wish all Americans were united in the belief that war is horrible. Yet, liberty is one of the things worth fighting… and sometimes dying for.

Memorial Day and Independence Day are not three day breaks for shopping and vacations. Veterans Day on November 11 is not a meaningless quasi-holiday. Each serves a purpose. Those days are set aside to remind all Americans of an intrinsic truth.

That for over 250 years before you or I got here, there are millions who have served and in many cases died to preserve freedom and the United States.

The Letter

Here is the letter with full text below and above the image of the original. I have redacted my grandfather’s name for privacy reasons.

HEADQUARTERS
ARMY AIR FORCES EASTERN FLYING TRAINING COMMAND
MAXWELL FIELD, ALABAMA

12 November 1945

Dear Mr. *****

Upon the occasion of your return to civilian life, I wish
to express my personal appreciation for the services you have
rendered the Army Air Forces.

Your contribution toward the victory for which we fought,
and which, after almost four long and trying years, we so
recently won, has earned the undying gratitude of our country.

The personal sacrifices you have made and your unselfish
devotion to duty are beyond material repayment. In its stead,
a grateful nation offers you its earnest thanks and the opportunity
to build, upon the victory you so valiantly helped to
achieve, a peace that will bless our country and all mankind.

I hope, in the years to come, you will cherish the associations
you have made while a member of the Army Air Forces.
Our experiences in a great many respects have been the same.
They, and the cause for which we fought, form a bond between
us that time will not easily erase.

God speed you home and the best of good fortune in the
peaceful years ahead.

Sincerely yours,

FAY R. UPTHEGROVE
Brigadier General. USA
Commanding

The post Thank You For Your Service In World War II appeared first on Stuff Nobody Cares About.

Independence Day Celebration

A Short Article From The New York Evening World July 3, 1893

Immigrant street scene with patriotic children NYC circa 1916

CHEERED LIKE AMERICANS

Independence Day Exercises at
the Baron de Hirsch School.

Little immigrants Show the Results
of Patriotic Training.

Four hundred and fifty very bright-looking little boys and girls, children of Russian Hebrew Immigrants and pupils of the English day classes of the Baron de Hirsch fund school, this morning commemorated Independence Day at the Hebrew Institute, East Broadway and
Jefferson street.

The exercises were simple, but full of patriotism, and gave ample evidence of the wisdom of that part of the curriculum introduced by Auditor Balch, of the Board of Education, which relates to the inculcation of sentiments of love for “Old Glory” and the country over which it floats.

One exercise in particular, the “Salutation  of the Flag,” was entered into with such a spirit of earnest devotion as to leave no doubt of the sincerity of the children as they uttered these final
words with uplifted hands:

“We give our heads and our hearts to our country. One country, one language, one flag.”

Baron De Hirsch fund school children c. 1905

The remarkable feature of this school is that it prepares immigrants’ children in a remarkably short time for instruction  in the public schools. Some of these children have been in the United
States for only three weeks, and already manage  to make themselves well understood in English.

Several of them recited this morning, and, although their accent strongly betokened  the foreigner, their speech was clear and could be readily understood.

Following was the programme:
1 “Good Morning” sung by pupils: 2. The Nation’s Birthday: 3 Try Again: 4. Why We Keep July 4, 5. Calisthenics; 6. Soldier Boys; 7. Star Spangled Banner,  8 Goblins Will Catch You; 9. Salute
to the Flag: 10. Blessing, 11. Hurrah for the Flag.

Among the visitors were Mr. A.S. Solomons, General Agent of the Baron de Hirsch Fund, Col. Balch, of the Board of Education; W. L. Mason, Miss Classie Cohn, Mr. Wilson L. Gill, of the Patriotic League. Mise Abbie McClennen  and Miss Bertha Eger.

Before concluding the exercises Mr. Solomons told the pupils that there was a belief prevalent that only Americans knew how to cheer.

“Is that true” he asked.

The reply was a rousing ““hurrah!” which proved conclusively that it was not necessary to have an American throat to make the welkin ring with an American cheer.

Things Have Changed

You may read this article and come to the conclusion that immigrant children of one hundred thirty years ago were indoctrinated to conform. Some might even say brain-washed to be good little Americans.

Unfortunately the educational system today is more often about bashing America’s core values and institutions to young students.

Is it any wonder that the United States is more divided than ever.

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We are looking east along 14th Street towards Fourth Avenue. There are al least 50 people in the background, but the sparsity of pedestrians and traffic in this usually very busy area indicates that this was probably taken on a Sunday morning.

The seven small buildings between 14th and 15th Streets feature advertising of the day.

With street scenes as this, establishing a date is as simple as looking at the surroundings. Large signs from (l-r) advertise; The Union Square Hotel; Uneeda Biscuit; Owl Cigar; Budweiser; El-Bart Dry Gin; and Hotel Hungaria.

Though the billboard sign beneath the Owl 5¢ Cigar sign could have been left up beyond the plays it is advertising, it likely narrows the date of our photograph to autumn 1905.

The New Amsterdam Theatre is playing The Prodigal Son by Hall Caine which ran from September 4 – mid-October 1905. The Broadway Theatre has The Pearl and The Pumpkin from August 21 – November 1, 1905. The Liberty has The Rogers Brothers In Ireland running September 4, til its closing October 28 1905. The Ham Tree was playing at the New York Theatre from August 28 through November 11, 1905.

In the foreground is the bronze George Washington Equestrian Statue by sculptor Henry Kirke Brown in its original placement at the intersection of 14th St. and 4th Ave. The Barre granite base was built by famous church architect Richard Upjohn. The dedication of the statue was July 4, 1856. In 1929 Union Square underwent a redesign and the statue was moved out of harms way from the street to the central southern portion of the park.

This entire block would be transformed beginning in 1912 when Samuel Klein set up shop at 10 Union Square.The enterprise grew.

S. Klein On The Square, the bargain department store, acquired and combined the hodgepodge of buildings seen above and was wildly successful. Klein’s Union Square closed in 1975.

All the buildings were demolished in 1986 to build Zeckendorf Towers in 1987.

The post Old New York In Photos #196 – Union Square East 1905 appeared first on Stuff Nobody Cares About.

Skating Star & Actor Who Are Romancing
Beverly Hills, CA – Sonja Henie, famous figure skating star, at present working in pictures in Hollywood, and Tyrone Power actor, do a little billing and cooing at the Tropics Cafe, here. Photo: International News Photos February 7 , 1937.

Tyrone Power was Sonja Henie’s co-star in Thin Ice with production of the film running from May through July 1937. It’s the story of a hotel ski instructor who falls in love with a man who goes skiing every morning.

Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912. The Norwegian three-time Gold medal Olympic skater made only 15 films. She was not known for her acting skills, but for her beauty and skating skills. She was a star whose popularity was great and yet today I can think of few stars whose films and film career are as forgotten as Sonja Henie’s.

Henie and Power had been dating each other as early as August of 1936. Sonja Henie did not end up marrying Tyrone Power. Instead Sonja married future New York Yankees team co-owner Dan Topping on July 4, 1940. The couple would divorce in 1946. Henie married two more times. Henie’s third husband Niels Onstad was one of the richest men in the world and their union lasted from 1956 until Henie’s death from leukemia in 1969 at the age of 57.

Power would marry screen star Annabella in 1939. They divorced in 1948. Power married two more times and died at the age of 44 in 1958 from a heart attack he suffered while filming Solomon and Sheba.

The post Classic Hollywood #195 – Tyrone Power & Sonja Henie appeared first on Stuff Nobody Cares About.

Seven years ago we wrote about an interaction with the JustAnswer web site and its conversing ability when one side (me) is being illogical. Surprisingly, not much has changed. The AI algorithm is as dumb as ever.

I want some information about a piece of silver or is it silverplate. So I turn to the google and plug in a search with the keywords. The first site I am directed to is JustAnswer.com, with antique specialists available.

This is not what I wanted. I just need to know what the two letter hallmark after the International Silver name stood for. A live person would answer my questions I was told.

But of course that is not what happens when you click on “ask a question.”

The site is geared to extract money from your wallet by answering your extremely simple or complex question from the expert about the item.

But, before the (supposed) human will help you, you interact first with a “chatbot” which apparently is incapable of shutting down a conversation that from the get-go is ridiculous.

I was not going to use the service. So what happens if you enter something irrelevant?

Here is the brief conversation.

So I did not enter my credit card card information in the pop-up window. And while living here in the mental institution on Neptune, I will figure out what the “CC” hallmark stands for on the silver tray without JustAnswer’s help.

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FELLER NAMED SPORTS FATHER OF THE YEAR
New York, NY –  Bob Feller kisses his wife, who ought to know, after he is awarded medal as 1948’s “Sports Father Of The Year” at the Yankee Stadium here today. In addition to the kiss, Mrs. Feller got orchids from her husband too. The medal was awarded to the Cleveland star pitcher by an ice cream company in behalf of the youngsters of America who look upon Bob as quite a guy. Photo: Herb Scharfman / International News,  June 12, 1948

The award to Feller was first announced on May 26, 1948 by the National Father’s Day Committee. The previous year’s sports award winner was Babe Ruth. The award was given to Feller between games of a double-header at Yankee Stadium.

68,586 fans attended the twin-bill on June 12 and saw the Indians sweep the Yankees 7-5 and 9-4.

The Indians would go on to win the World Series in 1948.

In 1948, the 29-year-old Feller had two sons Steven and Martin. A third son, Winthrop Bruce Feller was born 1950.

But Feller had issues with his wife Virginia Winther, who he married on January 16, 1943.

According to the Society for American Baseball Research,  “Virginia, had become addicted to barbiturates and amphetamines shortly after the war ended. For the last 10 years of his playing career, Virginia was a constant worry and distraction for Feller. The couple had three sons and Feller had to hire a live-in maid to take care of them. Virginia had several stays in the Mayo Clinic, but couldn’t stem her addiction, which caused insomnia and other behavioral problems as well as stretching the family’s finances. Finally, in 1971 the couple divorced.”

Bob Feller married Anne Gilliland Thorpe in 1974. They remained married until Bob Feller’s death at age 92 in 2010.  Virginia WInther Feller died in 1981 at the age of 65 and Anne Feller died in 2021 at age 91.

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Jayne Mansfield was always a willing publicity participant, especially if it was for charity.

The news slug below begins by calling Jayne “buxom.” That probably would not fly today.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Buxom Jayne Mansfield relaxes on her time off by helping to kick off a series of national bowling tournaments being held in support of the 1957 March of Dimes. Here at a Los Angeles bowling alley, the blonde glamour girl gets things “rolling” with the aid of some top California bowlers, (left to right) Foy Belcher, Hank Lauman and Bob Prince. photo United Press International 1-25-1957

1957 would be a good year for Jayne Mansfield with the release of her most successful film, Will Success Spoil Hunter?

The post Classic Hollywood #194 – Jayne Mansfield Bowling appeared first on Stuff Nobody Cares About.

What Would Marilyn Look Like Today?

Marilyn Monroe in New York City sitting by a fountain. c 1955 photo Sam Shaw

The odds that any female movie legend reaches the age of 100 are extremely slim.

Currently Eva Marie Saint (On The Waterfront; North By Northwest) is 101. Lee Grant (In The Heat of the Night; Shampoo) is 100. Olivia de Havilland lived to 104. Gloria Stuart (Titanic, The Invisible Man) was 100 when she died. If movie stars do reach the magic age of 100 they generally stay out of the spotlight and will not allow photographs to be taken of them.

Had Marilyn Monroe not died at age 36 on August 4, 1962, it is unlikely she would have lived to be 100-years-old. Life expectancy actuarial tables bear this out. Marilyn’s documented medical issues, both physical and mental, would be another longevity barrier, Speculating what Marilyn would look like at 100 is preposterous.

But why should that stop Artificial Intelligence programs from creating an image of what Marilyn would look like at age 100?

Marilyn Monroe 2026 AI photo edited

If Marilyn Had Aged

Marilyn Monroe’s mother- Gladys Pearl Monroe Baker Mortensen Eley c 1970s.

Gladys Baker Eley July 6 , 1963 photo: AP

Marilyn’s mother Gladys Monroe Baker lived until 1984, dying at  the age of 81.

These two photographs of Gladys, one at the age of 60 as she is  being accompanied back to a sanitarium and another when she was in her seventies, gives you some idea of what Marilyn’s genetics were like and how Marilyn might have looked as she aged.

We loaded vintage Marilyn Monroe source photographs from our collection and asked a few AI photo editing  programs to create images of Marilyn at age 100.

How realistic is this experiment?

The results range from semi-realistic to flattering to optimistic to no resemblance and ridiculous.

Most of  the photo editing programs tend to age Marilyn with an overall healthy look and no weight gain. Considering Marilyn’s dependency on alcohol and drugs, the graceful ageing and health trajectory are not in line with that lifestyle.

Of course Marilyn who was always a fitness buff, may have broken those habits had she lived.

The AI photo editing software also generate a Marilyn who appears to have undergone plastic surgery and does not look like a typical 100-year-old woman. That may be realistic, as you look at recent photographs of movie stars currently in their nineties. i.e. Joan Collins; Kim Novak; Ursula Andress; Carroll Baker etc.

Here are 12 results of Marilyn Monroe at 100 (the fourth photograph is probably the most accurate.)

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