Tag Archives: Evergreens Cemetery

A Forgotten 1915 Brooklyn Tragedy: Four Boys Die In An Accident, Shattering Two Families Forever

Two Pairs of Brothers, Together In Life And Death

100th Anniversary Of The Forgotten Brooklyn Explosion That Killed Two Sets Of Young Brothers

While wandering the bucolic grounds of the Evergreens Cemetery on the Brooklyn – Queens border you come across many interesting monuments. There are Triangle shirtwaist fire victims, General Slocum memorials and many historic notables. And then there are the monuments like this one that are inexplicable on first inspection.

Zimmer inscription monument

Zimmer inscription monument

Higgins inscription monument

Higgins inscription monument

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two sets of brothers each between 7 and 11-years-old all dying on March 13, 1915 and are buried together. This unique memorial has an angel, with a few fingers and toes missing, head bowed in sorrow, standing between the two columns that are connected at the top by a triangular stone with the Gospel of Luke quotation inscribed across it, “Suffer Little Children To Come Unto Me”.

Oil Explosion kills boys March 13 1915 memorial at Evergreens cemeteryMy first thought was that the boys were probably cousins or related in some other way and died in a house fire.

But checking the news accounts from the following days reveals a senseless tragedy of two unrelated families children just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Zimmer boys, Henry age 11 and Herbert age 7, of 186 Warwick Street and the Higgins boys, Alex age 11 and Arthur age 8 of 174 Warwick Street were close friends and neighbors growing up a few doors from each other. Continue reading

Old Time Ads From The 1910 World Almanac – Part 2

More Interesting Ads From The 1910 World Almanac

1910 World Almanac Cover P1060720

We continue our look at the 1910 World Almanac And Encyclopedia’s advertising.

The New York World newspaper used their annual publication of the Almanac as a way to advertise their own newspaper.

1910 World Almanac Why the World P10607351910 World Almanac Subscribe to the World P1060734Why should you read The World?

There are seven good reasons according to the ad.

Considering almost every newspaper in the country had a political bias, The World claimed they were independent in politics. Another chief reason to read The World is that they were indefatigable in gathering news. As proof of their superiority, The World boasted they had more than twice the circulation of any other morning newspaper in New York.

A separate ad for Almanac readers to consider subscribing to The New York Sunday World stated that they were simply the best at everything, whether it be news, editorials, writers, humor etc. The annual cost for a subscription was $2.50.

1910 World Almanac Acme Fire Extinguisher P1060728A fire extinguisher was a necessity few could afford in 1910. Offered here straight out of a Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoon, comes the “Acme” Fire Extinguisher.

1910 World Almanac Baldness P1060751William Charles Keene, president of the Lorrimer Institute asks in his ad, “No More Bald Heads? Baltimore Specialist Says Baldness Is Unnecessary And Proves It.”

Of course it is not true. Continue reading

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

The Triangle Fire – One Hundred Years Later

Anniversaries of older, tragic events are usually the only time those events play into the public consciousness. Other than that, they are rarely thought about, discussed or even remembered.

This week a vast amount of attention has been devoted by newspapers, PBS, HBO and news stations in New York that are marking the 100th anniversary of The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in which 146 people, mostly young immigrant girls, perished.

The details of the March 25th, 1911 conflagration which are summed up best by Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School web site are heartbreaking. Many of these girls Continue reading