Take a virtual sleigh ride back in time as I take you over the river and through the woods to Christmas past in jolly Old New York. Explore some of the city’s timeless holiday traditions via fun and amazing animal stories that made the headlines in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Archive for November, 2020
Dec. 8: Virtual Event– Christmastime Animal Tales of Jolly Old Gotham
Posted: 28th November 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Virtual EventsTags: Christmas in Old New York, Christmas Stories, New York City History, Virtual Event
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1922: Bill, the Champion Mouser of the Flatbush Post Office
Posted: 26th November 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Men, Cat StoriesTags: Colonel James C. Church, Flatbush History, Flatbush Post Office, John F. McCarthy, Michael Schoonmaker, Richard A. Flannery, William Kuek
On August 1, 1922, employees of the Flatbush post office sent out a BOLO (be on the lookout) alarm for their chief mouser, Bill. Described as a big, fluffy Maltese cat, Bill was responsible for keeping all the mice and rats in check at the post office. Bill was not only a valued employee; he was also the beloved pet of the more than 100 employees on the postal staff.
1902: The Great Bronx Zoological Park Panther Hunt
Posted: 18th November 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Animal Stories, Cat StoriesTags: Bronx Zoological Park, John Spears, New York City History, panther escapes, Raymond Lee Ditmars, William Temple Hornaday
On July 28, 1902, The New York Times reported that a seven-month-old, 45-pound, grey-brown panther had gnawed his way out of a large pine shipping box near the park’s Puma and Lynx House. It was the first time the captive cat–which had just been shipped via a Ward Line steamship from Mr. Charles Sheldon of the Mexican Zoological Society in Chihuahua to Director William Temple Hornaday of the New York Zoological Society–had ever experienced a taste of freedom.
1904: Hafiz, the Literary Cat Who Lived in Manhattan’s First Apartment Building
Posted: 11th November 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Men, Cat StoriesTags: Hafiz, Oliver Herford, Rutherford Stuyvesant, Stuyvesant Apartments
One of the most notable literary cats of the early 20th century was Hafiz, the pet cat of American humorist, author, and illustrator Oliver Herford.
Hafix, who lived in Manhattan’s very first apartment house, was described as “a smoky Persian of remarkable size and beauty.” His unique coloring was “brightly lionesque”–a mix of tawny orange striped with gray and black. His deep eyes were amber by day and emerald by night.
