1922: The Daily News Asks: Does New York City Have Too Many Dogs?

Posted: 25th August 2018 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Tails
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Since my last two posts were about too many cats, I thought it appropriate to be fair and balanced by following up with a story about the history of the Daily News and too many dogs.

Years ago, the New York Daily News had a daily feature called “The Inquiring Photographer,” in which citizens suggested questions for a roving photographer to ask ordinary people on the streets. For the March 16, 1922, issue, Miss Anne Bonnard of 19 West 52nd Street posed this question: Are there too many dogs in New York? For submitting this question, Miss Bonnard received $1 from the Daily News.

Following is a summary of the responses (I love the last one—it seems quite appropriate for today’s world):

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1917: Dr. Hale’s House of 100 Cats in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (Part II)

Posted: 16th August 2018 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories
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Louisa Hale provided food and water to every stray cat in the neighborhood, However, Dr. Hale was an equal partner with his wife when it came to cat hoarding. (This is not Mrs. Hale but I love this vintage photo.)
Louisa Hale provided food and water to every stray cat in the neighborhood, However, Dr. Hale was an equal partner with his wife when it came to cat hoarding. (This is not Mrs. Hale, but I imagine it could be her.)

In Part I of this Old New York cat story, we met Dr. Hale, the superintendent of Brooklyn’s public baths who was arrested and charged with uncleanliness — that is, for having a messy house filled with way too many cats. In Part II, I’ll tell you why the fur was flying at 40 First Place after Dr. William Henry Hale placed an anonymous “cats for sale” ad in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1908.

We’ll also explore a brief history of the Brooklyn public baths. This is, after all, a blog that explores the history of New York City.

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1917: Dr. William H. Hale’s House of 100 Cats in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (Part I)

Posted: 13th August 2018 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories
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Dr. Hale was often in the New York newspapers for having too many cats.

Dr. Hale and his wife Louisa often appeared in the New York newspapers for having too many cats.

Part I: Guilty of Having Too Many Cats

Many people ask me how I find all the stories for my Hatching Cat blog. One of the things I often do is search for keywords in the old newspaper archives that are available online.

For this story, I searched for news articles about “too many cats.” I came across this gem about Dr. William Henry Hale, the superintendent of Brooklyn’s public baths who got into some hot water with his wife and the law during several incidents involving too many cats between 1909 and 1917.

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1899: Dewey, Stockings, and the Great Cat Hunt at New York City’s Bellevue Hospital

Posted: 28th July 2018 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories
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Harry Frees

This photo has nothing to do with Bellevue Hospital, but I just love all of Harry Frees’ animal photos from the early 1900s.

Miss Lillie James had a lot of cats. She adored her pets, but her extreme affection for them eventually took over her life. Soon she could do nothing but worry that her feline companions would abandon her or die. Her sister, Miss Leia James, told the doctors at Bellevue Hospital that Lillie had been driven crazy by her cats.

Miss Lillie James was literally, in fact, the proverbial crazy cat lady.

It sounds funny at first, but unfortunately this story has a tragic ending. Because Miss Lillie really did have a health issue that caused her to become mentally unstable.

And in the late 1800s, all the doctors could do was admit her–but not her cats (as she had insisted)–to the Insane Pavilion at Bellevue Hospital.

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1862: The Canaries That Sang at 315 Bowery, Long Before it Was the Legendary CBGBs

Posted: 19th July 2018 by The Hatching Cat in Animal Stories, Birds and Pigeons
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From 1973 to 2006, CBGB (aka CBGBs) occupied 315 Bowery on the Lower East Side.

From 1973 to 2006, CBGB (aka CBGBs) occupied 315 Bowery on the Lower East Side. The place was small and grungy, but some of the greatest bands of the 70s and 80s made their U.S. debut here.

“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco
This ain’t no fooling around
This ain’t no Mudd Club, or CBGB
I ain’t got time for that now”–Life During Wartime, Talking Heads

In its heyday during the 1970s, the famous grungy dive bar at 315 Bowery called CBGB was like a second home to bikers, junkies, prostitutes, and inebriates (the bar was next to the Palace Hotel, which was reportedly the largest flophouse for homeless men in Manhattan). It was also the birthplace of some of the greatest punk and alternative rock bands in New York City.

At CBGBs, bands and singers such as the Talking Heads, Ramones, Police, and Patti Smith made their U.S. debuts, sometimes before a small audience of about 10 people (mostly the band member’s girlfriends or boyfriends). I still enjoy listening to the music of many of these bands today, but I also love the fact that 100 years before CBGB opened its doors, many beautiful song birds displayed their singing talents at 315 Bowery, when it was the second home for William Frederick Messenger, a founding member of the New York Canary Bird Fanciers Association.

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