Posts Tagged ‘New York History’

During the 1800s and early 1900s, stories about animal mascots in New York City and other metropolitan areas appeared in the news almost on a weekly basis. The following tale about the mascots of the Kraft-Phenix cheese factory was rather unique, in that it was not about a fire, police, or ship mascot.

The U.S. Life-Saving Services – a forerunner to the U.S. Coast Guard — was established by Congress in 1871 in response to the high loss of life in ship wrecks along America’s coastlines, particularly on the Atlantic coast. Bill was just one of the many horses that served with the USLSS.

On May 15, 1874, 23-year-old Charles W. Walker, the proprietor of a mill at 602 Broadway that manufactured bottled champagne cider, was arrested and charged with cruelty to animals. According to officers from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Mr. Walker was overworking his dogs at the mill to the point of suffering, fatigue, and injury.

When Patrolman Cornelius O’Neil found the yellow dog he named Bum on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, the mangy mutt was half-starved and trailing remnants of a pack of firecrackers by his tail. Patrolman O’Neil decided to rescue the dog and make him the mascot police dog of the newly designated 12th Precinct of the New York City Police Department.

On September 8, 1902, the operetta “Robin Hood” opened at New York’s Academy of Music. The opera was produced by The Bostonians, a touring theater troupe that performed operettas written by America’s foremost composers. “Robin Hood” was the first successful operetta written by Americans—librettist Harry B. Smith and composer Reginald De Koven. On the third […]