OP-ED
Prayer ban in schools leads to controversy in 1946
In conjunction with the
Greater Astoria Historical
Society, TimesLedger Newspapers
presents noteworthy
events in the borough’s history
. Welcome to October 1946!
At the Loews Triboro,
on stage in person, Ed Sullivan,
the famous Broadway
columnist with the Harvest
Moon Dance Winners with
extra added attraction Johnny
Burke, ‘left over from
the draft of 1917,’ along with
other big acts. Two big shows
at 7 and 10 p.m. Over at RKO
Keith’s in Flushing was Dennis
Morgan and Jack Carson
in ‘Two Guys From Milwaukee.’
Between shows, sing
with Bernie at the organ every
day. Remember when the
Keith’s was billed as Long
Island’s finest, most beautiful
theater?
Help wanted ads at the
time were strictly segregated
by gender. Schrafft’s Restaurants
ran ads for women or
girls with no experience necessary
for full time 44 hours
a week. They needed waitresses,
cooks, bakers, sales
girls, and hostesses. Meals
and uniforms furnished. Paid
vacations.
The Loft Candy Factory at
40th Avenue and 9th Street in
Long Island City advertised
for girls or young women
with no experience to start at
$22-24 week increasing to $38
for more experienced packers
and $42 for box makers.
Again, paid vacations and
uniforms were furnished.
Lunch boasted pleasant cafeteria
muzak. The Long Island
Employment Bureau advertised
everything from $35
typist in Flushing to $40 for a
Dictaphone operator and $45
stenographer in Manhattan.
The decision by the Board
of Education to ban the Lord’s
Prayer in Flushing High
School unleashed a firestorm
of protest by elected officials
and church groups around
the borough.
“As a boy I remember that
at all assemblies the prayer
was read and it was very
inspiring. Everywhere parents
complain that children
neglect respect for the Almighty,”
Said Assemblyman
William Bowe. “Here we have
an incident where authorities
order the exclusion of a sacred
prayer. What was good enough
to the founding fathers should
do equally as well for the present
educators!”
Although he vowed to introduce
a bill to bring back
school prayers in the state
Assembly, this issue would
go all the way to the Supreme
Court.
Michael Lyons, 72, of
Woodhaven, celebrated 50
years of police work. Born in
County Wexford, Ireland, he
came to United States at seven
weeks. As a young man, he
worked at various jobs until
meeting then Police Commissioner
Teddy Roosevelt who
personally invited him onto
the force in 1896.
In an interview with the
Star-Journal reporter he
reminisced, ‘I’ve served over
39 years as a cop in all ranks
from patrolman to deputy
chief inspector and I never
had to draw my gun. The
worst I had to contend with
was the occasional drunkard.
The East Side then consisted
of a bunch of tough, fighting
Irishman who meant no harm
but would get drunk on pay
nights and use up their energy
in fistfights. The necessity
arose from time to time to use
my nightstick, but never the
gun.’
He described nights when
‘the boys’ would scramble to
a roof, tear down a chimney
and throw bricks at the police.
But things changed after
World War I and Prohibition.
Today, he sighed, a cop comes
up against a bunch of guntotting
trigger-happy kids. Inspector
Lyons cautioned, ‘the
policeman must now have his
gun at hand and be ready to
reach for it any minute. I don’t
envy them but I wish them all
the luck in the world.’
He finished with a sparkle
in his eye, ‘They tell me the
first 50 years are the toughest
and if you survive them,
you’re good for another 50!’
That’s the way it was in
October 1946!
For further information,
contact the Greater Astoria
Historical Society at 718-278-
0700.
ON THE WEB
LAST WEEK’S TOP STORY:
Queens to get its fi rst IKEA location in Rego Park next summer
SUMMARY: Ikea Retail announced that it will open a
115,000-square-foot store in the Rego Center at the corner of Queens
Boulevard and Junction Boulevard in the summer 2020. It’s the fi rst
branch of the furniture giant in the borough.
VISIT US ONLINE AT QNS.COM
CHECK OUT OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES:
www.facebook.com/timesledger
www.twitter.com/TimesLedger
www.instagram.com/qnsgram
LETTERS POLICY
Letters should be typed or neatly handwritten, and those longer than 300
words may be edited for brevity and clarity. All letters must include the
writer’s name and phone number for verification. Names may be withheld
from publication if requested, but anonymously sent letters will not be
printed. Letters must be received by Thursday noon to appear in the next
week’s paper. All letters become the property of Schneps Media and may be
republished in any format.
TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM BT OCT. 4-10, 2019 17
/timesledger
/TimesLedger
/qnsgram
/QNS.COM
/timesledger
/TimesLedger
/qnsgram
/TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM
