Curious Historian

Blizzard of 1888 Bridgeport Photograph property of Bridgeport History Center, Bridgeport Public Library

Then there was that time seventy six years ago…in 1934…a fierce blizzard hit Bridgeport.  It was the depths of the Depression, and out of work WPA employees were on hand to dig out the snow in downtown Bridgeport.  Workers were freezing, so Edward “Slim” Young who owned the diner on State Street treated the cold workers to a hot cup of coffee.     

1934 blizzard, Bridgeport Property of Bridgeport History Center, Bridgeport Public Library

                                               Oh and Virginia??? There is a Santa Claus Too!

Presidential Candidate John F. Kennedy, Bridgeport Train Station Water Street 1960

Excitement!  President Obama is coming to town!

The question has arisen several times over the last few weeks…what presidents came to visit Bridgeport over the years?  We know that George Washington, our first president came here ins 1789. And Presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln came to Bridgeport in 1860 and had his first plate of fried oysters.

Before becoming President,  Theodore Roosevelt arrived at the train station where a huge  crowd came in attendance and a man brought a black bear, with a sign, “One that you didn’t get, Mr. President,”  referring to his love for the sport of hunting. 

And in 1962 President Kennedy spoke to 10,000 people at Bridgeport airport, where he was met by then Mayor Sam Tedesco and U.S. Senator Thomas J. Dodd.

Here is the Presidential  Visitor List that we have compiled:

18^th and 19^th Century

George Washington:              1789  (travelling on the Post Road)

Abraham Lincoln:                   March 10, 1860

 20^th Century

Theodore Roosevelt:     June 29, 1905; after becoming President, Dec. 14, 1919;  July 4, 1921

Mrs. Warren G. Harding                A  visit by the widow for the dedication of the building of Harding H.S.

Franklin D. Roosevelt:            Oct. 22, 1936; Nov. 5, 1944; also 1940; Sept. 4, 1932 as candidate. Eleonor Roosevelt came to Bridgeport several times and spoke at Klein Auditorium

 Harry S. Truman:                    1948; Oct. 19, 1952

Dwight D. Eisenhower:          Oct. 21, 1952 

 John F. Kennedy:                    1960 and 1962

Lyndon B. Johnson:                Oct. 1963 as V.P., 1 month before assassination

 Richard M. Nixon:                  1956; 1960; 1970 with wife Patricia

  Gerald R. Ford:                        unknown

  James Carter:                           multiple visits, dates (we are looking for dates)

  Ronald Reagan:                      Oct. 2, 1984, also in 1954 at G.E. plant*               (before he was President when he was a spokesperson for GE)

George H.W. Bush:                Sacred Heart University, Oct. 20, 1980

 William J. Clinton:                  Oct. 15, 1994; March 10, 1998*

 George W. Bush:                    April 9, 2002; April 5, 2006*

Photograph:  Courtesy of  Bridgeport History Center, Bridgeport Public Library, Alexander Feldman photographer

In 1987, when I first started my job, as a native of Michigan, I did not know anything about Bridgeport,Connecticut other than the fact that P.T. Barnum was from Bridgeport.  I was introduced to Bob Pelton, and Bob quickly became my source for everything  I needed to know about the city.  He answered all my questions.

Bob Pelton knew not only about P.T. Barnum, he could wax nostalgic about every corner, every mayor, every politician, and virtually every person who crossed his path.  And anyone who crossed his path became a wiser and gentler person for having come nearer to his great wisdom.

Bob knew facts about every president, about circus history, and about politics.  He thrived on what we all took for granted, and when we forgot a fact, he helped us remember it.

Bob Pelton kept the Barnum Museum alive for 23 years.  He worked for the City of Bridgeport for more than 40 years and grew up on Redding Place in the City’s Brooklawn area

Bob Pelton continued to be a great source of information for the Bridgeport History Center  even after he moved to Florida. A regular phone call away when I needed a fact verified, he never failed to graciously help me.

Bob Pelton died October 13, 2010.  He is and will be greatly missed.  I still have a lot of Bridgeport questions that I never got to ask him!

Mary K. Witkowski, Bridgeport City Historian

Read's Department Store Souvenir plate. Gift of Robert and Sally Factor

See www.bridgeportpubliclibrary.org for further information as the year continues.

From the 1936 Bridgeport Municipal Register:

“On November 20, 1935 the library opened to the public a room dedicated to the memory of the late Henry A. Bishop who was the president of the Board of Directors of the library nine years.  This room contains historical materials such as books, pamphlets, documents and maps pertaining to Bridgeport and Fairfield County,and, opening as it did just before the celebration of Bridgeport’s hundreth anniversary as a city, it has been one of the busiest places in the library.  It is hoped that the value of the material in the room will be increased by gifts from the old Bridgeport families.”

NOTE:  The History Center, formerly called the Bishop Room, is celebrating it s 75th Anniversary in November of this Year!  We are happy to continue serving the citizens of Bridgeport.  We are also eager go answer questions and add more materials to the collection for the coming generations!

Contact us at (203) 576-7417

Directly behind what was then the new state courthouse building, a plaza costing around $1million collars was built.  Dedicated at a ceremony on October 10, 1974, the plaza was named after former Connecticut governor Raymond E. Baldwwin Sr.

The ceremony was held in the new plaza, with then mayor Nicholas Panuzzio giving former Governor Baldwin the keys to the city.  Also in attendance was Superior Court Judge Otto H. LaMacchia and Bridgeport Bar Association President C. David Munich.

Baldwin Plaza Dedication ceremony, October 10, 1974

Governor Baldwin was governor of Connecticut from 1939to1941 and from 1943 to 1946.  Governor Baldwin, on the far left, was 81 years old at the time of this ceremony.  When working as a lawyer for Pullman Comley in 1924, Baldwin lived on Savoy Street in Bridgeport’s North End for a short time  He was a resident of  Stratford.

Raymond E Baldwin Sr.  died October 4, 1986.  He was buried in Middletown.

Bridgeport’s recent tornado was not the first tornado the city ever had.  A tornado tore parts of Bridgeport and Stratford apart 134 years ago.  The storm had an eerie resemblance to our recent tornado, moving quickly and as suddenly as our recent storm hit and on a similar path of destruction.

Washington Park On September 14, 1876 Bridgeport in the middle of the night  residents of parts of Bridgeport were awakened by a windstorm  passing through town.  Around midnight, buildings began to shake.  The tornado, which was reported in the Bridgeport Standard the next day, had reporters tracking the storm through Highland Avenue  in the City’s Hollow where three houses  were unroofed, plus the timbers and  tin roof coverings of two other houses tore off. 

The next stop for the storm was at Housatonic and East Washington Avenue, where a huge willow tree fell down, falling on telegraph wires.  Lumber scattered everywhere from the Lyon, Curtis and Company lumber yard.  Lumber owned by the Wheeler and Wilson company also blew throughout the area. 

The gale hit the carriage shop at the corner of Wiliam and East Washington, and turned southeast, tearing a corner away. Then the storm hit Washington Park, leaving a large tree down and a trail of broken limbs and chimneys. 

It was also reported that damage also occurred in West Stratford.

The storm was a whirlwind, which seemed to be a couple of hundred feet wide at any point. The wind was quick moving, and only lasted a few minutes.  It was later reported to be a tornado.

A wonderful object was recently bought at an auction and donated by Ben Ortiz and Victor Torchia, Jr. to the Bridgeport History Center of the Bridgeport Public Library.  The object is a wooden cane with a gold knob on top with the inscription “Presented to Capt. John McNeil By Friends and his Associates in the Grand Marine Display at Bridgeport, July 3, 1888.”

 Who was this cane owned by?  The top of the cane is inscribed with the words:

“Presented to Captain John McNeil by Friends and his Associates in the Grand Marine Display at Bridgeport, July 3, 1888.”

 Who was Captain John McNeil?

 Captain John McNeil served as the City of Bridgeport’s first Harbor Master in 1882.  He championed the City’s development as an important harbor.  McNeil was a skipper on the steamer Schuyler in 1866, after working on several other vessels. 

This cane was presented to Captain John McNeil after he helped the City put on a huge “Marine Parade” on July 3, 1888.  Captain McNeil had worked diligently on helping to deepen the City’s harbor, making sure that channels were deepened so that ships could safely enter the city’s inner passages.

In order to celebrate the newly expanded harbor, the Marine Parade involved many steam and sailing vessels that began to arrive before dawn from different ports along the sound.  Boats carried crowds of happy people who came into the harbor to help celebrate the occasion. 

 The newspaper the next day said Captain John McNeil was Chairman of the Harbor Committee and that his work could not have been accomplished by any other man in the City.

Walt Kelley was not born in Bridgeport.  He was born in Philadelphia, but he moved to Bridgeport in 1902.  Yet it seems that Bridgeport was the birthplace of Walt Kelly’s art. Kelly first started drawing, like other kids, but blossomed in art as a student in Harding High School.  He drew for the high school yearbook and also wrote poetry. 

Kelly began to work for the Bridgeport Post and later said, “I was the world’s worst reporter.”  He began drawing cartoons for the Post, drawing P.T. Barnum comic strips.  As a reporter he covered the Welfare Department during the Great Depression.

Kelly moved to California to work at Disney studios.  While working there he started developing a swampland series on his own time.  He moved back to the East Coast to work for the New York Star.  While there, Kelly created had his first “Pogo the Possum” comic strip.  In 1949, the Star newspaper folded, and Kelly moved to Darien and raised a family.  His comic strip Pogo became known for its political and controversial content.  Kelly continued his comic strip, becoming very famous during the 1970′s during the environmental movement for “We Have Met the Enemy and he is Us.”  Walt Kelly died 1973.