Curious Historian

Photo by Al Mathewson

Christmas 1938 was a tough year for America. The last years of the Depression were difficult ones for the citizens of Bridgeport, and especially the children.  Standing in the Second Precinct Children eagerly waited for a visit from Santa Claus to the city.  Jasper McLevy was on hand to greet Saint Nick, pictured in the front of the photo.  Standing next to the Mayor was Superintendent of Police Charles E. Wheeler.

The party was held by Troop 58, Bridgeport Boy Scouts.  The Second Precinct Police Station held the party.

On the back of the photograph is written a note:  Santa Claus “Osag Kid,” reformed burgular. 

Whether this statement is true or not has not been verified in the newspaper of the time.  The Bridgeport Telegram of December 25, 1938, which printed a copy of the photo, only identified him as Santa Claus.

Gustave Whitehead near plane

1874-1927

Bridgeport resident Gustave Whitehead made his first solo flight August 14, 1901.  Why is he not known as the “Father of Flight?”   This year marks the 110th anniversay of Gustave Whitehead’s  historic flight.

One of the best articles on Whitehead’s flight appeared in Popular Aviation magazine in January 1934, with the headline, “Did Whitehead Precede Wrights in World’s First powered Flight?”

The article, written by researchers Stella Randolph and Harvey Phillips, tells the story of Bridgeport resident Gustave Whitehead and his flying machine, known as 21.

According to the 1934 article, the plane Whitehead used for his initial 1 1/2 mile was a mono plane with a four cylinder, two-cycle motor located in the forward motor located in the forward part of the flying device.

The plane’s ignition was of the make-and-break type, and Columbus dry batteries were used.  The gravity-fed gas tank held two gallons of petrol. 

The wings were the most amazing sight, covered with Japanese silk, and varnished and fastened onto bamboo struts.

Whitehead, a mechanic, was one of the few men pursuing powered flight who worked on both the motor and the actual plane.   He poured all of his financial resources into constructing the plane.

He wanted his plane to be perfect, and kept wrestling with the motor and plane until he got it right.

Whitehead continued to work on his plane at his Pine Street home after the summer of 1901.  In early 1902, he flew his plane on trips of two miles and seven miles over Long Island Sound.

In comparison, the Wright Brothers “first” flight in December 1903 in Kitty Hawk, N.C. was only 852 feet, and lasted only 59 seconds.

Why is Whitehead not better known for his invention?

Whitehead, a German immigrant, quietly conducted his experiments.  While his friends and neighbors were familiar with his work, he flew his plane early in the morning and there were few observers.

According to the Popular Aviation article, the Wright Brothers had independent means,” the article said, “they had the encouragement of people in the same field, they belonged to organizations where there work would find reception and publicity, they spoke English fluently and their background was such that they knew how to use it skillfully to carry their audience with them.

Just as Ohio takes pride in their hometown boys, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Bridgeport,Connecticut should celebrate Gustave Whitehead.

Bridgeport had a great deal to rejoice about on July 4, 1919. Most of the troops were home from the World War, and the Treaty of Versailles had been signed in June. Everyone came out to celebrate, including the troops that had returned from overseas.

The City of Bridgeport sponsored a Service Recognition Week, with seven days of events to celebrate the return of the troops. Ads in the local paper still looked for women to work in the factories, however many of the men were encouraged to return to their old jobs.

A parade marched down Main Street. A sea of Kiwanis Club members, marched down the avenue, holding a sign that said, “Kiwanis Club Members—We Welcome Every Man Home—His Old Job Back.”

The heat of summer greeted the men in uniform. A comic strip that appeared in the newspaper said that the men in uniform were sweating as they “marched bravely along,” however the cartoonist drew a picture of how the should have marched, showing a man being pulled in a bathtub.

Residents also enjoyed a giant firework display in Seaside Park. The trolleys and jitneys were packed with people flocking to the shoreline park. At 9:00 the paper reported that a burst of rockets flared continually, with a burst of magnesium flares at 10:30. The pyrotechnics were extraordinary.

The crowd was huge. There were 60,000 people on hand to see the fireworks, who stayed in the park until midnight. Even as the trolleys were no longer on the streets, hundreds of people were seen walking home.

By:  Mary K. Witkowski, Bridgeport City Historian

Lewis Latimer 1848-1928

Three famous inventors – Alexander Graham Bell, Hiram Maxim and Thomas Edison – owe their successes, in part, to a young, African-American inventor who lived on Bridgeport’s South End, among a rich population of Irish, African-American, Hungarian and other ethnic groups. Lewis Latimer lived on Whiting Street with his family. Listed on the 1880 census as a “mechanical draftsman,” Latimer invented and patented the carbon filament, worked closely with the three pioneers mentioned above, and opened the doors for future inventors.

 After serving in the Navy during the Civil War, Latimer began training as a draftsman, eventually becoming a draftsman for Alexander Graham Bell in Boston, and drawing some of the first designs for Bell’s new concept of a telephone.

 He left Boston in 1879 and came to Bridgeport to take a job at the U.S. Electric Lighting Company. He worked for Hiram Maxim, the firm’s chief engineer and the man credited with inventing the first portable, fully automatic machine gun, as well as the common mousetrap.

 Latimer became immersed with the design and drawing of the incandescent light bulb. In fact, many believe Latimer, not Thomas Edison, to be the actual inventor of the modern light bulb.

 Latimer didn’t stay long in Bridgeport, and little is known about his time here. However, it is obvious it was a turning point in his career and his work here was instrumental in developing the light bulb. It’s also known that he was a member of the Bridgeport Scientific Society, which had meetings where prominent scientists and adventurers frequently spoke, and where he presented a paper.

 When the U.S. Electric Lighting Company moved to Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1880, Latimer moved there with his wife to continue his own research with a friend. Latimer continued his work in electric lighting, working in New York for the Edison Lighting Company and General Electric Company.

 Lewis and his family lived in Flushing, N.Y., where he was a founding member of the community’s Unitarian Church, a member of the veterans group Grand Army of the Republic, and pursued his life-long interest in science and the arts. Lewis Latimer’s house in Flushing is preserved as a museum.

Gee's Bend Quilters Alabama

Many Bridgeport residents have strong ties to the farming community in Alabama known as Gee’s Bend.

Gee’s Bend was part of a larger plantation on the Alabama River that came into existence aound 1830.  After the Civil War, when the former slaves were given the option to own their own land in the area, a small community of black residents continued to live off this land.

In 1937, during the Great Depression, the New Deal Era brought the Federal Farm Security Administration into the Gee’s Bend area to help them build a model community of independent farms. 

Arthur Rothstein, a WPA photographer, documented the area in a series of photographs.

Many of the last namesof the people depicted in the Gee’s Bend photographs are the names familiar to today’s Bridgeport residents–including Bendolph, Pettway, and Mosely.  They were the ancestors of many African American families now living in Bridgeport.

When economics and hard times forced some Gee’s Bend residents to search for work, and a large migration of Gee’s Bend moved northward to Bridgeport.  Especially during World War II and after, residents of Gee’s Bend travelled back and forth with their children, sending the children to spent summers on the farm.

Clothing would be sent back and forth between familiy and friends in both areas.  The women would use every scrap of material in colorful quilts.

Quilting bees were common, and women sent migrating families back from the with handmade quilts.  The quilts provided practical coverings, but were warm in the Bridgeport winters.

The quilts made in Gee’s Bend are startingly beautiful in their simple designs, and are prized by collectors throughout the United States.  The quilts of Gee’s Bend were displayed in museums throughout the United States.  In 2002, the quilters of Bee’s Bend visited the Bridgeport Public Library gave library patrons background on the beautiful quilts.

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