Made in NYC: 123 Brands, Trends, and Inventions That Began in the Big Apple

A National Holiday

New York City—Grand Demonstration of Workingmen, September 5th—The Procession Passing the Reviewing-Stand at Union Square

September 5, 1882, saw speeches, picnics, concerts, and a parade from City Hall to Union Square. It marked the first observation of what would become a nationwide affair just a few years later. Origins are murky—Matthew Maguire, a machinist and secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York proposed a parade, as did Peter J. McGuire, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, that same year. Either way, you can thank New York City for your long weekend kicking off September.

Devil Dogs and Ring Dings

The Drake’s brand began as The N.E. Drake Baking Company in Harlem in 1896 (see below). It went on to become the first baker to deliver large quantities of baked goods to grocery stores. Devil Dogs and Ring Dings are among the household-name treats it sells (it’s still in business today, back to being a family-run business after changing hands several times).

West Harlem beginnings. Image via Drake’s.

A Favorite Kid’s Snack

Major manufacturers jumped on this product in 1980, knocking off the Brooklyn original Joray fruit rollup and filling grocery shelves across the nation. It was the first fruit rollup, and it’s still made today in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. The fourth generation of the family is still manufacturing the product, following in the footsteps of patriarch George Shalhoub, who followed his American Dream starting in 1886.

Source: “Made in NYC,” City Guide, March 20, 2024

Contributed by Bobbie Roggemann

Art by Hart

The spin cycle was noisy, but fun

The new high-rise petting zoo was an instant success

After 93 miles of Dobbin singing, “A horse is a horse, of course, of course,” Millie was ready for silence

Ogden and Antsy enjoyed their morning dip in the Milky Way

Members of the Seasonal Allergen Society could hardly wait until spring

Art and photos by Jane Hart

In and Around Kendal

Sunrise from a Kendal Balcony

Photo by Amanda Slattery

A New Alp?

Photo by Edward Kasinec

Winter Woodland

Photo by Edward Kasinec

Happy February Birthdays!

Photo by Harry Bloomfeld

Sweeping South

Photo by Philip Monteleoni

How It Got Its Name

Rock and Wood, Photo by Edward Kasinec

Another Refresh-Type Project Needed?

Here at Kendal, we’re all aware of the behind-Phelps structure known as the James House. But few of us have been up-close-and-personal. Recently Marianne Bloomfeld took a stroll to have a look at both front and back of the once-impressive structure, but reports that it has seen better days.

We don’t often see the Hudson-facing front

The back has its own problems

Photos by Marianne Bloomfeld

Kendal's Weekly Poker Report

It’s Poker Night! Wednesday’s the night 7 - 9 pm, the time The Gathering Room, the place.

The aim is fun; fear not the high rollers from Atlantic City coming aboard. All skill-sets are invited. Stakes are 25-50 cents. 

And now announcing the Grand Winners of February 12 [Insert Dramatic Drum Roll] Hubert Herring John Vacher Tying with $4 each! [Insert uproarious cheers and applause]

Want to be part of the fun? Call or text John Vacher at (404) 556-0557. He will even come and give you a short tutorial so you’ll fit in seamlessly.

I Never Knew That

Why Australia Gave Email Addresses to 70,000 Trees

It began as a bit of creative problem-solving. Some trees in Melbourne, Australia, had dangerous branches that needed to be trimmed and other issues, prompting city officials in 2013 to give 70,000 of them ID numbers and email addresses where people could report problems. As an “unintended but positive consequence” of the program, according to Councilor Arron Wood of Melbourne’s Environment Portfolio, people began writing their favorite trees whimsical letters. “I have exams coming up and I should be busy studying,” one reads. “You do not have exams because you are a tree. I don’t think that there is much more to talk about as we don’t have a lot in common, you being a tree and such. But I’m glad we’re in this together.”

That one, addressed to Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165, even received a response: “I hope you do well in your exams. Research has shown that nature can influence the way people learn in a positive way, so I hope I inspire your learning.” The initiative’s website (the program is still going strong) features a map of every tree as well as links to their email addresses, should you feel like writing a love letter of your own. The responses are actually crafted by employees at the City of Melbourne—and as of 2018, the trees had received more than 4,000 emails from all over the world.

Contributed by Jane Hart

Observations of a Certain Age . . .

As I get older I realize:

1. I talk to myself, because sometimes I need expert advice.

2. Sometimes I roll my eyes outloud.

3. I don’t need anger management; I need people to stop pissing me off.

4. My people skills are just fine. It’s my tolerance of idiots that needs work.

5. The biggest lie I tell myself is: “I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it.”

6. When I was a child, I thought naptime was punishment. Now it’s like a mini-vacation.

7. The day the world runs out of wine is just too terrible to think about.

8. Even duct tape can’t fix stupid—but it can muffle the sound.

9. Wouldn’t it be great if we could put ourselves in the dryer for 10 minutes—come out wrinkle-free and three sizes smaller?

10. “Getting Lucky” means walking into a room and remembering why I’m there

Contributed by Mimi Abramovitz

Made in NYC: 123 Brands, Trends, and Inventions That Began in the Big Apple

The Hot Dog

As American food choices go, it’s hard to get more ubiquitous than the hot dog. But before we ate them in the billions, somebody had to invent them. That man was German-American baker Charles Feltman, whose boardwalk cart on Coney Island launched an American classic.

Charles Feldman, Hot Dog Genius

A Brunch Staple: Eggs Benedict

Charles Ranhofer on the flyleaf of his book of The Epicurian (1894).

Eggs Benedict is a New York City original. Chef Charles Ranhofer published a recipe for it in his 1894 cookbook, some three decades after they first appeared at Lower Manhattan’s Delmonico’s restaurant. Although others claim credit, the cookbook citation for Ranhofer’s Eggs à la Benedick makes the most convincing case.

An Entire Dessert Category: Frozen Custard

James Loesch/Flickr.

Frozen custard debuted on Coney Island in 1919. The Kohr Brothers had already created a smoother, lighter version of ice cream (it had less fat and less sugar). To keep the product from melting too quickly in the warm salt air, they added eggs to the recipe. The result was light and fluffy and the world’s first frozen custard. You can still buy it, from the same family, at boardwalks all along the mid-Atlantic.

Source: “Made in NYC,” City Guide, March 20, 2024

Contributed by Bobbie Roggemann

The Sissman Chronicles: How Hopalong Cassidy Got His Name

Hopalong Cassidy is one of the great cowboys of featured in long and short stories, as well as both the small and large screens. Since 1904, when he first became famous in print, cowboy experts the world over have been asking the same question: Where did Cassidy get such an unusual name? Researchers worldwide have sought the answer. Finally, someone has solved the mystery: Norman Sissman. 

How Hopalong Cassidy Got His First Name

Hopalong Cassidy

One of the major reasons lies in his heredity. His mother, Helen Alice Cassidy (note the similarity of her initials to his) had an eclectic taste in foods.  Two of her favorite dishes were sauteed frog legs and rabbit stew, which she consumed during her pregnancy with Hopalong.  Some of the genes from these animals, which controlled their ability to leap, entered her blood stream, and thus were transmitted to Hopalong.

 Soon after he learned to walk, it became apparent that he was especially agile on his feet. As a small boy, his favorite game was hop-scotch. Later his favorite way of helping his mother with her household chores was to carry a hopper of dirty clothes down to the basement to be put in the clothes washer.

Although Hopalong eventually became a cowboy, he was quite smart and attended Johns Hopkins University.  He studied both the literary and visual arts, and his favorites in these fields were the English poet Gerald Manley Hopkins and the American painter Edward Hopper.

As a mature man, he was noted for jumping to conclusions during discussions on such esoteric subjects as US laws regarding relations with the Hopi Indians. When others would not be convinced by his views, he would become hopping mad. But after years of therapy, Cassidy settled in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and started a touring business specializing in hop-on hop-off bus tours.

Note: Hopalong’s biography in Wikipedia states that his peculiar gait was caused by a gunshot wound to one of his legs.  But now we know this must be erroneous!

Made in NYC: 123 Brands, Trends, and Inventions That Began in the Big Apple

The First Text

By Mathew Benjamin Brady - Christies, Public Domain.

Samuel Morse of Morse Code fame sent the first ever text. It went from Greenwich Village on January 24, 1838, along a mile-long copper wire from Morse’s laboratory window and in and out of Washington Square Park. The message? Attention the Universe by kingdom’s right wheel, which has probably never been texted since.

Scrabble: Just a Little Game from Queens

Architect Alfred Mosher Butts came up with this iconic game in 1938, in Jackson Heights, Queens. Scrabble has gone from this humble beginnings to global domination—it’s available in more than 100 countries and can be found in half the homes in Britain.

The Curve Ball: A Baseball Innovation

The curveball was born in Brooklyn! Although in history and baseball no things are wholly linear, so there is some controversy over who gets the credit. Candy Cummings, a Brooklyn pitcher, often gets the nod, but there’s evidence to support “Phonney” Martin of the Brooklyn Eckfords and Fred Goldsmith, who demonstrated a curve at the Capitoline Grounds in Brooklyn in 1870. Either way, Brooklyn is the city of record for one of the most iconic innovations in the game.

 Source: “Made in NYC,” City Guide, March 20, 2024

Contributed by Bobbie Roggemann

© Kendal on Hudson Residents Association 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 all rights reserved.  Please do not reproduce without permission.

Photographs of life at Kendal on Hudson are by residents.