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Show Sunday. September THE HERALD, Provo, Utah, Page D2 23, 1990 Island tries to recapture bygone days of its youth Coney - The faded NSW YORK (AP) and peeling sign standing on a median in Brooklyn is d a sad reminder of times gone by: "Welcome to Coney Island America's Playground." Coney Island was the Titanic of amusement parks, a grand assemblage of thrill rides, cabarets, food stands and other attractions. Today it's but a seedy parody of its former self. Unlike the Titanic, there are hopes today that Coney Island can recapture some of its lost glory, with one developer proposing to build a theme park on the scale of weed-choke- a Disneyland. Coney Island's demise began featuring a sunburned woman with a '60s flip hairdo. Across the street is a fast-foo- d store and a graffiti-splashe- d U.S. Army recruiting shack, padlocked and unused. But Nathan's Famous, where devotees swear the hot dog was born in 1916, is still there. The grills beneath the trademark lemon and green sign sizzle up to 1,500 Coney red hots an hour. And the beloved Cyclone roller coaster, with its 3,000 feet of wooden track and cars hurtling down inclines at speeds of 68 mph, is still rolling strong. by a faded billboard dec- ades ago, when Ike was in the White House and the Dodgers were in Ebbets Field. Some blame it on changing times, television and backyard swimming pools. Others blame government planhousners who brought in high-ris- e ing projects that destroyed the small-tow- n ambience of the seashore community, which is actually on a peninsula. The grimy Stillwell Avenue subway station is the gateway to the amusements. Visitors pass a liquor store and cigarette stand, topped 90-fo-ot Professors believe Hebrews beat Columbus to America - Two (AP) carbon dating of professors say wood fragments and other evidence found a century ago in an ancient tomb in Tennessee prove Hebrews sailed to America centuries before Columbus. But the professors are having N.H. CONCORD, little success convincing other scholars. Cyrus Gordon, a former Dartmouth College professor of Judaic culture, proposed the theory in 1971 after studying inscriptions on a stone from the tomb. He believes the words are Old Hebrew for "strong" or "strength" and "for Judea." Based on the way the letters are drawn, Gordon, an expert on epigraphy, the study of old writings, figures they had to be inscribed around A.D. 100. "The . . . inscription is important because it is the first scientifically text authenticated in an Old World script or language found in America," he wrote in a paper describing the finding. "It proves that some Old World people not only could, but actually did, cross the Atlantic to America before the Vikings and Columbus." Frank Cross, a Semitic languages professor at Harvard University, is among the skeptics. The inscriptions, he said, "don't fit any script that I know. Most of the signs are unrelated. A few have superficial similarities, but they don't go together for that period." Paleo-Hebre- w kings landed in Newfoundland, Canada, sometime around 1000. McCulloch and Gordon theorize that Hebrew sailors were trying to escape Roman repression after one of two rebellions, the first ending in A.D. 73, the second in 135. Gordon believes the sailors landed in the southeastern United States, were forced inland because the coast was settled by American Indians and got as far as Loudon County, in eastern Tennessee, about 30 miles southwest of Knoxville. present-da- y The Bat Creek tomb was unearthed in 1889. It contained nine skeletons with the heads of all but one pointing north. Under the skull g and jawbone of the skeleton were several objects, including the inscribed stone. "Cyrus Gordon is the only scholar in the field of epigraphy that I know of who has taken the stuff seriously," he said. Gordon, of Brookline, Mass., stands by his findings. "For any rational person to deny these facts, they have to deny not only the evidence of the inscriptions, they have to deny all the rules of scientific dating," he said. Gordon said brass bracelets from the tomb support his theory. They contain a alloy used by the Romans from A.D. 45 to 200, he said. Gordon said that for years, he talked little about his theory because he had no way to prove the artifacts were as old as he believed. He wanted to have the wood but the fragments carbon-dateprocess wasn't advanced enough to work on such a small amount of zinc-copp- er south-pointin- d, g Gordon theorized the skeleton was the leader of the settlement. McCulloch said the wood fragments probably were part of an earspool worn by the leader. south-pointin- wood. In 1979, with the advent of better testing methods, J. Huston McCul-loc- h of Ohio State University began pestering the Smithsonian Institution, which had the artifacts, to have the wood carbon-dateFinally, in 1988, McCulloch, an economics professor with an interest in epigraphy, got the Institute for the Study of American Cultures in Columbus, Ga., to pay for the dating. It established that the wood dated to somewhere between A.D. 32 and 769. Columbus sailed to the New World in 1492, while the Vi Cyrus Thomas, who headed the Smithsonian team that unearthed the tomb, believed the stone inscriptions were done by Cherokee Indians. But Gordon said the shape of the lettering isn't consistent with Cherokee inscriptions. d. McCulloch published the carbon-datin- g results in the journal Tennessee Anthropologist, but they attracted little attention. It's designated city landmark. Not so Faber's Sportland a or dingy video and pinball hall the Surf Motel, which caters to the crowd. There are numerous stands with Coney Island staples such as cotton candy, french fries with vinegar and sticky caramel and candy apples. and toy vendors sit in the shade of their plastic awnings wait- ing for visitors leaving Astroland, the New York Aquarium and the beach. "Coney Island once was about as close to death as a community could get," says Horace Bullard, who owns a neighborhood fast-foo- d store and hopes to build the Disnamusement park. eyland-type He and others insist there is a comeback in store for Coney Island, which is some 25 miles from the heart of Manhattan. It draws thousands of visitors from throughout the metropolitan New York region thanks to a network of major roadways that feeds into it from surrounding areas. "There's no doubt about it," says Herb Eisenberg, of Coney Island's local community board. "The resurgence is starting. We're climbing out of the bad old days." There is evidence. Five hundred new single-famil- y homes built since 1985 were snapped up at prices that started at $90,000 and have climbed to $140,000. In two years, attendance at the New York Aquarium has doubled to 800,000. "A whole new generation is starting to come out," says Rick Miller, spokesman for the New York Aquarium. "They don't know what Coney Island was, or anything about its decline." The turnabout began when the city started spending money tens of millions over the last decto clean up the beach ade and rebuild 23 blocks of the dilapidated boardwalk. "Today, I would compare our beach to any beach in the world," says Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Julius Spiegel. "The cleanliness and attractiveness of the sand is second to none." Eisenberg, who was born in the area 56 years ago, agrees. "I can tell you, it's a lot cleaner today than it was 35, even 40 years ago." Indeed, on a hot and sultry day, nary a can or piece of paper was seen on a stretch of the silvery, sand beach. Instead it was filled with striped beach bland and umbrellas kets, families. With dozens of Parks police and local police presence, a beefed-u- p d crime that nearly destroyed the area in the 1970s is ebbing. "I'm not deluding myself," Eisenberg says, "there are still problems. But they are the same problems every neighborhood in this city is facing." In the early 1980s, the city and a private foundation began knocking down rows of abandoned and burned-ou- t bungalows that housed gangs, drug addicts and the homeless throughout the '70s. neon-colore- Alaskans seek to revive economy - No PAUL, Alaska (AP) longer allowed to hunt seals, the ST. natives of the Pribilof Islands are looking to the vast fishing, grounds of the Bering Sea to revive a floundering economy. The key to that revival is a new $58 million harbor that was dedicated in August. "I wouldn't have come back before, because it was so hard to find a job," said David Shane, a Aleut who left St. Paul as to finish his schooling. a teen-ag"The opportunities now are enorer mous." Shane returned last year to work crab plant, in a building formerly used to process seal hides. When federally managed seal hunting was halted here in 1985, Pribilof Island villagers were faced with building a new economic base or seeing their community dissolve. Located in the heart of the booming Bering Sea fishing grounds, and closer to many of the stocks than bigger Dutch Harbor, St. Paul in St. Paul's new is betting its future on fishing. The success of the new harbor depends partly on whether three local entities the city, the TDX ROUNDTRIP (Add S20.00 for one way) Nov 16-1- 8 Dec. PACKAGES Round trip airfare from SLC, car rental based on double occupancy HOTEL fife, PKG Safe. """"felt 7-- 9 a M ez FROM Try our van connecting service to the following airports: Orange County, Burtank and Long Beach from S89 each way. Ontario from S99 each way. PLUS an additional 22 Southern California cities from S89 each way. DISNEYLAND over the rumble of an idling motor of a visiting ship, Orthodox Bishop Gregory of Sitka blessed the harbor and the villagers, sprinkling holy water on the sea, the dock and the worshipers. about The new harbor is small 10 acres of moorage and 300 feet of and can't accommodate docks ships longer than about 300 feet. Big factory trawlers will anchor outside and take skiffs in for supplies. With its small clinic and airfield, St. Paul already was a temporary stop for some ships. FROM PHANTOM OF THE OPERA TOUR 19-2- 1 tears." During the harbor dedication, $ BASED ON Oct economy. Alaska commerce commissioner Larry Merculieff of St. Paul said histothe islanders' denied them independence and ry unfairly saddled them with the blame for harming the animals. "They labeled our gentle people as brutal, bloodthirsty," he said. "But we understand that the Aleut way is to produce answers, not bor-bas- Native corporation and the tribal council can cooperate on economic development. But residents are optimistic. "This has been a struggle for freedom and independence," says TDX chairman Ron Philemonoff. "We are free, and with the harbor here, we will soon be independent financially independent." Aleut seal hunters were settled on the Pribilofs forcibly by Russian fur traders in 1820. When the United States bought Alaska in 1867, the islands quickly were designated the nation's first wildlife refuge, and the government contracted the seal harvest to private companies. In 1910, it assumed administrative duties itself, withdrawing in 1983. The government banned commercial sealing in 1985 because of declining seal populations. It set up a trust to help islanders make the transition to an independent, har EACH WAY RT 1 Spanish Fork Office, 1070 North Main, 798-739- 1 JL LOS ANGELES, LAS e who rrns George Burns the local chamber of commerce. Even after Luna Park burned down, Coney Island remained popular, thanks to its accessibility by a nickel subway ride, the Cyclone and Steeplechase owner George C. Tilyou's monument to d fun: the Crystal Pavilion. Steeplechase also offered mechanical horse races and thrilling drops from the Parachute Jump. Television in the 1950s cut into the crowds. "On Tuesday night Uncle Mil-ti- e the park was empty," night says Milt Berger, a public relations man who once worked for Steeplechase and now represents Astro-lanConey Island's only multiride park. And things got worse. When Steeplechase owner Frank Tilyou died in 1964, the heirs wrangled about Steeplechase's operation until, Berger says, "for peace and harmony's sake" they sold it. The buyer was developer Fred Trump, father of Donald. "He wanted to put up some big seaside condo development," Berger said. Down came the pavilion of fun, and with it the end of a legend. But Trump couldn't get the building variance he needed to construct residential housing in an area zoned for amusement. The '60s rolled by and Steeplechase sat vacant. The city condemned it in 1969; after a court battle Trump reportedly received $4 million for the parcel. About the same time, the city condemned blocks of redbrick bungalows once ured as sum look-alik- hair-raisin- glass-enclose- d, Includes: Temple sessions, Disneyland, Meals, Hotels. Includes: Temple sessions Meals, Hotels & MORE! 8-- Vl9i 13 INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Oct. 23-2- T-- I I 5 y FROM EACH IhM $CtKT S SPACE FROM When the urban renewal projects began, Mermaid Avenue was a thriving business center with over 400 retail stores. Today, there are 39. Island, says Ann Weis-brovice president of the city's Public Development Corp., was "the victim of government good intentions." Coney d, has a new slate of to revive Coney Island, plans among them Bullard's proposed $350 million Steeplechase Park and Now the city a 14,000-seSportsplex to be used for college and high school events. at The proposed new Steeplechase, covering 25 acres, would be a three-tipark with 65 major attractions, 14 theaters and a $3 million renovated version of the Parachute Jump. er There are also plans to renovate the subway stop, repave local streets, rebuild bridges leading Island and turn Still-we- ll Avenue into a pedestrian mall. onto Coney The city has committed lion to the project. $20 mil- "That's just about enough to build the parking garage," says Bullard. If all goes well, Steeplechase could open in 1993. If approved, the Sportsplex project, which is still in the development stage, could be operating by 1995. "You'll never be able to recapture the glory days of old Coney Island," says state Sen. Marty Solomon, who represents the area. "But these projects are giving an awful lot of hope to an area that hasn't had any for a long, long time." fHAWAII I I ,$mi I 1 ill iWu L I 1 lf BYU ! I I vs t HAWAII j FOOTBALL TOUR 1 1 I LIANE SPECIALIZES IN PERSONAL f jj ICRUISE & TRAVEL M land COMPLETE PACKAGE INCLUDES: Round trip airfare M39 COMPLETE ironv34 7 nights ncdvnce Get all Learn NECESSARY ASK ABOUT OUR SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT TRAVEL CLUB Morris Travel Round trip airfare and 7 nights accommodations CARNIVAL CRUISE COMPLETE PACKAGE from INCLUDES: Round trip airfare 4 nights Orlando hotel FREE CANCUN SEMINAR TUESDAY. OCTOBER 2 '7:00 FREE ORLANDO P.M. the iatest information via siides and videos. about scuba diving sightseeing and tours PACKAGE INCLUDES FROM 260 East Morris Avenue (2430 South) EACH EPC0T package accommodations and transfers uLii nif of DISNEY Round trie when purchased in conjunction with LOWER FALL RATES! WAY VIA LAX tram US home I $20.00 for one way) fed low-inco- 224-943- 6 n&f FROM a kL 2 1990 g 386 South State, Orem mm (Add came plans to build projects. "The city had this vision that they would round up a lot of people from the city and out to Coney Island, to them bring this paradise," says developer Bullard, "and that once here all of their problems would be over because they'd be in paradise." Tall, boxy buildings sprang up. Whites fled. Stores closed. The vacation trade died, nearly taking the entire community with it. With the 70s public-housin- re VEGAS, ST. GEORGE Oct. mer homes. says MANTI, ST. GEORGE LAS VEGAS BASED ON ROUND TRIP MB0JET walker for Steeplechase," Matt Kennedy, an $ 7 Nights Hotel Airfare Gane Tickets Transfers & More 225-760- 373-202- 7J7 BYU VS. HAWAII NOV Tour Package witn Paul James induces 0 Orem Office, 852 South State, Provo Office, 2230 No. University Parkway, Suite 11D, accommodations VIA OAKLAND WEST AIRLINES 2 ISLAND PACKAGE AVAILABLE e Round trip from SLC. & nights hotel VIA AMERICA First Class Accommodation- sd from Airfare drug-relate- They were replaced with affordable single-famil- y homes that atfamitracted young middle-clas- s lies. Coney Island, once a predominantly Italian and Jewish community and later predominantly black and Hispanic, today is home to a potpourri of races. "Come down to Kaiser Park on the weekend and you'll see blacks, whites, yellows, pinks, you name it, all with their grills, all together," says Eisenberg. "To me it's an unwritten message that we can live together, we can play together." Play was always what Coney Island was about. It gained notoriety during the days of Diamond Jim Brady and Lillian Russell. Gamblers and gangsters, chorus girls and call girls came regularly to wine and dine and play under the carnival lights of Dreamland, Luna and Steeplechase Parks. Dreamland burned down in 1911; Luna Park suffered the same fate in '39. Today, the New York Aquarium stands where Dreamland once mesmerized crowds. Luna Park, known for its popular Shoot the Shoots water ride, is now a co-o-p housing complex. But until Luna's demise, amusement was king at Coney. "Al Capone was a bouncer at a local cabaret here; Eddie Cantor was a singing waiter who worked for $3 a night, and Cary Grant then was a stilt only Archibald Leach 599 cruise SEMINAR WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 3 7:Q0 P.M. 260 East Morris Avenue (2430 South) Get all the latest information via slides and videos on Sightseeing Tours and Local Attractions ALL CHARTER FLIGHTS VIA CONTINENTAL AIRLINES AND ARE SUBJECTTO THE TERMS OF THE OPERATORPARTICIPANT CONTRACT. Some Restrictions Apply ASSOCATE Oc Carlson Travel Network tig |