Show tic by L L STEVENSON it was 55 years ago william steinway founder of the piano house that bears his name had just been elected first president of the Lieder kranz society an organization of music loving germans that has sung its way down to the present day on him fell the duty of selecting a site for the home of the society two properties were available at exactly the same price one at park avenue and fifty ninth street and the other adjoining it on fifty ninth street mr steinway gave due consideration to the advantages and disadvantages of both in the end he decided that the inside plot was more desirable his reasoning was simple and direct A building on a corner necessarily would have more windows than one on an inside plot in those days windows had to be washed just as they do now so with an inside building the upkeep would be less other singing societies including the arlon arion and fidelio came into existence and park avenue frontage was acquired thus the start of harmony row the name by which the properties are still known also later a 15 story apartment house was built on the corner the other societies gave up and for some time the Lieder kranz has been seeking other quarters recently the columbia broadcasting company acquired harmony row and will build a new home on it thus in a way harmony row will be preserved the new building will have frontage on both park avenue and fifty ninth street and will be L shaped and the thrift of the first Lieder kranz president is the reason encountered an old friend out at coney island rosy she was the star of billy roses jumbo but when he took the show down to fort worth he left rosy behind for some time she was a lonely prisoner in the basement of the old hippodrome now ashes billed as the sacred white elephant 1 I first met rosy years ago the school children of detroit contributed tri buted their pennies to buy an elephant for belle isle and I 1 was commissioned to make the purchase that necessitated visits to the hagenbeck depot over in hoboken where rosy was on sale but the decision was in favor of a young elephant that would grow up with the children hence sheba but I 1 got so friendly with rosy that she ate my straw hat I 1 guess an elephant never does forget at any rate the instant she saw me out at coney rosy reached for my virgin islands panama always le learning kearnin arnin something through conversing with taxicab drivers for instance whenever a taxi driver leaves his cab to eat a bite do an errand or anything else ise he takes out his card bearing his picture and number and places it carefully in his pocket A police regulation is the cause the license might be stolen and put to some improper use so if a cop comes along and finds it unguarded he confiscates it in order to get it back the driver has to go to the hacking bureau there it is either returned or a duplicate is issued but and hence all the care the driver is barred from driving his oab cab for or the next three days 0 0 0 still another bit of knowledge was that drivers for some companies must show a fixed amount on the meter when they turn turm in their cabs it if they dont they are not allowed to take out a cab the next day so the driver seeing he reached the minimum pulls down his hi flag and drives until he makes it up the difference coming out of his own pocket that practice is i known as riding the ghost 0 0 0 leave it to a new york youngster to spot a chance to pick up a bit of change daily a bunch gathers at canal street where automobiles to line up waiting to enter the holland tunnel they sing to car occupants who toss them small change either as encouragement or to induce them to stop but no matter the reason on busy days some are fortunate enough to go to their homes with jingling pockets C bell service |