History At Home: This Day In The Brooklyn Daily Eagle

As we wander about our modern neighborhood, caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to ignore the long and vibrant history of our community. Let’s remedy that. Every weekend, we’ll take a step back, with the help of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle archives, and explore what was happening around South Slope over a century ago.

On May 12, 1899, we discover a couple of lonesome American boys from the “wilds” of Louisiana who are looking for “eney or meny” girls in the Brooklyn area that might be willing to marry them.

One year later, on May 11, 1900, an 8-year-old boy from 20th Street was arrested and jailed for knocking his 5-year-old brother in the head with a piece of wood.

One the same day, little Dorothy Rippler had a very “pleasant” birthday party at her home on 9th Street, between 5th and 6th Ave. Our guess, is that with “Grandma Rippler” on the entertainment committee, this was one bash for the record books.

Have an interesting bit of South Slope history to share? Send it to editor@bklyner.com, and we’ll post it in our weekly History at Home segment.