New-York tribune., 1908-08-09
GOSSIP OF THE BOROUGH
Bob Pet Fire Horse, To BE Sold
at auction.

Nj ono NJ tbe srnartest horses that ever
raced TO a fire and who was for nurnoer OF
wears the pet OF Engine Company LOO az %
Greene Place and DeKalb avenue Brooklyn Is
70 be sold at auction next THURSDAY WIN eie'en
other equine derelicts who have been "or" ou
t,v wears of strenuous service as fire horses anu
are now fit only for drawing some pediers car, t.
Bob is spawned and wind broken ou' ne So
hoSs n,ucb of the intelligence that endeared 'hil
10 the men Of Company l5S and mace hin t.io
r-sde of fhe engine house from the time thsat ne
was brought there green horse FROM the Sc
ne showed unusual intelligence ana as'oieheu
every one when. on his second trip, ne uotteu o.A'
ana lowered his head for the collar as naturahS
&C ,Y,o,,sF he had been in the service for years
Before many days had gone by he iearheo tne' ~
,se os the lever that released the horses wheh ah
alarm was sent in and he would always hy u
lift the lever with his nose as sooh Dc ie ~ ~
sound of the bell.
An attachment grew up between BOD ana ms
driver Charley Mcfarland. and the following
story is told OF the two: Bob was being shod one
dav and not liking the way the blacksnl'h was
handling him turned round and evinced his CHS
pleasure by swapping at the smiths shoulder. me
enrared man struck Bob painful blow with MS
hammer and in instant MCFARLAND hao the
fsrrier bv the throat and kept his grip until the
man nrornfsed never 10 maltreat horse again
The Will take place at the veterinary staoieS
of the Fire Department. at 81. Edwards ana boh-
var streets Brooklyn, at l p. m next Ihursuas'
and with them will be auctioned off a lot OF anti
u,,ated and wornout fire apparatus from the ad-
Joining repair shops of the department the pro
ceeds of the sale viii be applied 10 the hrenens
pension fund
With the approach of the theatrical season OF
1esoa much interest is being taken I'm the big ad-
vance which Brooklyn is TO make this fail IN the
number and variety of her playhouses 1haf ber-
ougb will probably be foremost among all the
cities in the country this year in launching new
enferprises in the theatrical line for seven new
houses are in course Of construction ana VIII
be put into commission at the opening OF the
season.
The Academy of Music is being built By local
capital the old Montauk by Percy G. Williams and
the Realty Associates, the Fulton Theatre by the
Fulton Theatre Company. the Greenpoint Theatre,
at Manhattan avenue and Calyer street, the hrst
real theatre in the Ward built and operated ey
Percy G. Williams and devoted TO vaudeville the
Empire Theatre. Ralph avenue and Quincy street
and the Casino Theatre, st Flatbush avenue ana
State street both built by the Empire Circuit, or
Western Wheel and be devoted to advanced
burlesque." and the big Liberty Theatre, at Lb-
erty and Stone avenues in the 2sth Ward
The two burlesque houses the Empire and the
Casino were both designed by Henry ". Brews-
ter Manhattan architect, who has previously
devoted his entire professional services to church
architectural work The Liberty Theatre is to
be opened IN September and will supply melodraIna
and burlesque in English to the English speak
ing residents Of East New York; musical and ro-
mantle drama 10 the colony of twenty thousand
italians near bv and Yiddish plays Sundays
for the great Jewish population of Brownsville.
More than s25eNGo of capital is involved IN
these theatres and their operation demands an
earning mower of $4,000 year for interest ne
fare any possible surplus be devoted TO equip
raent or operation. This remarkable ACTIVITY 81
lenees those pessimists who declared that ne
openine of the subway would Xii BROOKLYN
&C theatrical town and shows that money can
le obtained for amusements when 1t Is not tortn-
coming for business enterprises OF rapid transit
schemes
The hot sultry DAYS and scorchng sun OF mid
s,r7rner cannot suffice to keep the Children within
doors at this season of the year. and all through.
fhe borough the Fairgrounds are crowded from
erprfsa "a sunset by the children who are not
fortunate enough be sent out of the city Tor the
summer. ...-. : =.
one OF the most popular of these Fairgrounds IS
at Flushing and Wyckon avenues. and here the
crowd Of children easily numbers FIVE hundred
each 7aY The ground is about 400 by JOG feet
and sometimes three ball games are in progress
s+ The same time The sports at the playground
are IN charge of G. H. Reese and NJ Noone, grad
mates of Yale and Dartmouth, respectively, lot
the hoxs and the Misses Andrews and Hitchcock
+o- tho girls The two men athletes in 'ol-
1ese ann instruct the boys in the technical side OF
-beir snorts while the women. who have had
considerable experience in playground work, CON
s,,er regular kindergarten for the girls, and aiso
instruct them in the mysteries of weaving and
basketfy.
This Is the second year of this playground, ana
.,e attendance has increased greatly over that OF
last year thus convincing the promoters that thelr
efforts are an unqualified success