The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1941-10-23
" NORTH CALLAHAN

With the worlds baseball champ
ionship won by the New YORK Yam
KEGS, attention is focused Or their
great home borough, the Bronx. For
this pleasant residential section g.
bove the Harlem River has for the
time stolen the thunder Of babbling
Brooklyn, Of Dodgers fame. The lat
ter is not to be outdone, however. A
Brooklynite is running for mayor
But regardless of whether he or
Dutch" La Guardia is elected, diff
ferences will soon be forgotten and
Gotham will subside into its good
neighbor policy again.
For years / have heard the ex-
PRESTON, Bronx Cheer" Doubtless
few people have not at some time or
other been on the receiving end of
this below of breath, this effusion
If epithet, this sonorous sizzling of
! he mouth and tongue. In some sec
sions it is called "the raspberry"
in others "the Bird, "the razz,' 'the
boo" or "the horse laugh" Any one of
hese is bad enough. How they start
cd, l do not know. But l did go to
some trouble to ascertain the origin
Of "the Bronx Cheer. "At the New
York Public Library, the laughed
long and loud at my QUESTION about
it. But they did not know the answer.
Nearest approach this mine of learn
ing gave out was some such reference
made hy Jafise, of Lindbergh kid
mapping notoricty, about his most
beautiful borough in the world In
formation center people threw up
their hands. They had hear Bronx
cheers but how they began. Re-
sidents Of the Bronx sadly shook their
heads, then looked closely to see if /
was making fun. Finally in the office
Of the Borough Pres. Of the Bronx,
James j. Lyons, l found the answer.
After a solemn conference with heads
of the Bronx Chamber Of Commerce.
the president informed me that his
borough slogan began as follows:
years ago when vaudeville was in
flower, new stage acts were first
tried out at the old Loew's National
Theater, 149th Street and Westches-
ter Road. Travelling troupes con-
7erged here for preliminary tests for
Manhattan and that goal of all actors
Broadway. Bronx audiences saw
these shows free and then expressed
preference. If they liked an act, it
got fair applause. But if they didn't
woe and alas unto the actors! They
we're squelched with a mighty up
roar of boos, Kisses and honks until
he clamor finally merged into one
indescribable, ridiculing sound the
Bronx cheer. And ever since that
time, these words have stood for the
worst.
-oOo-
Like most Of New York, the Bronx
is historic. Many Revolutionary bat
ties were fought around these parts,
and from here, Nathan Hale set out
upon his short military career and
his heroic destiny. Indians infested
the surrounding woods and emerged
to burn houses or rob white families.
A Westchester house held q group Of
blacksmiths who refused 70 shoe
horses d Sunday and for this, one
was shot by . British officer. In a
little cottage adjoining famed Ford
ham University lived Edgar Allen Poe
and it was in this house that he wrote
his immortal poems, "The Raven"
and "Annabel Lee" With him loved
his beloved wife, Virginia, whom the
great poet called in his poems afte,
her death, "Lenora" Though never.
more n may see this melancholy
bard, his cottage can still be viewed
by visitors.
The Bronx might be called "the
home of snuff" In this borough
stands the one stately mansion OF
Pierre Lorillard who was known as
the snuff king" In fact, one of his
old snuff and tobacco mills still
stands and nearby is an old-fashioned
flower garden wehere Lorillard grew
roses to give an aroma to his snuff
Many a fashionable dandy in those
days carried his elegant gold box
from which at intervals he daintily
extracted a pinch of this delicacy for
his noble nostrils. The old home oil
Mark Twain is on 252 Street. il
Eastchester stands an ancient church