Apologies to Tony, but I'm skeptical about his account of singing and marching at the Triborough Bridge opening. As you say, there are no references in any account to his participation (and the contemporary accounts are pretty thorough); it also seems unlikely he would remember LaGuardia's presence but not Roosevelt's. The event was also organized by Moses's office, not LaGuardia's--and a kid singing "Marching Along Together" hardly seems like something Moses would care about. My guess is that it was some other--smaller--dedication he remembered, and confused it with the bridge dedication, but I obviously don't know for sure.
oh thanks for the response. It could go either way! Maybe he did sing at the opening, and maybe it was official - but it was just not considered newsworthy that some unknown 9-year-old sang a chorus for a moment. And he might have remembered LaGuardia more than FDR because the Mayor was actively cutting the ribbon and marching - and FDR certainly wasn't walking across the bridge, alas. (PS: Tony told me many stories that sounded far fetched at first - like when he filled in for Nat Cole at the Chez Paree in 1956, because Cole was unexpectedly summoned to a White House event - I was a little skeptical at first, but it turns out to be totally true.)
Apologies to Tony, but I'm skeptical about his account of singing and marching at the Triborough Bridge opening. As you say, there are no references in any account to his participation (and the contemporary accounts are pretty thorough); it also seems unlikely he would remember LaGuardia's presence but not Roosevelt's. The event was also organized by Moses's office, not LaGuardia's--and a kid singing "Marching Along Together" hardly seems like something Moses would care about. My guess is that it was some other--smaller--dedication he remembered, and confused it with the bridge dedication, but I obviously don't know for sure.
oh thanks for the response. It could go either way! Maybe he did sing at the opening, and maybe it was official - but it was just not considered newsworthy that some unknown 9-year-old sang a chorus for a moment. And he might have remembered LaGuardia more than FDR because the Mayor was actively cutting the ribbon and marching - and FDR certainly wasn't walking across the bridge, alas. (PS: Tony told me many stories that sounded far fetched at first - like when he filled in for Nat Cole at the Chez Paree in 1956, because Cole was unexpectedly summoned to a White House event - I was a little skeptical at first, but it turns out to be totally true.)