Feb. 14, 1944: Walter Winchell writes a “New York Newsreel,” a long series of vignettes of the city and its people. Here’s a sample:

The church for mutes, where the pastor’s sermon is delivered with his fingers and where the choir “sings” with their hands … The Sixth Avenue subway — five stories down … MacDougal Alley in Greenwich Village — a privately owned street — lit by gas lamps … The tattered old lady around midtown wearing a diamond bracelet. A tender reminder of her only love — killed in an accident 40 years ago … The wind at the corner of Madison and 42nd Street, revealing more undraped cuticle than any of the Broadway girlshows … The Chinese laundryman on 171st Street with the sassiest name of all: “Tip Want”… The downtown synagogue conspicuously displaying a “No Smoking” warning — in Yiddish. It is signed “Patrick Walsh, Fire Commissioner” … The beer truck, rumbling along Sixth Avenue — pulled by horses —the drivers with long mustachios … The colossal Automat on 57th Street —more sumptuous than many expensive nightclubs. Besides you don’t find drunks there.

From the St. Petersburg Times.