Delaware County Daily Times Blogs: Other Times: September 2008

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Other Times --- Sept. 26

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

Many persons in Chester are wondering when the new public lavatory for ladies will be accessible. It has been completed for a long time and looks very attractive. The grass plots and flowerbeds have been given an overhauling by the city hall janitor. The delay has been caused by not having a woman caretaker and the mayor has been requested to appoint oneA man who claimed “Dixie” was the land of his birth and who has been roaming around Chester for two months with no permanent address was before Alderman Stockman and charged with vagrancy. Stockman gave the man 24 hours to leave the city and hunt for scenes other than Chester. The man left immediately promising to faithfully fulfill the alderman’s instructions.Oysters seem to be coming in more plentifully this week and five boatloads have arrived at the wharf in Chester from the Maurice River.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

John MacDowell, a retired shipbuilding executive in Chester, celebrated his 80th birthday anniversary at his home in the city. He worked at the Roach Shipyard in the city for 21 years.An Eddystone High School football player died from head injuries he suffered in a practice game with St. Robert’s High School team of Chester. He collided with a teammate when trying to tackle a St. Robert’s ball carrier.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

Boothwyn Fire Co.’s new $12,000 Cadillac ambulance has been put into service. It is equipped with the most modern apparatus. Chief engineer is John Kempf and driver is Albert Conte. Joanne Karczmar of Fourth Avenue, Lester, entertained 18 classmates at a party in honor of her 11th birthday anniversaryBattan & Bohrer, authorized Renault and Peugeot dealer at 3301 W. Fourth St., Chester, has a 1940 Dodge for sale for $75. It’s a good and healthy car and offers excellent transportation.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

The Grand Squares of Lansdowne are sponsoring a square dance party at Camp Upland. Caller will be Chick Stone who also will provide lessons. There are door prizes.Rose Valley Nurseries on Middletown Road, Middletown, is having its annual fall open house with free cider, ginger snaps and popcorn. There’s also a scarecrow competition. Winners receive potted mums.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

The county’s new Domestic Relations Department’s video teleconference system was demonstrated at the county courthouse by Phil Damiani, director of court services; Mimi Walker, Domestic Relations director, and John LaRosa, director of the county Legal Audio Visual Department.

— LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 24

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

The bold daylight robbery at the home of J.E. Halsey near Boothwyn has roused the entire community, especially the women. The farmers who must go into the fields at this season of the year to reap the harvests and plant wheat and oats have purchased firearms for the women and are teaching them how to shoot them.A man named Maxwell who fell off one of the Darby trolley cars was only slightly hurt. The man attempted to get off the car before it had stopped and sustained the injury. It had been feared that his leg was broken in the fall but, fortunately, this proved to be an incorrect rumor. William Nicholas, the Chester City Hall janitor, has procured a fumigating apparatus that he has loaded with poisonous powder to exterminate all the roaches that have found a home at the city hall.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

Charles E. Coppock of Chester recalls the first 100-mile run of the Chester Bicycle Club on Sept 22, 1895, from Chester to Vineland, N.J., and return. “It took skill and endurance to ride a Columbia high wheel in those days,” he said.Mrs. E. Blair Luckie, a Chester club woman, was the guest of Gov. and Mrs. Gifford Pinchot at their summer home in Milford.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

F. Levis Stringfellow, Chester postmaster, announced he is retiring after having served 46 years and four months at the local post office. He lives in the Sproul Estates section in Wallingford. He said he is retiring because he doesn’t want to wait until he is “too old to do anything.”John J. Miller of 316 E. 22nd St., Chester, a graduate of St. James High School, Chester, and a candidate for the priesthood at St. Charles Seminary, sailed for Rome to spend the next six years studying at the Lateran College.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

Darby has decided to go out of the jail business. Public Safety Chairman Nicholas DiGregorio said the borough has acted as the lockup for six surrounding municipalities but it is not a successful financial venture. He said the costs, including insurance, make the concept financially irresponsible.When a Trimble Boulevard, Brookhaven, man returned home he found a strange new car parked in his driveway and called police. It was determined that the car had been stolen from a leasing company in Radnor and had been damaged in accident.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

Cadet Sgt. Donald F. Blizzard, son of Nadine Blizzard of Ridley Park, graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne. He is now attending Western Maryland College.

--- LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 24

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

The bold daylight robbery at the home of J.E. Halsey near Boothwyn has roused the entire community, especially the women. The farmers who must go into the fields at this season of the year to reap the harvests and plant wheat and oats have purchased firearms for the women and are teaching them how to shoot them.A man named Maxwell who fell off one of the Darby trolley cars was only slightly hurt. The man attempted to get off the car before it had stopped and sustained the injury. It had been feared that his leg was broken in the fall but, fortunately, this proved to be an incorrect rumor. William Nicholas, the Chester City Hall janitor, has procured a fumigating apparatus that he has loaded with poisonous powder to exterminate all the roaches that have found a home at the city hall.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

Charles E. Coppock of Chester recalls the first 100-mile run of the Chester Bicycle Club on Sept 22, 1895, from Chester to Vineland, N.J., and return. “It took skill and endurance to ride a Columbia high wheel in those days,” he said.Mrs. E. Blair Luckie, a Chester club woman, was the guest of Gov. and Mrs. Gifford Pinchot at their summer home in Milford.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

F. Levis Stringfellow, Chester postmaster, announced he is retiring after having served 46 years and four months at the local post office. He lives in the Sproul Estates section in Wallingford. He said he is retiring because he doesn’t want to wait until he is “too old to do anything.”John J. Miller of 316 E. 22nd St., Chester, a graduate of St. James High School, Chester, and a candidate for the priesthood at St. Charles Seminary, sailed for Rome to spend the next six years studying at the Lateran College.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

Darby has decided to go out of the jail business. Public Safety Chairman Nicholas DiGregorio said the borough has acted as the lockup for six surrounding municipalities but it is not a successful financial venture. He said the costs, including insurance, make the concept financially irresponsible.When a Trimble Boulevard, Brookhaven, man returned home he found a strange new car parked in his driveway and called police. It was determined that the car had been stolen from a leasing company in Radnor and had been damaged in accident.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

Cadet Sgt. Donald F. Blizzard, son of Nadine Blizzard of Ridley Park, graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne. He is now attending Western Maryland College.

--- LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 23

100 YEARS AGO — 1908

The appeal for shoes and clothing for needy school children in Chester was responded to liberally, but there is still a need for more contributions. Those shoes that were contributed found deserving users but more items are needed.Eddystone Police Officer Thomas Grills had quite an experience with two men in the borough. The men were intoxicated and decided to camp out near the Pennsylvania and Reading railroad tracks. Officer Grills ordered the men to relocate but they became abusive. When he told them he would lock them up, they headed toward Chester. Drunks and hoboes do not have much chance to succeed in the borough when Officer Grills gets wise to their presence.Stray horses left to roam at will in the First Ward of Chester have trampled the new lawn of Thomas Oliver at 24th Street and Edgmont Avenue. He sad he plans to have the animals arrested.

75 YEARS AGO — 1933

William McCormick, 20, of Lansdowne, will pilot Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd when the explorer flies over the South Pole.Tony D’Amato, Jacob Barkhaus, Ernie Anderson and Pompi Quattro, all of Chester, took in the races at Havre de Grace, Md.

50 YEARS AGO — 1958

Kenneth Johns, 16, son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Johns of 420 Lafayette Ave., Collingdale, has been chosen Boy of the Month at Collingdale High School by the Lansdowne Rotary Club. He is on the school’s football and basketball teams and is active in other school activities. Bethel School Board has hired Mrs. Marie Bullock as a first-grade teacher at Green School. She is a resident of Newtown Square.William Young and Edward Young, sons of William H. Young, 534 13th Ave., Prospect Park, are on leave at home from duties with a Marine Corps unit at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

25 YEARS AGO — 1983

The Guardian Angels opened their Chester headquarters on the second floor of a building at 536 Avenue of the States in space that was donated and have 40 recruits that began their training to patrol the streets in the city. They should be ready for duty in three months said Tony Lighty, president of the new chapter.Claudette Albertson a home-economics teacher at Strath Haven High School, Nether Providence, has been named one of 10 finalists in the state’s Teacher of the Year competition.

10 YEARS AGO — 1998

Collingdale Business & Professional Association President Ed Corbett presented a $500 check to Adele Malloy, president of the Collingdale Library Board, to kick off the library’s annual fund raising campaign.

— LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 22

100 YEARS AGO — 1908

John H. Miller, who has been a painter and paperhanger in Darby for almost 50 years, has a 150-year-old spinning wheel that was once used by his grandmother. He plans to enclose the relic in a glass case for safekeeping.John H. Mirkil, Chester Realtor and Milton H. Bickley, a Chester druggist, caught two rockfish weighing 18 and 16 pounds each while they were fishing in the Susquehanna River.Constable Dowrick of Chester is on the lookout for a boy who has been accused of shooting squirrels in the neighborhood of the Wetherill School at 24th and Chestnut streets, Chester.

75 YEARS AGO — 1933

The Delaware County Institute of Science received letters of congratulations from President Franklin D. Roosevelt and former President Herbert C. Hoover as it observed its 100th anniversary.Dr. Newton Wyman of Chester is now chief resident physician at Temple University Hospital. He was a polo star while he was a student at Pennsylvania Military College in Chester.

50 YEARS AGO — 1958

Co-ed swim night on Saturdays has become a regular part of the program at the Chester YMCA. Edward E. Morrell, physical education director at the Y, said the co-ed swim has proven popular and will remain. Seven minors, two of them young wives, were rounded up in a raid at a bar near the Norwood Police Station. It was the second raid in a month in the borough’s crackdown on underage drinking. Several of the minors said they had been frequenting the bar for months.More than 1,100 employees returned to work at Ford Motor Company’s Chester Assembly Plant as the factory resumed production of its 1958 model autos.

25 YEARS AGO — 1983

A man was arrested on charges he tried to steal more than $1,000 worth of dresses from the Gimbel’s Department store on 69th Street, Upper Darby. Store detectives arrested him as he was taking 20 dresses from the store.The Chester Social Security Office is moving next week to its new headquarters at the Chester Federal Office Building at 160 E. Seventh St. Parking is available.

10 YEARS AGO — 1998

Melissa A. Miller of Prospect Park and Robert Kitzinger of Upper Darby both made the dean’s list at Slippery Rock University for academic achievement.

-- LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 19

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

During the past few days a number of important conferences have been held between prominent men of Chester and the State in an effort to bring about a settlement of the long existing trolley strike in Chester. Everyone is looking forward to a fair and quick settlement.John T. Mortland, a telegraph operator of Chester who works at the Silverside Station of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, was forced to draw his revolver to put a vagrant man to flight. The fellow was sleeping in the shelter shed opposite of the track and the fellow had made a fire of the wooded floor to keep warm. Mortland threatened to fill the fellow with bullets so the vagrant lost no time in getting away from his roosting place.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

A pet monkey bit the hand of Mrs. Edith Cunningham, 36, of Broomall as she tried to coax the animal into returning to its cage. The monkey has a cage at the roadside stand conducted by William S. Cunningham on West Chester Pike, near Newtown Square. Mrs. Cunningham was treated by Dr. E.R. Dwyer.Speare Brothers Department Store in Chester is selling gym suits for grammar and junior high school students for 77 cents each.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

Staff Sgt. Charles Hearn, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Hearn of Morton, received the outstanding non-commissioned officer certificate of the 341st Field Maintenance Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.The new $85,000 parish house that will be used by Christ Episcopal Church Ridley Park was dedicated.Mr. and Mrs. Harry H. Hutchinson Jr. and son, Richard, moved from 1029 Lafayette Ave., Prospect Park, to Oxford in Chester County.Become a practical nurse at the School of Practical Nursing in the Fidelity Building, Fifth and Market streets, Chester. Tuition is $4 a week.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

Two Delaware County residents began a five-month training program at the State Police Academy in Hershey. They are Robert M. Foster of Glenolden and Timothy A. Shay of Upper Darby. The Delaware County Sheriff had a property sale Friday, but nobody bid on the houses. Sheriff John Taylor said, “it’s unusual. I guess no one was interested.”More than 600 people jammed the Garnet Valley High gymnatorium in protest of the school teacher strike.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

Joseph and Kathryn Rogocki of Glenolden celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. He is retired from Electrolux and his hobbies include gardening and woodworking projects. They have lived in Glenolden for 49 years.

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Other Times --- Sept. 18

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

Charles Bonsall has been named to lead a committee to procure a bell for the tower of the Mt. Hope Methodist Church in Aston.Henry B. Taylor, the retired Chester hardware merchant, received about 50 souvenir postcards as he celebrated his 79th birthday anniversary.Notwithstanding that is unlawful to wear a straw hat at this season, men have been seeing wearing them in Chester. The open season expired on the 15th, however, a number of hats are seen on the street. The peculiar combination of a straw hat and a topcoat with low summer shoes is seen now and it indicates the individual has no regard for the proprieties of the time or place.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

A 15-year-old Marcus Hook girl was taken to Chester Hospital after she had swallowed a quantity of liquid insecticide. She was returned home after treatment. The family said the drinking of the poison was unintentional.The Blue Ribbon Café, top of the Stanley Theater in Chester, has a free dance tonight until midnight when the stage show begins.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

A 20-year-old man burglarized the home of Chester Police Chief Howard Winfree but was nabbed about 25 minutes later with stolen clothing and a table lamp.James A. White of Wallingford has been named commander of the corps of cadets at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne.Charles R. Kershner, a fire control technician with the U.S. Navy, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Kershner of Brookhaven, has been honorably discharged from the Navy.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

Albert Willis Jr. of Chester has been named sports information director at Cheyney State University in Thornbury.Delaware County Prison Warden Thomas C. Rapone has been confirmed as U.S. Marshal for the Federal District Court’s Eastern Pennsylvania District. Rapone, 33, leaves the prison post in a few weeks. He will be paid $44,000 a year in his new post.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

Second Lt. Constance N. Spiegel, daughter of Richard and Loretta Spiegel of Springfield, was commissioned after graduating from the Pennsylvania National Guard Officer Candidate School. She was the only female among 38 who graduated.

LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 17

100 YEARS AGO — 1908

Samuel G. Nichols, a member of the Central A.A. Football Club of Chester, became the first football casualty of the season when he suffered a broken leg during practice. His father, Capt. James Nichols, is a member of the Chester Board of Education. The injury was reduced and he is resting at home.J.H. Fleming, who manages the Media Garage on North Orange Street, is demonstrating a new seven-passenger Mitchell automobile that his business has acquired.The Rev. Elijah S. Morrell, first pastor of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Norwood, died at the age of 70.

75 YEARS AGO — 1933

Mrs. Mary Ulary finally received a picture postcard of Washington D.C,. that Mrs. Rena Stout of Buckman Village, Chester, had dropped in a mailbox about 25 years ago.Philip Thomson Jr. is the new postmaster of Rutledge. He succeeds William K. Pearce.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

Colin P. “Corky” Kelly III, 18, of Chester Heights, son of America’s first Congressional Medal of Honor winner in World War II, enters Dickinson College in Carlisle, where he plans to study chemistry, mathematics and FrenchMr. and Mrs. John Fedena of Chester celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.Mark K. Dresden resigned as president of A.H. Wirz Inc., the Chester tube manufacturer.James Henson of Linwood was honored with a 40-year service emblem at the Marcus Hook Refinery of the Sun Oil Co.Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Casimer of Chester celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by attending the wedding of a granddaughter.

25 YEARS AGO — 1983

A “fun run” for the entire family and a 5-mile race for the more serious runners is featured next month at the Delaware County Memorial Hospital’s Second Annual Benefit Run. All proceeds benefit the hospital.A 36-year-old Springfield tax protester and three others were found guilty of conspiring to mediate the collection of the income tax. The men claimed the income tax is unconstitutional. They all face a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a fine or $20,500.

10 YEARS AGO — 1998

Faraday Lodge 280, Knights of Pythias in Morton, is participating in the 100th anniversary of Morton Borough. There is a parade Saturday and the lodge has a display booth at the municipal building.

— LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 16

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

Several hundred people turned out at the 12th Street Station of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Chester to hear William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate for president of the U.S., make a few remarks. Joseph Trimble, a Brookhaven granger, has a collection of more than 100 Indian arrowheads he found during the plowing of his 125-acre farm in the borough.Matthew Morris, William Ruley and Joseph Newtown, well-known musicians from Chester’s 9th Ward, played with Hobb’s Cornet Band in the big Masonic parade in Philadelphia.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

Charles McFadden started the engine of the new V-8 Ford truck assembled at the Chester plant of the Ford Motor Co. and began a 5,000-mile, non-stop economy run through three states.T. Chalkley Palmer is president of the Delaware County Institute of Science that is observing its 100th anniversary on Sept. 21.Judge Albert Dutton MacDade of the county court is attending the annual rodeo of the Pennsylvania State Police in Harrisburg.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

John F. Owsiany, president of the Council of Polish Societies in Chester, said plans are nearing completion for the huge Pulaski Memorial Day Parade in Chester.Silvio “Babe” Dignazio has installed an old-fashioned gas street light in front of his Towne House Restaurant on Baltimore Pike.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

Two Ridley Township High cheerleaders failed to muster a last-minute cheer from a Delaware County judge that could have kept their pompons flying during their senior year. Delaware County Judge Labrum dismissed a suit brought on their behalf that charged they were illegally bounced from the cheerleading squad. The two girls, who participated in the extracurricular activity last year, will be forced to watch from the sidelines. Their attorney, Michael Dignazio, expressed doubt that the matter would be pursued further.A Philadelphia man was arrested for being drunk and disorderly at The Club, a private club above The Bungalow Inn on Baltimore Pike, near Oak Avenue, Clifton Heights

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

Ice skating lessons are available for all levels and all ages at the Iceworks in Aston. There’s a six-week session. There also are lessons available for those who want to learn how to play ice hockey.

— LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 15

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

Chester School Attendance Officer Thomas N. Humphreys was commended by the Chester School Board with one member declaring that his salary ought to be raised if it is all possible for the board to do so. No action was taken.George E. Darlington, the county attorney, again was a unanimous choice for president of the Rose Tree Fox Hunting Club in Upper Providence. Horace S. Griffith, the Rockdale manufacturer, is off on a business trip that will carry him through the West and into Mexico.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

Gash Stull in Chester is selling a 1929 Ford Roadster in excellent condition for $105.Weinberg’s in Chester is selling the new Personality Beret for $1. Weinberg’s also gives you your initial to press on the beret with a hot iron.Henry Heuber, president of Marcus Hook Borough Council, declared that he is still in the race for tax collector.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

Singer Eddie Fisher, who is writing column in The Chester Times, says he will do anything to save his marriage to Debbie Reynolds.Karl Agan, principal of Chester High, will speak at the observance celebrating the 100th anniversary of the First Baptist Church in Chester.Rabbi Louis R. Wolfish is the new spiritual director of Beth Israel Synagogue in Media.W. Nelson Birstrer, Middletown Township supervisor, died at the age of 55.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

A jury acquitted a 29-year-old Upper Darby man on charges he bullied two teen-age boys into robbing an elderly Upper Darby couple with instructions to stab the pair if they awakened. The defendant is a brother of a Folcroft police officer.The Delco Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Unit presented an award to Morton Police Chief George Souder for his outstanding work.Aldan police are looking for a man who exposed himself to a borough woman who was walking two children at Elm and Aldan avenues. The man was driving down the street when he opened his car door at a stop sign and exposed himself. He was naked from the waist down.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

A DUI checkpoint on Route 202 in Concordville netted six motorists, all of whom were arrested for driving under the influence. A total of 650 cars were stopped along with 32 commercial vehicles.

— LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 15

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

Chester School Attendance Officer Thomas N. Humphreys was commended by the Chester School Board with one member declaring that his salary ought to be raised if it is all possible for the board to do so. No action was taken.George E. Darlington, the county attorney, again was a unanimous choice for president of the Rose Tree Fox Hunting Club in Upper Providence. Horace S. Griffith, the Rockdale manufacturer, is off on a business trip that will carry him through the West and into Mexico.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

Gash Stull in Chester is selling a 1929 Ford Roadster in excellent condition for $105.Weinberg’s in Chester is selling the new Personality Beret for $1. Weinberg’s also gives you your initial to press on the beret with a hot iron.Henry Heuber, president of Marcus Hook Borough Council, declared that he is still in the race for tax collector.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

Singer Eddie Fisher, who is writing column in The Chester Times, says he will do anything to save his marriage to Debbie Reynolds.Karl Agan, principal of Chester High, will speak at the observance celebrating the 100th anniversary of the First Baptist Church in Chester.Rabbi Louis R. Wolfish is the new spiritual director of Beth Israel Synagogue in Media.W. Nelson Birstrer, Middletown Township supervisor, died at the age of 55.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

A jury acquitted a 29-year-old Upper Darby man on charges he bullied two teen-age boys into robbing an elderly Upper Darby couple with instructions to stab the pair if they awakened. The defendant is a brother of a Folcroft police officer.The Delco Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Unit presented an award to Morton Police Chief George Souder for his outstanding work.Aldan police are looking for a man who exposed himself to a borough woman who was walking two children at Elm and Aldan avenues. The man was driving down the street when he opened his car door at a stop sign and exposed himself. He was naked from the waist down.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

A DUI checkpoint on Route 202 in Concordville netted six motorists, all of whom were arrested for driving under the influence. A total of 650 cars were stopped along with 32 commercial vehicles.

— LEN CASTERLINE

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or call (610) 565-4298

Other Times --- Sept. 11

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

The Chester Industrial School located at 1814 W. Second St. opened its dressmaking and ladies tailor making departments with 10 people in attendance. Mrs. Mary J. Robinson, the teacher, instructs by the natural art system on which she has a patent and also a copyright. Other departments have not opened.Ground has been broken for the Garrettford Baptist Church in Drexel Hill. The new building will be ready in the spring. Trustees of the church are Harry Shape, George E. Burnley, Fred Gretz, John Dewess and Elmer Burton.

75 YEARS AGO — 1933

Ronald Chipman, 11, of Ridley Park was struck in the head by a quoit and had to have four stitches to close the wound.The Sears Store in Chester is selling two gallons of motor oil for 79 cents.C. William Craft, assistant county district attorney, has asked the court to revoke the beer licenses of beer gardens that are selling liquor.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

James P. Bullock, son of Mrs. Mabel M. Bullock, 511 Bartlett Ave., Ridley Park, completed three weeks of air indoctrination training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Fla. Bullock is a second class midshipman at the U. S. Naval Academy.Nick Perakis Automobiles at Fourth and Price streets, Trainer, is selling a 1951 Buick Riviera with a radio, heater and Dynaflow transmission for $169.50. Terms are $5 down and $10 a month.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

A young woman who been beaten and possibly sexually assaulted and dumped on Concord Road near Green Street, Chester Township, disappeared from her hospital room at Sacred Heart Medical Center, Chester.The Marple Public Library has a new 54K RAM Apple II microcomputer thanks to the Broomall Rotary Club that donated it to the library.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

Chester’s first bicycle police patrol has hit the streets and residents are glad to see them. Members of the Police Bicycle Patrol are officers James Collins, Jim Carr and Gordon Cottman. About half the police departments in the county now have bike patrols.

-- LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 10

100 YEARS AGO — 1908

The people of Glenolden are up arms against the dog ordinance. It is said there is hardly a dwelling in the borough without a dog and a well-known resident said there are seven dogs in one house. He further declared that quite a number of the borough’s canines are vicious and that pedestrians are in danger of being bitten. The dog ordinance prohibits dogs running at large and all dogs must be licensed.Now that the cool weather has come and the return of the summer prodigals is at hand, the churches are about to start in upon the usual campaign against sin. With the approach of fall months, some of the pastors have announced plans for extra religious services. This is characteristic of many churches.

75 YEARS AGO — 1933

W.J. Rhodes was elected commander of the American Legion Post in Norwood. The mischievous antics of several youngsters caused considerable danger for motorists traveling along the Washington Boulevard, the recently erected road that leads from Concord Avenue in Chester to Village Green, Chelsea, Concordville and other rural sections. The vandals extinguished the lanterns on the bridge crossing over the Pennsylvania Railroad branch. Conscientious motorists noticed what was going on and took it upon themselves to re-light the lamps.

50 YEARS AGO — 1958

Paula Whyde, 16, of Bethel won the $300 second prize in a fiction contest sponsored by Seventeen magazine. Her father, Lawrence Woody Whyde, is a compositor for The Chester Times newspaper.Dr. Robert A. Smith of Chester opened a medical practice at 300 E. Ninth St., Chester. He completed his internship at Chester Hospital.

25 YEARS AGO — 1983

Michael McDevitt, a powerfully built Drexel Hill man, is putting some muscle into fundraising efforts to beef up the Kryptonites, a disabled sports team sponsored by United Cerebral Palsy. Funds are needed to purchase weightlifting equipment and for transportation for athletic competition. “Pennies for Pounds” is the name of the benefit. Sponsors pledge as much per pound as desired.Brookhaven Police said a 19-year-old borough youth was beaten by a group of youths at Edward Eaton Park and was admitted to Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland. He suffered cuts and bruises in the attack and was semiconscious when admitted to the hospital.

10 YEARS AGO — 1998

Romansky’s Tavern on Chester Pike, Prospect Park, is having a party to celebrate the first Eagles game of the season. There are beer and food specials all day. New bartender is Mike Owen.

— LEN CASTERLINE

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Other Times --- Sept. 9

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

Seven men, all residents of Chester, have made application to Supt. Jack of the Chester Traction Co. for positions on the line as motormen and conductors and the official has given them work. They are being “broken in’’ and when competent will be given steady runs. This batch of employees is entirely new to the service.If the party or parties who were stealing pears from the grounds of a private residence at Eighth and Kerlin streets, Chester, and who were frightened off and left a tin bucket under the tree can apply for the bucket it will be given to them. The pears are not fit to eat but they may be canned or stewed and it won’t pay to steal any more. They may be had free for the asking.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

Samuel Bernard Bossard, 21, a Middletown Township student studying in Germany, was beaten in the face while watching a parade of Hitler storm troopers in Berlin. The Nazi assault brought a protest from the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. Bossard was accused of not returning a Nazi salute. Manager Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics says his star pitcher, George Earnshaw of Swarthmore, is not for sale to the New York Yankees “even for $500,000.’’

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

R. Detlov M. Bronk of Sycamore Mills, Upper Providence, former dean at Swarthmore College, has been named to the new Civilian Space Agency Council by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.Mrs. John Gavetti of Folsom became a mother for her sixth time with the birth of twins at Taylor Hospital. At the same time she became a grandmother as her daughter, Mrs. Frank Jackalous, gave birth to a son at the same hospital.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

The Darlington Arts Center on Baltimore Pike, Concord, is having an open house on Saturday to acquaint art lovers with the music, art, dance and drama programs that are offered at the facility.Police are without suspect or motives in the slaying of a 25-year-old Darby man who was found shot to death at Cobbs Creek Park.Brookhaven Police Patrolman Rick Fuller offers a program to assist people to obtain their state driver’s license. The program is designed to help individuals get over pre-test jitters before they apply for the regular examination administered by the state police.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

A Middletown attorney who serves on the Pennsylvania Commission for Women has been elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Commissions for Women. Pennsylvania Gov. Thomas Ridge announced Susan K. Garrison’s election to the NACW board of directors.

— LEN CASTERLINE
To contact Len Casterline,

or call (610) 565-4298

Other Times --- Sept. 8

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

The Polanders, Austrians and other foreigners in the Eleventh Ward of Chester were thrown into great excitement when School Tax Collector George Weigand and Attendance Officer Thomas Humphries and Constable William Scott Grace raided those who have not paid their school taxes. Most agreed to pay and promised to pay. Those who did not pay were sent to the county jail. It is rumored that the Philadelphia and West Chester Street Railway Co. is negotiating for the purchase of the Chester and Darby Pike division of the Chester Traction Co. belonging to the Interstate Railway Co. It is said that Eyre’s West Chester Co. has been anxious for a long time to extend its line from Sixty Ninth Street to Wilmington but has not been able to get as far as Collingdale.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

Mr. and Mrs. William Moore of Claymont are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Frank B. Frazier of Prospect Park, an old time fiddler in his 80s, is one of two surviving members of the old Frazier Orchestra that was popular in the ’80s with such music as “Turkey in the Straw.’’

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

Al Alberts of Nether Providence has finally called it quits with The Four Aces, the Delaware County group he helped to make nationally famous as its lead singer. “They were great guys but there finally comes a time when you want to go out on your own,’’ Albert said of his action. Valentine Scheivert of Aston celebrated his 91st birthday anniversary.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

As a service to their adult volunteers and to the community at large, the Girl Scouts of Delaware County are sponsoring a Sample Day on Saturday at the Springfield Mall. The day showcases resources available to adults planning activities for Girl Scouts and other community groups. Delaware County police, fire and medical personnel can now communicate directly during emergencies thanks to a $35,000 communications van paid for by the Sun Company. Ed Truitt, county emergency communications director, said the van will serve as a communications center right at the scene of an emergency or disaster.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

The owner of a rental property in Upper Darby who hired a local contractor to do some painting and repairs paid $800 as a deposit to get the work done. The work was never done and the contractor from Upper Darby was ordered to reimburse the victim or pay face criminal charges.

— LEN CASTERLINE

To contact Len Casterline,

or call (610) 565-4298

Other Times --- Sept. 5

100 YEARS AGO – 1908

The application of Frank W. Harrison for a transfer of the license of the Imperial Hotel, 7th and Welsh streets, Chester, was granted by the court. Former proprietor was Dr. John MacFayden. The new proprietor is thoroughly renovating the location.Chester police were informed that a woman had disappeared in the marshes along the riverfront between Welsh and Madison streets and a search was undertaken. All that could be found was one shoe and a comb, which are at City Hall awaiting the pleasure of the owner. Subsequently the police learned that she was afterwards seen on Welsh Street in charge of two men. She was besmeared with mud from head to foot and had evidently fallen into a sluice or mud hole on the riverbank.

75 YEARS AGO – 1933

An automobile of the club sedan type, the property according to papers, found to be the car of Marlow Construction Company, was found in the woods near Bridgewater Road, Bridgewater, by Patrolman Robert Curry of the Aston Township police. The car had been stripped of a radio set, two expensive horns, a dash board clock and a spare tire. The car was towed to a garage in Village Green.

50 YEARS AGO – 1958

Theodore E. Wright, son of Mrs. Dorothy K. Gabney of 7 Woodcliffe Ave., Upper Providence, enlisted in the U. S. Navy and is receiving recruit training at Great Lakes Ill. Mrs. Joseph B. Godick of Wallingford is chairman of the “Gateway to Holiday Fashion Show” of the B’nai B’rith Women of Chester, that is being held at Ohev Sholom Synagogue Center, E. 8th Street, Chester.Preston Stratton Jr. of Aldan has been name banking manager of the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society’s newest branch on Baltimore Pike, Clifton Heights.

25 YEARS AGO – 1983

A 25-year old Garrett Road, Upper Darby, man was bound over for trial on charges of burglary, criminal mischief, trespassing and weapons offenses in connection with an incident on Hampton Road. A police officer spotted the man trying to hide in a tree and when ordered to come down the branch broke and he tumbled to the ground at the officer’s feet.The names of Eugene Herninko and Paul J. O’Donnell have been submitted to the county court for appointment to the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District police. They would have all the powers of a constable in enforcing school laws and in policing grounds and protecting property.

10 YEARS AGO – 1998

Taylor Hospital, Ridley Park, is seeking volunteers to provide comfort to terminally ill patients and their families, run errands and perform household chores. There is a training program for volunteers.

--- LEN CASTERLINE

To contact Len Casterline,