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Other Times
Other Times --- Oct. 7
100 YEARS AGO – 1908 John Longbotham of Edgmont Avenue, Chester, dug a not-too-deep hole in his back yard and buried the horse he lost in it. Neighbors have been complaining about his action.John H. Bullock, the blacksmith at Chadwick’s wheelwright shop in Chester, is entering the corn-husking competition at the county fair at Elwyn. 75 YEARS AGO – 1933 The U.S. Navy Band playing over the nationwide network of the NBC System features a composition on Monday night of a Darby song writer. “The Blue Eagle,’’ written by Walt Burgess of Darby, will be played by the full band. He wrote the words and music for the anthem.Striking employees of the assembly plant of Ford Motor Co. in Chester have decided to abandon their plans to converge on Detroit, Mich., and picket the plant of the company in that city. Complaint has been made to Prospect Park Borough Council that residents of the borough have been putting poison in their garbage that is collected three times a week and fed to hogs and other livestock. James Matura of Ogden, collector of the garbage, said 12 hogs have died recently after being fed the garbage. 50 YEARS AGO – 1958 Woodlyn Fire Co. is planning a banquet to celebrate its 15th anniversary at the firehouse on Fairview Road and Grant Avenue. Joseph Leary is chairman of the banquet committee. Fire chief is Richard Perchalski, who announced that Anthony Greto has been admitted as a new member of the company.Marcus Hook Borough Council announced all frame dwellings in the borough will be inspected to determine whether they are fire hazards. Named to the inspection committee were William Devonshire, Francis Rizzo, James Frick and Chester F. Baker.Army Pvt. Robert H. Stewart, 21, son of Mr. and Mrs. Horace Stewart of Eddystone, has been assigned duties as a clerk at Fort Bragg, N.C. He is a graduate of Eddystone High School and before entering the service was a stock boy at the Everlast Mill Store in Eddystone. 25 YEARS AGO – 1983 Licenses for those who want to hunt deer in Ridley Creek State Park and Tyler Arboretum for the first time ever have been sold out. There were 900 special hunting permits issued for both locations.Mr. and Mrs. John Brown of Media celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at their children’s home in Fort Myers, Fla. Mrs. Brown is the former Rita Heavens and Mr. Brown is retired from Walsh Ford. 10 YEARS AGO – 1998 The Bethel Township Hose Co. 1 is sponsoring a train meet at the firehouse. There is a charge for those who want to display their model trains and also for those who wish to attend. — LEN CASTERLINE
To contact Len Casterline, or call (610) 565-4298
Other Times --- Oct. 6
100 YEARS AGO - 1908 The newly organized Comas Club for young people in the West End of Chester has elected Richard Frazier as president; Lester Armstrong, vice president; Harry Getty and Charles Wood, secretaries; and William Gillis, treasurer. Andrew J. Dalton was elected president of the Upland Athletic Association.P. Branin of Chester is running a large coach to the county fair at Elwyn to accommodate those who would rather go by carriage than by rail. The fare will be 50 cents for a roundtrip in the coach 75 YEARS AGO - 1933 Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Parsons Hamilton of Middletown Road, near Black Horse, Middletown, are observing the seventh anniversary of their marriage.Joe has opened his new coat department featuring fur-trimmed cloth coats for $9.95. Joe’s is at 115 W. Third St., Chester, and he has available a layaway plan.Several stamp collectors of Eddystone formed a stamp club at the home of Albert Clark on Ninth Street. Weekly meetings are held and anyone wishing to join may contact Clark. 50 YEARS AGO - 1958 The Chester Fire Department is $100 richer as a result of having been named second-best appearing company in the line of march at the parade of the Pennsylvania State Firemen’s Association at Scranton. Harold Walker, 29, of 127 E. Fifth St., Chester, tripped and sprained a foot tendon while parading with the Chester firemen. He was returned to Chester Hospital in the Franklin Rescue Squad wagon accompanied by Detective John Welc and Patrolman Bart Spedden.A new chapter of the Jaycees is being organized for the MacDade Boulevard-Chester Pike area of Holmes under the sponsorship of the Chester Jaycees Robert Pierpont of the Chester Jaycees said the new chapter is open to young men between the ages of 21 and 35. There are other Jaycee chapters in Springfield, Middletown, Upper Darby, Media, East Delco, Marple and Chester. 25 YEARS AGO - 1983 Marcus Hook Borough Council approved the appointment of James McDonnell, 25, of Wallingford as code-enforcement officer in the borough.Eighty students from three school districts in the county are not attending school as a result of the new state immunization law that requires immunizations. The students are from Chester Upland, Southeast Delco and Upper Darby school districts. 10 YEARS AGO - 1998Donna Meyers of Ridley Park has received the Corporate Hero Award from Keystone Bank. The award recognizes associates who perform extraordinary actions to satisfy the needs of customers. — LEN CASTERLINE To contact Len Casterline, or call (610) 565-4298
Other Times --- Oct. 3
100 YEARS AGO — 1908 Edward Crozer of Upland has purchased a new six-cylinder automobile of the new Thomas make. It is capable of speeds of 50 miles an hour.The Chester Engineering and Machine Co., on Front Street, between Chester Creek and Penn Street, is building taxicabs. It recently sold six taxis in Philadelphia and is negotiating for the sale of 50 taxis in New York City.Sneak thieves and night prowlers are becoming bolder in Chester and the police are watching certain men who were recently released from jail and have been seen about their old haunts. 75 YEARS AGO — 1933 Two-thousand khaki-clad Boy Scouts joined in a gigantic Boy Scout Field Day in Deshong Park, Chester. Featured were a parade, demonstrations, an ox roast and a campfire session. Scouts attended from every part of the county.Dr. Martin Huberman of Chester has opened his optometric office at Fifth and Market streets. The office had been the former home of The Chester Times. 50 YEARS AGO — 1958 Middletown Township Supervisors have decided to create the new post of township manager because of the growth of the township. The position will pay about $6,000 a year.The owner of a Collingdale tavern admitted in court he cheated his customers for five months by using a money-saving whiskey-switching scheme. He admitted to fill bottles of whiskey with a cheaper brand. He was fined $300 by County Judge Diggins.Robert Strayer, 10, and Glenn Stratton, 7, took first prizes in the Junior Garden Show at Scenic Hills School in Springfield. Robert won in the vegetable class and Glenn won for his arrangement. 25 YEARS AGO — 1983 Collingdale Borough Council voted to extend the curfew on Pusey Avenue that had been imposed after last month’s slaying in the area. One resident said “the curfew has been great. It’s like heaven. It’s like old times down here.”About 20 students of the Bunting Friendship Freedom House in Darby filed into the county council chambers to celebrate the beginning of Freedom House Month. Ethel Smiley founded the Freedom House 15 years ago.Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park honored 137 student volunteers with a dinner. The volunteers gave more than 13,000 hours of service during the past 12 months. 10 YEARS AGO — 1998 Sam’s Aston Mills Tavern on Aston Mills Road is having its semi-annual Polish Food Fest this weekend along with a dance party with music by DJ Ray. Next weekend, the Double Clutchin’ Weasels provide the music. — LEN CASTERLINE To contact Len Casterline, or call (610) 565-4298
Other Times --- Oct. 2
100 YEARS AGO – 1908 Frank Innis, the assistant postmaster in Chester, has been licensed to preach by the Chester Presbytery. He has been in charge of the Holmes Presbyterian Church. Edward Goff has sold the Union Hotel he has operated on West Third Street, near the bridge in Chester. Some person stole several of the electric light globes from in front of the new moving picture house at Third and Wilson streets, Chester. Further depredations will not be tolerated. 75 YEARS AGO – 1933 Local baseball fans who have not secured tickets for the World Series opening game in New York need not be discouraged. They can gather in front of the Chester Times Building on East Eighth Street and hear the broadcast of the game in comfort. The Radio Electric Service Co. at 546 Edgmont Ave., Chester, has installed a powerful amplifier that guarantees perfect reception. The same service will be used for the games played in Washington.The Retail Liquor Dealers Association of Delaware County has bee organized. M. Joseph Connelly, proprietor of a taproom at 69th and Market streets, Upper Darby, was elected president. 50 YEARS AGO – 1958 Mrs. Earl L. Bigger of 1203 Clover Lane, Buckman Village, Chester, is the newly elected president of the Chester Council of Republican Women.Abraham W. Wolson, Naval aviation cadet, and son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Wolson, 624 Sproul St., Chester, completed his first helicopter solo flight at Ellyson Field Naval Auxiliary Air Station at Pensacola, Fla. Bargain City is the county’s newest major store. It’s at MacDade Boulevard and Fairview Avenue, Woodlyn, and is managed by Isadore Klitzner. 25 YEARS AGO – 1983 Upper Darby police were called to release a dog whose head was caught in a wrought iron fence in the 200 block of Heather Road. The dog was a stray and took off after its release.Members of Edgmont Fire Co. kick off Fire Prevention Week next week with fire engine rides for youngsters. Fire Chief Joe Luglio said that tot-finder decals and telephone stickers also will be given out at the firehouse.Airman 1.C. Charles J. Anderson of Aston has received the Air Force Achievement Medal at the Upper Heyford Royal Air Force Station in England, where he is a weapons specialist. 10 YEARS AGO – 1998 John Bradley of Colwyn attended the borough council meeting along with 100 other borough residents and asked that the borough establish its own police department. Police service had been provided by Darby. -- LEN CASTERLINE To contact Len Casterline, e-mai: lencas1038@verizon.net or lencas1038@yahoo.com or call (610) 565-4298
Other Times --- Oct. 1
100 YEARS AGO – 1908 Dr. Harry Kershaw of the Park Pharmacy at Third and Highland, Chester, while down in the cellar of the store, butted his head against a beam and the result is he has an elevation of the cuticle caused by an interior swelling near the skull.The new Fairland moving picture theater opened at Diamond Street and Baltimore Avenue, Clifton Heights. Robert Holt is proprietor of the place that will seat 160 people. The place is well ventilated and in addition to moving pictures there will be vaudeville shows 75 YEARS AGO – 1933 Mrs. Lewis Citrenbaum of Garden City and her children, Cina and Monroe, have returned after visiting Mrs. Citrenbaum’s parents in Summerville, N.J.The Chester YMCA has donated a number of steel athletic lockers to the Chester Boys Club at Front and Concord avenues. The lockers had been at the YMCAState police are searching for two bandits who held up a riding instructor at the Brinton Lake Club in Concord. They escaped with $15. 50 YEARS AGO – 1958 The assembly plant of Ford Motor Co. in Chester returned to full-time production of 1959 cars and station wagons. Work at the plant had been suspended because of a shortage of materials.Some $350 worth of golf clubs, balls, tees, bags and other equipment and $10 in cash were stolen from the office of the Valley Brook Driving Range on Wilmington-West Chester Pike. The range is operated by William Boucher. 25 YEARS AGO – 1983 A threatened strike by workers at the county’s Fair Acres Geriatric Center in Lima was averted after marathon negotiations. Details of the tentative agreement were not divulged.Michael P. Fletcher of 248 E. Winona Ave., Norwood, has been awarded the Eagle Scout Medal. He’s a member of Troop 174 in Norwood.“The Fighting Tigers” is the name of the new boxing team at the Salvation Army Community Center at 151 W. 15th St., Chester. Dennis Shaw, a boxer and trainer, runs the program. 10 YEARS AGO – 1998 Clyde and Marian McCleaft of Aston observed their 50th wedding anniversary with a party at the Aston American Legion. Clyde (Sonny) is a retired operating engineer and his wife is retired from the Penn Delco School District. --- LEN CASTERLINE To contact Len Casterline, e-mail lencas1038@verizon.net or lencas1038@yahoo.com or call (610) 565-4298
Other Times --- Sept. 29
100 YEARS AGO – 1908 Felton Fire Co. in Chester was taken to task because it is said its horses and exercise wagon have been used as a public conveyances outside the city limits.Chester’s Bethel Court had the atmosphere of the Wild West as a herd of steers consigned to John J. Buckley’s slaughterhouse broke loose and raced through the streets for almost an hour before being rounded up by police and Buckley workers. The slaughterhouse is near Bethel Court. 75 YEARS AGO – 1933 The Delaware County Bar Association was presented with an oil painting of the late George Eyre Darlington, the county’s oldest lawyer, who died last January at the age of 101. The painting was presented by Mrs. Elizabeth D. Eyre Sisson of Rhode Island, who is a third cousin of Mr. Darlington. She painted the portrait.An Upper Darby man is in custody on bigamy charges. He told officials why he married a woman ever though he had a wife. “It’s just one of those things. I can’t explain it, except to say that I just went crazy over the girl.” 50 YEARS AGO – 1958 Police are still looking for a couple of nimble and impatient prisoners who escaped from the county prison at Thornton. The pair made a clean getaway from Broadmeadows Prison. They escaped through a rear door when a bread man made his daily delivery. They ran off into the nearby woods.Robert A. Wright, a Chester attorney, is being honored at a testimonial banquet at the West Branch YMCA in Chester. The affair is sponsored by the 25 Club with Mrs. Theottis Prince and Mrs. Fannie Johnson as cochairmen. The Springfield pool at Baltimore Pike and Woodland Avenue has been purchased by two public-school teachers who will run it as a private club. For 12 years the pool was operated by Eustace “Steve” Photos. Purchasers are Steve Fogel and Samuel Druzin. 25 YEARS AGO –1983 Youth in Action of Chester provides temporary shelter for runaways at Seventh Street and Morton Avenue. Assistant Director Lewis Fields said he hopes to enlist the aid of homeowners with the project.A 56-year-old man was nabbed as the alleged robber of the Rose Valley-Moylan Post Office. Office Police Sgt. Richard Demkin said the man was arrested in Chester County. 10 YEARS AGO – 1998 Residents near Jackson and Pusey streets, Collingdale, have been complaining to borough council about loud music from factory space in the neighborhood that has been used as a rehearsal studio by a band. Council said it will take some action to stop the practice.- --- LEN CASTERLINE To contact Len Casterline, or call (610) 565-4298
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 To contact Len Casterline, e-mail lencas1038@verizon.net or lencas1038@yahoo.com or call (610) 565-4298
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