Other Times
100 Years Ago – 1917: Using obscene words in denouncing the Stars and Stripes while imbibing an overt amount of crimson liquid cost a Hinkson Street man a fine of $10 and costs when arraigned in Municipal Court this morning. The man was arrested by Patrolman Megonigal at Eighth and Upland streets, Chester, yesterday afternoon for drunkenness. Upon being lodged in a cell at the city hall, the man started denouncing “Old Glory.”
75 Years Ago – 1942: The crusade against gambling in this city paid off heavily yesterday. President Judge Albert Dutton MacDade, disposing of 12 gambling cases at a mile-a-minute clip, collected $6,500 in fines – an all-time high. The fines ranged from $500 to $1,000 and in every case were promptly paid by the defendants.
50 Years Ago – 1967: A general-alarm fire at Crozer-Chester Medical Center drove some 80 patients — including about 30 children — from their beds Saturday and burned through the hospital’s 65-year-old east wing. None of the patients was injured in the blaze, which kept all Chester fire companies and firemen from many nearby communities battling shooting flames and smoke for more than an hour. Four hospital employees and a fireman were injured. 25 Years Ago – 1992: Legislation offering tax relief to owners of 30 “hot” houses zipped through both the state House and Senate on unanimous votes in two days in Harrisburg. The legislation would allow the county Board of Assessment Appeals to reduce assessments on the 30 properties in Yeadon, Lansdowne, East Lansdowne and Upper Darby with high levels of radiation and radon gas contamination. The conditions are a result of the use of radium-laced sand from a former factory at Union and Austin Avenues in Lansdowne.
10 Years Ago – 2007: A Lansdowne man is facing drunken driving charges and related offenses for an alleged hit and run involving four cars. Sgt. James McCaughan reported that testing on the motorist resulted in a 0.542 blood alcohol content, six times more than the 0.08 limit allowed by the state. McCaughan responded to a report of a rear-end collision by an alleged hit-and-run driver at North Wycombe and Powelton avenues. A passenger in the vehicle struck reported seeing the same car allegedly strike several other vehicles while fleeing.