Other Times
100 Years Ago – 1917: A thrill of civic pride, intermingling with a strong patriotic fervor, ran through Chester this morning with the receipt of the intelligence that the Pennsylvania Military College – a peer among schools of this type – had been offered to the city in order that high school boys and eligible citizens may be equipped with a fundamental military education and training. The proffer of the use of the West Point of the Keystone State was made at the Preparedness meeting held at the Chester Club. 75 Years Ago – 1942: Too many to count! The “Records for the Rookies” drive by the Chester Reporter produced more discs yesterday that the overburdened record editor could count, classify and store. The drive for platters to be turned over to the USOP for use in recreation centers entered its second week yesterday. The Sunday night count was 1,004 platters and there is at least 500 in the pile which have yet to be sorted.
50 Years Ago – 1967: The Sun Valley High School Band stole the spotlight Thursday night at the Chester Centennial Exposition. The blue-and-gold garbed band marched in and played martial music while majorettes pranced, a color guard carried flags and the drill team performed. The award-winning band is directed by Joseph DeAugustine.
25 Years Ago – 1992: The ugly contest for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate got physical when supporters of incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter and state Rep. Steve Friend, R-166 of Haverford, traded punches in front of a stunned press corps. The brawl broke out after the candidates’ half-hour, televised debate in Altoona as Specter addressed reporters in a briefing room at WTAJ-TV, which hosted the faceoff. Ironically, just before Specter entered the room, his press secretary, Dan McKenna, joked with that the candidates were meeting reporters one at a time “to keep them from coming to blows.”
10 Years Ago – 2007: For Luther Smith, Thursday under the dome of the Capitol Rotunda “went beyond expectations.” Smith, of Radnor, was one of about 300 Original Tuskegee Airmen to receive the nation’s highest civilian medal following sponsorship by U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich, and being signed into law by President George W. Bush.