Other Times
100 Years Ago – 1917: Chester is to have a noiseless Fourth of July. The proclamation of the mayor follows: “Owing to the war now existing between the United State and Germany, I, Wesley S. McDowell, Mayor, of the City of Chester, by virtue of the power granted to me, do hereby prohibit on and after today the sale, or the exposing for sale or casting, throwing or firing of any firework, or the firing of any gun or firearm within the city of Chester.”
75 Years Ago – 1942: Three members of the Chester Reporter staff were feted at a dinner on the eve of their joining the armed services. Fred Echelmeyer, reporter and editorial writer, is a first lieutenant of infantry. E.J. Magnin, Jr., former chairman of the Chester Times unit of the American Newspaper Guild, and editor of the Reporter, reports
for induction into the army soon. Bartram M. Harvey, a member of the advertising staff, will enter the service shortly. All three men had been active in the strike against the Chester Times and were presented with cash gifts from the unit members and the Guild.
50 Years Ago – 1967: The Delaware County School Board was asked to consider starting a program similar to the Neighborhood Youth Corps. The program would pay students from low-income families for work – lawn mowing, window washing and other minor maintenance jobs – at various schools. The students – who might otherwise drop out due to lack of money – would be paid $1.25 an hour, helping to earn enough to continue their education.
25 Years Ago – 1992: The Chester Republican machine, after a major breakdown last November, was clocking on all cylinders again in last Tuesday’s primary as it orchestrated a clean sweep of the races for committee posts. “We’re still alive and kicking … all the party people beat all the independents,” Councilman Edward J. Zetusky Jr. said. “We had a bad experience last year and I think we learned from it.”
10 Years Ago – 2007: Ed Mitchell, a longtime Chester Upland School Board member representing Upland, is looking to get out of the district and he wants to take his town with him. “We were forced to merge with Chester 30 years ago, because ‘bigger is better.’ But it’s clear after the meeting last night, that’s never going to happen,” said Mitchell.