Other Times
100 Years Ago – 1917: Clifton Heights is entering the contest in the license court in the matter of hotel licenses. Judges Johnson and Broomall in a short time granted all of the old licenses in this city and out in the county, with the expectation of the two in Clifton Heights. In that borough there are two new applicants and the fight on these has been injected into the two old places as well by the temperance people. For the first time in 25 years there was no remonstrance against the Buttonwood Hotel at Darby. Each year the usual protest has been filed against the re-granting of this hotel and each time the court has granted the license.
75 Years Ago – 1942: Chester housewives hurried to get their Christmas dinners as a shortage of turkeys threatened the city. Several local markets reported their supplies of the important bird were almost exhausted, and few had any hopes of further shipments. Lendlease requirements and shortage of farm labor were blamed by most observers for the lack of turkeys here, as other American cities were also hit by the shortage. Butter remained the most elusive item on the Christmas menu, with a majority of local stores complete sold out.
50 Years Ago – 1967: Two inches of snow feel this morning on Delaware County and it seemed likely the area will have a white Christmas on Monday. Another light snowfall is predicted late Sunday and early Monday, according to the Weather Bureau at Philadelphia International Airport.
25 Years Ago – 1992: About 25 West End residents angered by the operation of the Delaware County Resource Recovery Facility yesterday kept trucks and tractor-trailers hauling municipal waste from he using the Second and Thurlow streets route to the Chester plant. The group, called the Chester Residents Concerning for Quality Living, carried placards that read “No Truck, No Trash, No Rats,” “Buy Our homes and Live Here,’ “Enough Is Enough, No More Trucks,” and “Merry Christmas, Westinghouse, Because of You Our Christmas Is Sad.”
10 Years Ago – 2007: This has probably been one of the busiest years in the history of Widener University in terms of expansion. Among the more ambitious projects is University Crossings, a $50 million redevelopment of former dormitories on Providence Avenue between 14th and 15th streets, a lot that is currently tax-exempt as part of the university. The development will be anchored by a 48-room hotel and include a full-service restaurant, a bank, a 24hour convenience store, a coffee shop, a Chester police sub-station, 60 apartment units and more. It is scheduled for completion in the fall.