Other Times

100 Years Ago – 1918:

James J. Sweeney, who for a number of years conducted a flourishing pool room and cigar store at Third and Market streets, Chester, which he disposed of some months ago, has purchased the good will and fixtures of a similar business located at Coatesville, Pa.

75 Years Ago – 1943:

As exciting as the landing at Casablanca! “Casablanca” starts today at the Warner Bros. Stanley Theatre. They had a date with fate – in the city that rocked the world! Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid. The Hal B. Wallis production is superbly directed by Michael Curtiz. Walt Disney’s “Bambi” starts tomorrow at the Warner Bros. State Theatre. See the throbbing, exciting, living story of the forest folk in glorious Technicolor.

50 Years Ago – 1968:

The naturalistic portrait shows a pensive John F. Kennedy with penetrating, almost tearful eyes. The painting by 21-year-old James Browning (Jamie) Wyeth, son of famed Chadds Ford arist Andrew Wyeth, has been accepted by the last president’s family for the Kennedy Memorial Library in Cambridge, Mass.

25 Years Ago – 1993:

The gaping Oak Avenue pothole in Aldan that blew out at least 30 tires Tuesday night was repaved Thursday, a Suburban Water Co. spokesman said. The pothole – 3-foot-by-4-foot wide and 6 inches deep between Marple Avenue and Jeffrey Street – was temporary patched by a Suburban crew after a procession of unsuspecting drivers ruptured their tires throughout the night. Suburban crews opened the street where the pothole surfaced to repair a water main break.

10 Years Ago – 2008:

Middletown planners voted to recommend council approve a preliminary land development plan for a $35-$40 million expansion/enhancement project for Granite Run Mall. However, the recommendation is based on the resolution of several conditions pertaining to parking. Simon Co., the mall owner, wants 9-feet-by-18-feet parking spaces. Project Engineer Rocco Caracciolo said this is the new recognized standard. But township zoning requires 9.5-feet-by-18.5-feet spaces. The mall project’s major component is a two-level addition fronting Baltimore Pike. It includes a 30,000-square-foot bookstore on the first level and a 12-screen multiplex movie theater with a total 2,600 seats on the second level.