Other Times

100 Years Ago – 1918:

The work on the new Chester City Hall has reached a point where the beautiful proportions of this fine structure may be appreciated. Hidden now by the old office building which is soon to be removed, and surrounded by scaffolding, it has been difficult to appreciate the fine appearance of the new home of the city government but when the way is opened to Market Street, and the roof and tower of the new hall are completed, the people will have a grateful surprise coming to them.

75 Years Ago – 1943:

The automobile of the Rev. Everett P. Harrison, pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church, was wrecked when it plunged 15 feet into Stony Brook along Chester Pike, near Taylor Hospital. Harrison had parked his car in the hospital driveway, where apparently the brakes slipped and it rolled down to the brook bank.

50 Years Ago – 1968:

More than 3 inches of rain drenched Delaware County last night, flooding a number of roads, taking out power in some neighborhoods and causing a rash of automobile accidents. The Darby Creek Bridge on MacDade Boulevard in Darby was closed for night when the creek rose more than 8 feet and swirled across the highway. Earlier in the day, what was described some persons as a ”small twister” struck the Lansdowne Steel and Iron Co. in Ridley Township, ripping off a 70 foot by 20 foot section of roof.

25 Years Ago – 1993:

Business and government leaders painted a rosy picture of Chester as a city on the move at the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce’s Congressional Forum. “The city of Chester was absolutely a great industrial and commercial center,” said Charles D. Moore, president of the Chester Business and Professional Association, at the gathering at Howard John’s Motor Lodge on Friday. “It is our belief that in the next few years it can come back to that level of greatness.”

10 Years Ago – 2008:

The Ridley Community Chorus will sing its last notes at concerts Saturday after 35 years of providing an outlet for adults who love to sing. “We were at a high of 160 at one time and now we’re down to 55, which is a big reason why we’re calling it quits,” said Director John Waldie. “We would have to charge outrageous tickets prices for our concerts and raise the dues to keep going. Kids get out of high school and they don’t want to do choral singing, they want to do ‘American Idol.’”