Other Times

100 Years Ago – 1918:

The Westinghouse Electric Co. turbine plant near Essington – the largest of its kind in the country – has been taken over entirely by the federal government. It is one of 21 affected by the government order commandeering turbine plants. The Westinghouse plant covers a tract of about 500 acres. There are 27 buildings aggregating approximately 14 acres of floor space.

75 Years Ago – 1943:

You wouldn’t think about it, reading the headlines, but the capitulation of Sicily, step by step, to the victory-snatching Yanks and their Allies may mean that your white shoes, your white leather purse, your white kid gloves will be whiter and easier to buy next summer. For out of the island of Sicily in peacetime come tons of sumac used here in Chester at the American Dyewood Co. at Delaware Avenue and Lamokin Street for the manufacture of a dye that is used for tanning of fancy leathers.

50 Years Ago – 1968:

The Chester School District will oppose vigorously any plan to merge it with another school district, school board President Clarence H. Robert said. Two years ago, the district appealed a county schools order merging it with Chester Township and Upland school districts. Upland also sued to block the merger.

25 Years Ago – 1993:

Authorities investigating the disappearance of a New Jersey boy have visited Ridley Creek State Park in connection with the probe, a park employee said. The employee said that detectives were looking for a man who is thought to be a frequent visitor to the park and might have some knowledge regarding the case. The park is the second Delaware County location authorities have visited in search of clues in the disappearance of Mark Himebaugh, the 11-yearold boy who disappeared from a park near his Middle Township, Cape May County, home on Nov. 25, 1991.

10 Years Ago – 2008:

Delaware County Community College received a $500,000 grant from the Sunoco Foundation to go toward a new science, technology, engineering and mathematics complex on its main campus in Marple. The $60 million STEM facility, set to open in 2009, will be a 105,000-square-foot building for natural sciences, engineering and math and a 32,000-square-foot technical building for training projects and technical programs. Ground was broken in April.