Other Times
100 Years Ago – 1918: Lt. James Edward Meredith, better known as “Ted” Meredith, former University of Pennsylvania track star and holder of the world’s record for the half-mile run, who has been in the Army Aviation Corps for more than a year, has been promoted and is now in command of a flying squadron on the American front. He is 26 years old and was born in Chester Heights.
75 Years Ago – 1943: Little Ralph Brownlowe’s 2-month-old puppy, Rover, disappeared from home last Saturday morning, and Ralph is going to be mighty unhappy if his pet is not back by the time he gets home from the hospital. Ralph, of the 900 block of Andrews Avenue, Collingdale, was stricken with infantile paralysis five weeks ago, and he has been confined to Doctors’ Hospital in Philadelphia. He is improving, and he may be able to come home within the next little while. The family and neighbors in Collingdale are scouring the area for Rover, who is a small wire-haired terrier with a tan coat. Incidentally, today is Ralph’s birthday.
50 Years Ago – 1968: Three men were injured Friday night in an explosion at the Sinclair Refining Co. plant in Trainer. The blast reportedly occurred about 9:30 p.m. at a petroleum catalytic reformer unit, near the Penn Central Railroad tracks at Third and Price streets. The explosion, heard in Trainer and Chester, was followed by a bright fire that illuminated the sky in the vicinity of the refinery on Post Road.
25 Years Ago – 1993: Aston police arrested two men and two 17-year-old juveniles on drug possession charges early Sunday after they were stopped in car in the 500 block of Cherry Tree Road. The four were nabbed about 1:42 a.m. by Officer Albert Fasano. Police stopped a white Toyota after receiving information that the occupants were in possession of several controlled substances. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed suspected marijuana, LSD and cocaine, which were confiscated.
10 Years Ago – 2008: A 36-year-old Chester man was found guilty by a jury in federal court of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, calling for a 15-year mandatory minimum prison sentence. “In a very real way, the jury’s decision adds teeth to the proactive taskforce-based policing policy Mayor (Wendell N.) Butler first put in place in 2005,” Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green said.