Other Times
100 Years Ago – 1919:
(From the Dec. 24 Chester Times) The Salvation Army tomorrow goes into povertystricken homes of Chester. The organization feels the immediate connection that nothing else is half so important as that childish faith shall not be cruelly disappointed on Christmas Day. More than $800 raised by the Times’ Empty Stocking Club, and given mostly in small sums, by readers of this newspaper, has been spent in preparation for the day.
75 Years Ago – 1944:
The first floor of a twostory house occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Portley, at 134 Abbott St., Chester, was gutted by fire shortly after 1 a.m.
Christmas Day. Firemen of the Franklin and Felton companies fought the blaze in the early morning cold for more than half an hour. Fire Chief Elmer Weigand estimated damage at approximately $1,000.
50 Years Ago – 1969:
Developers who proposed building an apartment complex in Aldan asked the county court today to overrule a zoning board decision which had denied their request. The petition alleges the Aldan board had acted illegally in rejecting their variance request to build three apartment buildings on a nine and one-halfacre site bounded by Maryland Avenue and Lobbs Run in Aldan and by Darby Creek, Main and California avenues in Upper Darby.
25 Years Ago – 1994:
Frank H. Miller, who made headlines in the late 1970s as a key witness in the corruption trial of then-Chester mayor John H. Nacrelli, died Dec. 18 after he was stricken while driving a cab on the Blue Route. Chester authorities said Miller was the owner of a cab company. Dozens of cabs lined Edgmont Avenue near Chester Rural and St. Michael’s cemeteries Friday morning. An official at Chester Rural said Miller’s remains were not interred there and officials at St. Michael’s could not be reached.
10 Years Ago – 2009:
A Strath Haven High School senior has been suspended for wearing a Santa Claus suit to school. Michael Hance, 18, says he told his principal that he planned to wear the suit to school last Thursday and hand out candy canes. Hance said the principal told him that wasn’t a good idea because it would be a distraction. He wore the suit anyway, with regular clothes underneath in case he was asked to take it off. The district said in a statement Hance was suspended for the day for “defiance of authority.” Hance said the school could have just given him a detention.