Other Times
100 Years Ago – 1920:
Believed to be a modern Jekyll and Hyde, a man was arrested for trying to “shoot up” the Ninth Ward, is a puzzle to the police and the city physician. The suspect, of 1629 W. Ninth St., at times is declared to be a raving maniac by the police and after a while becomes as calm and docile as a kitten. When he was apprehended, the man was racing through Central Avenue with a .32 revolver, firing shots indiscriminately and terrorizing the neighborhood.
75 Years Ago – 1945:
One of the six long-term convicts still at large after a spectacular tunnel escape from the Eastern State Penitentiary yesterday was being sought by police in Chester today, after he was reportedly seen here a few hours after the break. The convict is David Aikens, 58, Philadelphia bandit and auto thief, who was sentenced to 10 to 20 years after an armed holdup in 1937. Aikens, police said, was recognized by a former prison guard near the Ford plant here, but the guard at that time was unaware of the escape. Aikens told him that he had been paroled several months ago.
50 Years Ago – 1970:
Delaware County residents joined today with organizations across the country in commemorating the second anniversary of the death of the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Martin Luther King
School of Social Change at the Crozer Theological Seminary, Upland, is conducting a three-day observance that began last night. Today’s feature was to be a film about the struggle for community control in black and Puerto Rican communities in New York City and a film on the Guinea revolution.
25 Years Ago – 1995:
A Newark, Delaware, man was arrested on a retail theft charge after he paid about $25 for a toy box containing a video cassette recorder, Upper Chichester police said. Officer Hurley Smoak responded about 8:45 p.m. Thursday to a report of theft at the Caldor department store. The 31-year-old had removed a toy truck from a large box and replaced it with a Magnavox VCR, valued at $270. He then removed a roll of tape from a shelf and sealed up the box, police said.
10 Years Ago – 2010:
The Rev. Dr. William “Rocky” Brown III was sworn in as Chester Township’s chaplain during its business meeting Thursday night. Brown will serve as chaplain for both the township and its police force. “I’m looking forward to serving the department and the community, and making this community even better,” Brown said before his swearing-in by Senior Magisterial District Judge Horace Z. Davis.