Other Times
100 Years Ago – 1920: Mystery surrounds the shattering of a $100,000 necklace by a bullet fired into the package in which it was received at the Radnor home of Gurnee Munn. Who fired the bullet, when it was fired, and the reason for the vandalism are a puzzle to the police of Philadelphia and New York, who are making an investigation after its express shipping from Tiffany & Co. The damage to the necklace is estimated at between $3,000 and $5,000. Several of the largest stones of the necklace, a family heirloom in the Munn family, were broken to small pieces.
75 Years Ago – 1945: Reece L. Thomas, 93, who retired from the First National Bank in 1937 after serving that institution with distinction for 55 years, died Sunday at his home, 1149 Potter St., Chester, after an illness of several months. With his passing Chester loses another link with the courtly old-school gentlemen. Old residents will remember his serene and unhurried helpfulness which distinguished his contacts with the public at the institution which he joined in 1882, about 18 years after its founding.
50 Years Ago – 1970:
Crozer-Chester Medical Center is negotiating for the purchase of the Crozer Theological Seminary property adjacent to the center on Upland Avenue. However, there are others interested in the 40acre site and nothing has been dedicated, a hospital spokesman said. The seminary announced plans in May to consolidate with the Rochester Theological Seminary in Rochester, N.Y.
25 Years Ago – 1995 :A historic home which overlooks the once-bustling mill town of Lenni will be restored to its 1799 appearance by Ed Westlake, owner of Westlake Plastics. “We hope to have a showplace,” Westlake told Chester Heights Borough Council last month when requesting assistance with his project on the so-called Lundgren House at New Street and Lenni Road.
10 Years Ago – 2010: As Chester’s state of emergency comes to a close a week from today, Mayor Wendell N. Butler Jr. said he will never stop his push against violence. “Whether I’m the mayor or not, I’m going to be here with you,” he told a crowd of about 200 at the Mayor’s Anti-Violence Night Out. “Anything that can help to open the lines of communication between the community and the police is a good thing,” said Magisterial District Judge Robert Blythe.