Other Times

100Years Ago – 1920: On the eve of the Christmas holiday season, the plant of the Delaware River Steel Co., foot of Wilson street, will close its doors for an indefinite period, it was learned today, while a second industry, the coke ovens of the Philadelphia and Suburban Gas and Electric Co., foot of Highland Avenue, will also cease operations. The order affecting the two plants goes into effect next Monday, Dec. 20.

75Years Ago – 1945: All public schools in Chester were ordered closed this afternoon until after the Christmas holidays because of an alarming increase in the number of grippe and influenza absentees. Superintendent F. German Fritz announced the closing at 2:15 p.m. after conferences with the school board and city health authorities. Classes will be resumed on Jan. 2. The action was taken after

537 additional absentees were reported in the schools, raising the total to 2,546. The total school enrollment is 9,000.

50Years Ago – 1970: A four-year legal battle has ended for Maria Zahaniacz,

62, of 2602 W. Third St., Chester. President Richard M. Nixon signed a bill into law, introduced by the late U.S. Rep. Robert G. Watkins, R-7, on Thursday that will allow Mrs. Zahaniacz, a native of Poland and a citizen of Canada, to continue living in the United States. Mrs. Zahaniacz was separated from her children – currently in Russia – during the German occupation of World War II. She arrived in the United States in 1966 with her second husband, who filed a visa petition but died before his wife could receive second preference classification to remain in the country.

25Years Ago – 1995: An

87-year-old Yeadon man died of hypothermia after the heating system in his house broke down, marking the first death in the county related to the cold weather spell. Authorities said the temperature inside the house was about 42 degrees when the man was found by his son-inlaw. Outdoors it was 24 degrees.

10Years Ago – 2010: For the seventh time this year, a prisoner at Delaware County prison was released prematurely. A 42-year-old alleged burglar from Upper Darby was back behind bars within 15 hours after his untimely release Dec. 7, according to officials. The man was arrested Nov. 13 after allegedly breaking into a home, then arrested again a day later after briefly escaping from a constable as he was being loaded into a prison van.