Days Gone By
100 Years Ago, 1923: Of unusual interest of the older residents of the First Ward was the observance yesterday of their golden wedding anniversary by Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Nolan, of Seventeenth Street and Providence Avenue. On Feb. 8, 1873, Mr. and Mrs. Nolan were joined in wedlock at the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle, Ivy Mills, Delaware County. With the exception of the first few years of their early married life the intervening years have been spent in Chester. They located originally within a stone’s throw of their present place of abode, when Providence Avenue was literally a mud road, and even horse cars for Chester were not thought of. “Frog Pond” was the local appellation for that section of the city at that time, and, in truth, the name was not without its significance, for frogs there were in goodly numbers.
75 Years Ago, 1948: Thirteen trolley, bus and elevated lines in Delaware County will be tied up if the threatened strike of 11,000Philadelphia Transportation Company employees materializes. Thousands of county commuters to Philadelphia will be directly affected, and many others traveling between points within the county will have to adopt new methods of transportation if the strike comes off.
50 Years Ago, 1973: The Chester Business Men’s Association approved a proposal Thursday to begin a jitney bus service in the city on a trial basis. The 14members who attended the meeting in city council chambers also endorsed a name change for the organization and expanded its geographic boundaries. It will now be called the Chester Business and Professional Association and will seek members in business and professional ranks throughout the city. Prior to this it was geared for retail merchants from Third to Ninth and Penn to Welsh streets.
25 Years Ago, 1998: A Chester man, chased down by a Clifton Heights drug store manager after stealing a couple of box of cigars, was ordered to stand trial after a preliminary hearing in district court. Sgt. Walter Senkow arrested the 28-year-old, who has eight aliases, on Feb. 2after Rite-Aid manager Deke Asdourian gave chase. The cigars were valued at $23.09.
10 Years Ago, 2013: The Chester Department of Recreation is hosting a program celebrating the city’s birthday on Thursday. The program highlights the city’s history beginning with the arrival of William Penn and culminating with the tenure of the Mayor John Linder. It also features participants from Stetser Elementary School and Frederick Douglass Christian School.