Days Gone By
100 Years Ago, 1923: Arrangements have been completed for a patriotic gathering of Chester’s citizens in the Washington Theatre. It is fitting that such celebration be held in this historic place erected in 1747 and used by George Washington while he wrote his report of the Battle of the Brandywine. This Washington Day celebration is sponsored by the business and Professional women’s Club and supported by the American Legion who will send their standards with guards; the Boy Scouts, who will act as ushers;; and other orders that will be present.
75 Years Ago, 1948: Two West Philadelphia brothers, picked up by Yeadon police a week ago, have been implicated in 25 house burglaries in Delaware County, involving loot estimated at $20,000. The man have been questioned by police of several municipalities, with County Detective Earl Allen, and have admitted most of the burglaries.
50 Years Ago, 1973: The Boeing Vertol Co. is expected to begin soon commercially manufacturing the first new street cars to be built in the United States in 20 years, it was announced today. Boeing was the apparent low bidder to provide 230 light rail vehicles (street cars) for use in two different cities. The firm submitted a total bid of $69 million to supply 150 cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston, and 80 similar vehicles for San Francisco’s Municipal Railway Improvement Corp.
25 Years Ago, 1998: A former refrigeration repairman, who stole a floor safe and its contents at Archbishop Prendergast, was ordered to stand trial after a preliminary hearing in Upper Darby district court. The 25-year-old Philadelphia man faces charges for the burglary and theft of $1,908 at the school, Lansdowne Avenue and Garrett Road, on Jan.
16. Criminal Investigator Mark Brown reported the man admitting taking the money and safe to repay a $200 gambling debt.
10 Years Ago, 2013: A raging, twoalarm fire destroyed the inside of a three-story home in the first block of East Stewart Avenue in Lansdowne on Friday morning. According to officials at the scene, the home had just undergone a complete rehabilitation after a Christmas tree-fueled fire gutted the same house in 2008. While dozens of firefighters battled that blaze, a smaller incident broke out at a home in the 500 block of Poplar Street in Sharon Hill. In addition to Sharon Hill’s release to respond to their hometown, onlookers witnessed a unique response for a fire in their area. Crews from Brookhaven and Lower Chichester fire companies responded in addition to more local outfits like Glenolden, Folcroft and Holmes fire companies.