Other Times
100 Years Ago – 1918:
Cards have been sent out by the house committee of the Springhaven Club for the first club dance of the season n Saturday night, the fourth of May. Regular club dances will be held every other Saturday night. The dances of the club are popular affairs and always well attended.
75 Years Ago – 1943:
Former state Senator John J. McClure, boss of Delaware County’s Republican machine, and his business associate and lieutenant, William C. Purdy, were ordered to pay back $250,000 to the Chester Municipal Authority. The long-awaited decision in the taxpayers’ equity suit filed by James L. Rankin, was handed down by Judge Samuel E. Shull of Stroudsburg, who was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 1941 to preside over the Chester water issue. In his 44-page opinion reviewing the 1939 sale of the stock of the Chester Water Service Co. to the Municipal Authority, Shull ruled that the $250,000 profit made by McClure and split between Purdy and others was illegal and ordered it paid back to the authority “with full interest.” All costs of litigation are to be paid by McClure and Purdy.
50 Years Ago – 1968:
The pursuit of a stolen car from Eddystone into Chester ended when the driver was shot to death by an Eddystone police lieutenant. Police said the lieutenant accidently shot the 26-year-old Chester man when the victim threw open the car door to flee, hitting the officer’s gun. The chase ended at 10th Street and Morton Avenue in Chester.
25 Years Ago – 1993:
Blunders by case workers at the two welfare offices in Chester resulted in at least $470,000 in overpayments to welfare recipients over a two-year period, according to Auditor General Barbara Hafer, who called the figure “the tip of the iceberg.” Audits of the Yarnall District and the Penn District found that office workers failed to follow established procedures for maintaining case records and processing claims.
10 Years Ago – 2008:
About 46 percent of the student body at Delaware County Community College majors in science-based and technical programs. A year from now, they will have two new facilities in which to complete their studies. Joined by more than 100 local business people, school district representatives and national, state and local legislators, college officials broke ground April 18 for its STEM complex.