Other Times

100 Years Ago – 1918: Chester is to have a law library free to the people. This is made possible in the will of the late George B. Lindsay, Esq., probated at Media this morning. George M. Booth, William B. Harvey and John A. Poulson, three members of the Delaware County Bar, all close friends of the distinguished dead lawyer, are named as trustees of his estate and will provide for the new law library.

75 Years Ago – 1943: Ina stirring statement of praise for the racial harmony that exists in Chester, Dr. Leslie Pinckney Hill, noted black educator and president of Cheyney State Teachers College, told representatives of Chester’s white, black and foreign language groups, gathered in the Masonic Temple for the inaugural dinner in the $675,000 fund raising to build new “Y” billings for white and black youths, that the unity is bound to be increased as a result of the campaign. 50 Years Ago – 1968: A $50,000 grant to restore the historic Morton Mortonson House at East Winona Avenue and Darby Creek in Norwood has been awarded to the borough by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The house, reported built in 1672, was badly damaged in February by vandals. 25 Years Ago – 1993: Delaware County Council today will approve the sale of its unlucky Riverbridge Industrial Center for $1.2 million – to the sale company that offered $3 million for the property in the late 1980s. Industrial Investment Inc. of Ambler was the only bidder for the 55-acre property on the Delaware River in Chester – the former home of Ford Motors and Reynolds Metals – which has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars since the county’s economic development agencies acquired it as a small-business incubator 13 years ago. 10 Years Ago – 2008: A township man dressed as Jesus Christ has been picketing in front of the an Aston apartment complex, hoping to bring attention to what he claims are deplorable conditions and exorbitant heating/hotwater bills at the complex. For the past week, Pastor William Barhorst, 52, has carried a large wooden cross, and donned a long white robe, red shawl, sandals, and a crown of thorns in protest. Barhorst, who spoke at last week’s Aston commissioners meeting dressed as Jesus, claims many apartments are ridden with mold, and that residents are being unfairly overcharged for heat and hot water.