Days Gone By
100 YEARS AGO, 1924 » A slight fire occurred at the plant of the Sun Company, in Marcus Hook, at 7.15 o’clock last night, when an oil still exploded. Five fire companies responded, but only the Marcus Hook company went into service. The damage was trifling. Other companies responding were the Viscose, Trainer, Linwood and Boothwyn.
75 YEARS AGO, 1949 » Delaware County’s fire loss during 1948 was estimated at close to $2,500,000 at a meeting of the Delaware County Firemen’s Association Monday night. The estimate, made by William E. Wunderlich, financial secretary, was based on a fire loss totaling $1,026,937 reported by 41 of the 73 member fire companies. The companies responded to a total of 2,610 alarms during the 12 months, according to the report by the county’s fire marshal, Frank A. Dolan, of Darby.
50 YEARS AGO, 1974 » Delaware County residents apparently need not worry about their moral environment — at least if written complaints to the district attorney’s citizen’s advisory committee on obscenity and pornography are any indication. The committee has had three complaints since it was organized six months ago, according to Dr. Wade Wilson, president of Cheyney State College and committee chairman. “One was about an adult book store in Tinicum, another was about an adult book store in Edgmont and Third was about the movie, “Last Tango in Paris,” when it was playing here. In reviewing “Last Tango,” the panel found it “obnoxious” but not pornographic, Dr. Wilson said.
25 YEARS AGO, 1999 » Drunken driving is already among the most common arrests made by local police. But law enforcement officials aren’t satisfied. District Attorney Patrick L. Meehan has given away two tools aimed at helping police understand the dangers of drunken driving and catching people in the act. Meehan’s office recently donated a portable breathalyzer and socalled “”fatal vision” glasses to the Delaware County Municipal Police Academy.
10 YEARS AGO, 2014 » A trio of Delaware County exhibitors again this year scored big at the 2014 Philadelphia Flower Show, which opened Saturday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Adhering to the theme of ARTiculture, Stoney Bank Nurseries in Glen Mills snagged the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show Cup for Best Landscape. Swarthmore’s Michael Petrie Handmade Gardens will bring home the Philadelphia Flower Show Silver Trophy for its display of Frenchman Henri Matisse’s imagery. J. Downend Landscaping of Crum Lynne, Ridley Township, won the Philadelphia Trophy for the best use of color in landscaping.