Today in Delaware County history, June 25

History1

100 Years Ago, 1923: Purchased as an experiment, a set of automatic showers have been installed on Morton Street, between Second and Third streets, for the benefit of West Side children. Several hundred boys and girls were on hand yesterday to give the equipment a try-out and all had the time of their lives while the fun lasted. The equipment arrived several days ago. It is similar to that used in the larger cities and present indications point to other sets being installed for the children. The automatic sprinkling outfit resembles the make of the swings now in use in the city playgrounds.

75 Years Ago, 1948: A freak electrical storm — brief but one of the most violent to hit Delaware County in many years — left thousands of dollars in property damage in its wake today and thousands of telephone and power lines out of service. Seventy-mile-an-hour winds whipped the rainstorm in near-hurricane fashion right across the county early last night. Hundreds of trees were uprooted, many falling on homes and automobiles and causing extensive damage. Both the Bell Telephone and the Philadelphia Electric companies reported it as the most severe storm in many years, resulting in the heaviest damage load in that time.

50 Years Ago, 1973: Three Chichester School District libraries will be open through the summer for community use, according to Gerald Raske, curriculum supervisor. Hilltop Elementary School and senior high facilities will be opened daily from 9 a.m. to noon. Both facilities are air conditioned. The Trainer School library will be open each Wednesday afternoon from noon to 3 p.m. the program will end July 27.

25 Years Ago, 1998: By the time you read this, cars will have already driven over I-95’s new Chester Creek bridge. Two lanes of the southbound bridge destroyed in a May 23 oil tanker explosion were to be opened to traffic at 5 a.m. today. “”This meets far beyond anybody’s expectations,” said PennDOT District Administrator Andrew Warren of the rebuilding being completed two weeks early. “”Thirty-two days has got to be a world record, if not an Eastern (District) record,” he said.

10 Years Ago, 2013: Like their counterparts at Holy Saviour Parish, the faithful of Immaculate Conception of Lourdes Church in Marcus are not giving up hope and have drafted a letter of appeal which will be sent to Pope Francis in Rome. The Friends of Immaculate Conception met Wednesday night to further plan their strategy for fighting to keep a Catholic church in the lower end of the county — even if it means combining the two parishes.

— COLIN AINSWORTH