On this page we will look back at life in the city during the war years. Here we will provide the visitor with the stories making the news, what was happening in sports and entertainment, city politics, the social scene and the prominent people at the time. So, check back often for new editions. To share your family or neighborhood stories, please email PhillyWWIyears@gmail.com
TODAY IN PHILADELPHIA – MONDAY, MAY 7, 1917
Today’s weather calls for partly cloudy skies with cool temperatures. The high will be about 53° with the low near 43°. Today marks the second anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. Twelve hundred passengers were lost on the ship including 130 Americans, 29 of which were from this city.
Clean-up week begins today in Philadelphia. Detailed instructions have been published by Chief Conneil, head of the Highway Bureau, to Philadelphia’s housewives so that there is no excuse for neglecting waste and rubbish removal. In other news, Rumanian Jews have dedicated a new synagogue for the Porath Joseph Congregation at 3rd & Fitzwater Streets. The dedication followed a procession to the new building led by Rabbi B.L. Leventhal who was followed by 800 members of the congregation.
The “Conshohocken cavalry” (shown below) invaded Philadelphia today led by Robert “Bob” Crawford, the former football star and manager of the Conshohocken Athletic Club. Mr. Crawford has reached the age where he is not eligible to serve so he thought he could do his part by organizing a group of local boys for enlistment in the army. The 50 young men came to the city with their wives, sweethearts and families to see them off on the train to Fort Slocum, N.Y. for training. Before embarking for the camp they saw some of the sights of Philadelphia which received them with open arms and brotherly love.
Conshohocken cavalry
In baseball today both the Phillies and the A’s fell to New York teams. The Phillies, up at the Polo Grounds, played a tight game but fell to the Giants 2 to 1. The A’s are here at Shibe Park against the Yankees and took a beating from the New Yorkers 9 to 4.
WAR NEWS
On the western front, Australian troops fought through heavy German resistance around Riencourt in the Somme area and gained over a mile of territory. In the Champagne region the Germans launched a large counter-attack which has been checked by the French. The German assault covered the area around Soissons and Chemin des Dames. In the air campaign, Allied aviators bombed the German naval base at Zeebrugge in Belgium while German planes struck northeastern London today killing one man and injuring one woman.
GET YOUR COPY OF PHILADELPHIA: THE WORLD WAR I YEARS BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW.