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. We will also recount the events occurring in the war on that day. So, check back each day for new editions.
To share your family or neighborhood stories, please email PhillyWWIyears@gmail.com
TODAY IN PHILADELPHIA – THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1915
The city will have partly cloudy skies and continued hot and humid temperatures. The high will reach 92° with the low about 70°.
On the waterfront two beautiful vessels were launched today. Over in Camden the New York Shipbuilding Company launched the steamship Plymouth of the Coastwise Transportation Company. The Plymouth will carry coal and other goods along the East Coast. On this side of the River at Cramps Shipyard the 175 foot yacht Whileaway was launched (shown below). The boat was commissioned by Harry Payne Whitney, a New York millionaire and cost $250,000.00 to build.
The Whileaway
In other building and construction news, work on the Frankford elevated line is beginning today, 5 days ahead of schedule. Almost 100 laborers are digging 10 foot square pits along the sidewalk at Front Street & Girard Avenue for the concrete foundation bases.
Children’s Homeopathic Hospital, Franklin & Thompson Streets, has invited mothers with sickly children of up to 14 years of age to come to the hospital for treatment free of charge. Howard Boyle, vice president of the facility said today that the Hospital has room for hundreds of babies and is eager to treat them.
On the sports scene in baseball the Phillies took a doubleheader from the Giants at National League Park this afternoon. In the 1st game Grover Alexander won his 26th of the season and shutout the New Yorkers 3 to 0. In the 2nd game Gavvy Cravath smacked his 20th home run as Moran’s boys won 9 to 4. Up in Boston the A’s lost again to the Red Sox 5 to 0.
WAR NEWS
London suffered under the greatest aerial bombing raid in history last night as zeppelins rained bombs upon the sleeping city. At least 20 are known dead and 88 wounded. The actual numbers are being withheld by the authorities. All the dead and wounded are civilians. At least 4 airships conducted the raid dropping incendiary bombs on heavily populated areas (shown below).
Italian inventor, Guglielmo Marconi, who is in London declared that if he were Count Zeppelin he would protest to the Kaiser that his invention was being used for such a sad and sick mission as killing innocent women and children. In the east, the Russian army, now led by their Czar, has won a great victory in Galicia at Tarnopol. Two German divisions reinforced by an Austrian brigade were hurled back in brutal fighting.
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