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 often for new updates.
To share your family or neighborhood stories, please email PhillyWWIyears@gmail.com
TODAY IN PHILADELPHIA – FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 1915
Clear and fair skies will return to the city today. The temperatures will be a bit more seasonable with the high reaching around 60° and the low about 54°.
Ida Riehl, the 17 year old girl who shot and killed Edmund Hauptfuhrer spoke today by telephone from the home of a wealthy woman who is giving her refuge pending the birth of her child. The location of the residence is being kept secret. Ida spoke to her father and told him how very much she missed him. But she also said that except for her trial she did not think she would ever return to Philadelphia because of the terrible and painful memories she lives with. Pictured below are Ida and her father Charles at his restaurant, “Charlie’s Oyster House”, 410 Cambria Street, in happier times.
In crime news, Vincent Aspirino, 15 years old of 1212 Catharine Street was fined $5.00 today for an assault upon Francis McNulty, also 15 years old of 2227 South 3rd Street. McNulty accidentally ran into Aspirino with his pushcart at 2nd & Dock Streets and Aspirino punched McNulty in both his eyes, bruising them severely. Also, Elmer Fisher who operates a farm at Cotton Street & Castle Road in Fox Chase was arrested today on charges of cruelty to animals. Fisher and his helper were accused with beating horses and cows with baseball bats. The charges were brought by the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The pair appeared before Magistrate Emely and each was fined $10.00.
The city’s Italian colony has declared today Italian Flag Day. Teams of young men and women of Italian descent will be selling the flags throughout the city. The proceeds of the sales will go to the families of Italian soldiers to help with their support.
On the sports scene, hundreds of high school track and field athletes meet this afternoon at Houston Field, 13th & Lehigh Avenue, in the 6th annual quadrangular games henceforth to be called the septangular games. The athletes represent Central, Northeast, West Philadelphia, Southern, Germantown and Frankford high schools and also The Trade School. The games begin at 3:00pm. In baseball, the Phillies are traveling today to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals. At Shibe Park this afternoon the A’s beat the St. Louis Browns 5 to 3 in the first of a four game series.
WAR NEWS
On the western front, the French are slowly pushing the Germans out of the “Labyrinth” around Neuville-Saint-Vaast. In this drive French artillery virtually destroyed the city of Souchez north of Arras. On the Italian front the Austrians have finally taken the offensive and are attacking in the Carnic Alps. In the east, following their victory at Przemysl, Galicia the Austro-German forces are now moving on Lemberg and Warsaw.