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, AUGUST 27, 1917
Today will bring another beautiful day over the city with bright, fair skies. Today’s high will reach 84° with the low about 63°. A pretty, chubby baby girl thought to be about 3 weeks old was found abandoned Saturday morning on a hill near the Sedgley Guard House in Fairmount Park. Pinned to the baby’s spotless white dress was a note explaining the child was born on August 5th. The note said that her mother died in childbirth and her father, who was a traveling entertainer, had now gone into the military. The note writer begged that someone give the little girl a good home.
The child was called “Philadelphia’s first war baby” but she had no name. Well now she does. The loving nurses of the Philadelphia Hospital where she is being cared for have named her Laura Leary (shown below). Police are searching for the person who left the child. Anyone with information is asked to contact the authorities.
Philadelphia’s First War Baby
In other baby news, residents of South Philadelphia and the Mummers are congratulating Dr. and Mrs. John J. Fralinger, 1829 S. 2nd Street, on the birth of their daughter Jessie Frances Fralinger.
On the sports beat, there will be indoor boxing tonight at the Olympia A.A., Broad & Bainbridge Streets. The main event will feature bantamweights Eddie O’Keefe vs. “Louisiana” (AKA Joe Biderberg). Four other bouts are on the card. In baseball, out in St. Louis, Socks Seibold pitched a shutout and smacked a triple as the A’s beat the Browns 8 to 0. The Phillies also beat a St. Louis team here at Phillies Baseball Park. The Cardinals had a 4 to 0 lead in the 7th but then the hometown boy’s bats came alive and 6 runs crossed the plate giving Pat Moran’s team a 6 to 4 win.
WAR NEWS
On the western front, the French under General Petain are striking German defenses outside of Verdun while the British under Field Marshal Haig are attacking German positions north of St. Quentin. Further south the Italian army has captured nearly 90 miles of territory and 35,000 prisoners from Austria and is now fighting on the Bainsizza Plateau in Slovenia. In the east, the German offensive toward Riga has been halted by the Russian army. There were great fears that if Riga fell Petrograd could not be held from a Teuton assault. The Germans began the push on August 15 and initially met with favorable results. But since August 20 the Russian artillery has come into play and halted the advance.
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