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 – SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1917
There will be fair skies over Philadelphia and the surrounding vicinity today. Unfortunately the brutal cold continues. Today’s high will only reach 24° with the low near 11° tonight. There are over 250,000 cats and 100,000 dogs in Philadelphia. Those figures were comprised by the Morris Refuge, 1242 Lombard Street. Port Richmond has the dubious honor of being the cat center of the city. Last year the Richmond branch of the Refuge had to dispose of over 2500 felines.
The ongoing sugar strike is causing a virtual sweetness famine. There are less than 1200 barrels of the precious delicacy in the entire city. Stores have raised the price of refined sugar .1¢ per pound shocking housewives doing their necessary shopping. But the worst news is that confectioners are abandoning some types of candy and there may actually be a general shortage. With St. Valentine’s Day just 5 days off that could cause much consternation among the men of our city who wish to impress their favorite lady.
Tomorrow marks the 70th birthday of the wizard of electricity, Thomas A. Edison. A grand birthday celebration is planned including a dinner attended by 2000 of Mr. Edison’s “boys” who will march into the hall of the inventor’s factory in East Orange, N.J. accompanied by the Edison Military Band.
The Navy recruiting station at 1310 Arch Street has seen a large increase in activity. Every day a new batch of recruits arrives. The same can be said of the offices of the Pennsylvania Naval Militia at Broad and Callowhill Streets. Of course most of the boys applying are from Philadelphia but there are quite a few from the adjacent counties and also southern New Jersey.
WAR NEWS
Allied aeroplanes bombed the German naval base at Zeebrugge. The extent of the damage caused is not yet known. Also in the air war, French pilots have bombed the German city of Karlsruhe which is 50 miles inside the German border with France. The Germans have also been active in the air, bombing Dunkirk overnight and killing 4 civilians. On the ground, fighting in the Somme has quieted today almost as though both sides are resting up for another large offensive.
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