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 12, 1916
The weather forecast calls for grey, overcast skies today with a high chance of rain tonight and Sunday. The high will be around 35° with tonight’s low near 27°.
Philadelphia, the Commonwealth and all America remembers today our martyred President, Abraham Lincoln, on this the 107th anniversary of his birth. Philadelphians hold Mr. Lincoln in a special place in their hearts. His speech at Independence Hall on February 22, 1861 (pictured below) on the way to his inauguration was one of the finest ever delivered here. There are residents of this city still among us who remember that day. Thousands packed the streets to see the “rail-splitter” make his way from the Continental Hotel to the State House, now Independence Hall. Thousands also crowded in front of the stage erected for the raising of the flag and speeches.
Lincoln at Independence Hall
They remember Mr. Lincoln raising the new flag above the Hall with 34 stars on a blue field. In the short speech he gave afterwards he stated “… all the political sentiments I entertain have been drawn, so far as I have been able to draw them, from the sentiments which originated, and were given to the world from this hall in which we stand. I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.” Tonight numerous veteran, fraternal, social, political and community organizations plan banquets and concerts to celebrate and remember Mr. Lincoln.
A lifesaving medical operation and also one of the first of its kind has been performed at the National Stomach Hospital, 1515 North 15th Street, on a baby girl. The child, Dorothy Frank of 175 West Columbia Avenue, had been starving for two weeks because her stomach was unable to hold food. Dr. Mitchell Warmuth performed the surgery which involved severing the stomach from the intestines, removing an obstruction and then sewing the organs back together. Since the operation the child has been doing well and gaining weight at the rate of 2 ounces a day.
In national news, President Wilson and the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives have come to an agreement on the issue of Philippine independence. The present plan to grant the islands independence in 4 years will be amended and now no action will be taken on the matter for 10 years.
In entertainment around the city this weekend, on stage at the American, 8th & Girard, “The Law of the Land” by George Broadhurst. At the Little Theatre, 17th & DeLancey Streets, six one act plays will be presented by the Stage Society of Philadelphia. In photoplays, at the Stanley, 16th & Market, John Barrymore and Katherine Corri Harris (also known as Mrs. Barrymore) star in the romantic comedy “Nearly a King”. At the Star Theatre, Kensington & Lehigh Avenues, “The Precious Packet” staring Ralph Kellard and Lois Meredith. And at the Leader, 41st & Lancaster Avenue, Valeska Suratt stars in the marital drama “The Immigrant”.
GET YOUR COPY OF PHILADELPHIA: THE WORLD WAR I YEARS BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW.