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 – MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 1916

There will be fair skies over the city today with moderate winds from the southeast. The high will reach near 52° with the low tonight about 34°.

In local news, 150 boys and girls of the George Washington Public School, 5^th & Federal Streets, will receive certificates this evening entitling them to admission to high school. The ceremony will take place at the Furness school, 3^rd & McKean Streets. The fight for a “dry” Germantown begins this evening. A temperance rally will be held tonight at the Germantown Y.M.C.A. Church leaders from Germantown, Chestnut Hill, Olney and Logan will be on hand to support the local option which gives each district or ward the right to prohibit the sale of alcohol within its boundaries.

This will be a gay week on the social scene, especially for the younger set. Beginning tonight at the Bellevue-Stratford a dance and buffet will be held for the Monday Evening Junior Cotillion. Tomorrow night Mr. and Mrs. James Francis Sullivan will host a supper-dance for Miss Bessie Downs and Miss Sarah Penrose, two of this season’s most lovely debutants.  Mrs. William Rotch Wister will receive informally at her home, 1112 Spruce Street, this afternoon. No cards have been sent out. Also receiving this afternoon are Mrs. Philip Mercer Rhinelander, 251 South 22^nd Street and Mrs. Lawrence Johnson, 1227 Spruce Street. And it was announced that Mrs. William G. Cochran, 2127 Sansom Street will be leaving for Europe today for several weeks.

In sports, invitations to the University of Pennsylvania relay carnival have been sent and it’s expected that this year’s meet will be the largest track event ever held in the United States. Invitations were sent to 177 colleges and it’s expected that over 330 teams will participate. The carnival is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 28^th and 29^th at Franklin field.  In basketball, the University of Pennsylvania team leads the Intercollegiate League by 1 ½ games followed by Princeton and Yale who are tied for 2^nd. Cornell, Dartmouth and Columbia bring up the rear. In the public high school league, South Philadelphia and Central High are tied for the lead followed by Northeast and West Philadelphia.

WAR NEWS

There are now reports that Montenegro has not surrendered and its army is fighting back against the Austrians. There were previous reports that King Nicholas had been persuaded by his advisers to seek peace with Austria but once the terms of such a peace were received the King rejected them. Under the surrender Austria would have turned Montenegro into a vassal state. Something the King and the army could not tolerate. The Queen of Montenegro, Milena and her two daughters arrived today in France. The King remains in Montenegro with his sons.

GET YOUR COPY OF PHILADELPHIA: THE WORLD WAR I YEARS BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW.