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 – SATURDAY MAY 5, 1917
There will be more rain today with temperatures on the cool side. The high will be about 45° and the low 41°. It is Straw Hat Day in Philadelphia. Today throughout the city men adorn themselves with new spring/summer headgear. The toppers come in all types including Sennets, Canton Splits, Leghorns, Panamas, Milans and Porto Ricans. Those wearing the hats of winter are mocked and on occasion derbies have been taken from their owners and dispatched violently. Unfortunately the weather has put a damper, so to speak, on the usual festivities at Franklin Filed where Penn was to meet Brown in baseball. The game is usually the center of the male head fashion exposition on this day but the rain forced postponement.
Robert E. Glendinning of this city has been commissioned a major in the aviation section of the Officers Reserve Corps of the army. Mr. Glendinning is a well-known banker, aviator and founder of the Philadelphia School of Aviation at Essington. Major Glendinning is undoubtedly the foremost aviator in Philadelphia and one of the national leaders in promoting air service for use in practical ways. Philadelphians will remember how on March 22nd he “bombed” center city from his aeroplane to show the city’s vulnerability to air attack. Mr. Glendinning previously served with the First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry during the Spanish-American War.
Robert Glendinning
In entertainment this weekend, today is the final day for the Barnum & Bailey Circus at 19th & Hunting Park Avenue. And the Fairmount Park Band, with director Richard Schmidt and Contralto Miss Edna Wallace Kinney, is in concert in the afternoon and evening at Woodside Park. The park also features brand new amusements and attractions.
On stage at the Casino, 8th & Walnut, the Hip Hip Hooray Girls with Benn Pierce are a musical and comedy delight. And at B.F. Keith’s, 12 & Chestnut, the incomparable Sophie Tucker with her 5 kings of syncopation close out their engagement. On the motion picture screen, at the Arcadia, 16th & Chestnut, Douglas Fairbanks stars in the jailhouse comedy “In Again – Out Again”. At the Strand, Germantown Avenue & Venango, Norma Talmadge stars in “The Law of Compensation”. And at the Broadway, Broad & Snyder, William Farnum stars in the dramatic love story “American Methods”.
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