Today in Delaware County history, July 6

100 Years Ago, 1924: Joseph Walker, 15 years old, of McCormick Avenue, Ridley Park, suffered an injury to his right hand about 7 o’clock Friday evening, while playing with a dynamite cap in celebration of the glorious Fourth. The boy was attempting to explode the dynamite cap by pounding on it with a rock. When the cap failed to go off after persistent hammering, Walker picked it up and it exploded, blowing off the ends of his four fingers of his right hand. The boy was taken to the Taylor Hospital, where he underwent treatment for his injury.

75 Years Ago, 1949: The mercury climbed to the summer’s peak of 100 degrees on Tuesday to equal the record for the date set in 1919. Two deaths in the county were attributed to the heat and two heat exhaustion victims were treated at Chester Hospital. A severe electrical storm, which arrived in the Chester area about midnight, caused considerable damage. A series of seven fires touched off through the Chester area and kept fire companies busy last night and early this morning, and resulted in injuries to three firemen.

50 Years Ago, 1974: A brief but vicious summer thunderstorm flashed through Delaware County on Friday afternoon. High winds blew trees into electric wires, knocking out power to Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park for an hour. Lightning struck a church and doctor’s office in Marple. And rain-dampened chlorine crystals turned into a dangerous gas that sent eight persons at Paxon Hollow Country Club in Marple to nearby hospitals. Only one person was ultimately admitted.

25 Years Ago, 1999: In response to a petition from parents of Glenolden School students, the Interboro School Board agreed to hire another teacher and open a fourth, third-grade class beginning in September. Interboro in May hired third-grade teachers at Prospect Park and Norwood after receiving money from the federal Class Size Reduction Initiative program. Parents countered that the 28-student class size at Glenolden was much higher than other schools in the district.

10 Years Ago, 2014: Two proposed projects at Media’s western gateway could change the face and perception of the county seat. David Della Porta of Cornerstone Communities and Jason Duckworth of Arcadia Land Co. appeared at council’s July work session, allowing architect Bob Linn to present site plans for a four-story, 150-unit apartment building on the south side Baltimore Pike, just east of Brooke Street, and a companion project of 22 townhouses on the north side of Baltimore Pike yards from the end of State Street. They came away from the meeting with encouraging comments from the board.

— COLIN AINSWORTH