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Happy 334th, Philly. Sorry about the blimp

    by Aubrey Whelan, Staff Writer
    Published 

Under the dirigible, thousands of people gathered in town and boatloads of dignitaries filled the streets, including President Ulysses S. Grant's son, by then a general in his own right, but we were obsessed with the blimp. Obsessed. It was a front-page story for the entire week. The newspaper suggested that excitement over its arrival nearly caused a riot. Dozens of column inches were devoted to recreating, in minutiae, every dip and turn The Inquirer Airship made around City Hall.

Time is a flat circle.

“The tide has turned, the first trench has been taken and ‘the gigantic forces of depression are in retreat,’” the Inquirer quoted Hoover as saying.

"But dreamers are never really discouraged," the board wrote. "And dreamers who are practical people know that problems can be solved if you work at it."

Happy 334th, Philly, you City of Dreams, you. Apologies for not getting you a blimp this time -- but 335 isn't too far away.