As the new year approaches, we at PhilaPlace turn to what Joe Figurski of 2nd & Carpenter calls “Memories of Mummery.”  Joe is a parade veteran, having first marched with a comic club in 1944 when he was 10 years old — “they gave you a hot dog, a dollar, and a soda.”  Joe joined the Fralinger String Band as an accordion player when he was 13 years old and marched with them for almost 40 years.  After a few years off, Joe resumed strutting for the Hegeman String Band in 1998 and says “I’m going to do this as long as my feet take me up the street.”  Here’s Joe back in the day, when he marched for Fralinger:

Joe sharing his “memories of Mummery” at a 2007 Historical Society event

You can read about Mummers history, and watch interviews with Palma Lucas of  the Mummers Museum and John Lucas of the Golden Sunrise Fancy Division on PhilaPlace.org.

We’re also posting some photos of past Mummers parades here on this blog in the hopes that you will contribute your own “memories of mummery” to PhilaPlace.org.  Whether you are Mummer or a civilian strutter, whether you’re from Two Street or South Jersey, we want your photos and stories about your Mummers Parade experience!  Just go to any page on PhilaPlace.org and click the “Add a Story” icon to share your memories.

Comics

New Year’s Day, 2nd & Fernon, 1977. Donated by Barb Galyean

Mummers sewing their costumes, from the December 1964 Inquirer Sunday Magazine

A Comic adjusting his brassiere