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:
