Charles Zullinger is shown marching southward in the York Mummers Parade on January 1, 1909. The view is of buildings, numbered 1 through 19, along the east side of South George Street. Zullinger's costume cost $5,000 and 30-pages, in colonial attire, hold up his massive cape and train embroidered with white roses. (Zoomed in section of postcard 48028.006P in Collection of York County History Center)
When York held a Mummers Parade
New Years Day of 1909 marked the initial Mummers Parade in York, Pennsylvania. Charles Zullinger’s costume cost $5,000 and 30-pages, in colonial attire, were required to hold up his massive cape and train embroidered with white roses. A postcard was printed showing them marching on South George Street.
After discovering my post about the 1914 Mummers Parade in Dallastown, Julie Abel inquired how many communities in York County held those type parades. The only Mummers discoveries, in the files of the York County History Center, were two postcards of a Mummers Parade in York City; one of which is shown above.
A search, via Newspapers.com, revealed details about that postcard. It was from the initial Mummers Parade held in York on New Years Day of 1909. Charles Zullinger’s entry was the top prize-winner. His costume cost $5,000 and 30-pages, in colonial attire, were required to hold up his massive cape and train embroidered with white roses. A postcard was published by Wallick’s News Stand showing them marching on South George Street.
The newspaper search revealed York, Hanover, Dallastown, Dover, and possibly more York County communities held Mummers Parades sporadically between 1909 and the late 1920s. The Great Depression likely resulted in the demise of Mummers events in York County.
To understand where the photo in the postcard was taken, the Sievers & Devers business was the best clue. Per a 1907 Directory of York, they were located at 17 South George Street. And next door, Charles Beck’s Cigars, Billiards and Pool business was at 15 South George Street. So the postcard shows the east side of South George Street in a view looking northward.
The following are THEN & NOW views of buildings numbered 1 through 19, along the east side, of South George Street in York, Pa.
If one does not have businesses or house numbers visible in old photos, the use of present Google Street Views is another way to determine location. Often a unique architectural feature or patterns of windows will match to determine the location as one travels along a roadway in Street View mode.
Route of the 1909 York Mummers Parade
The route of the 1909 York Mummers Parade included large sections of the downtown. Market Street was marched between Hartley Street and Queen Street. George Street was marched between North Street and College Avenue. To tie those streets together, smaller sections of intersecting streets were on the route: Three blocks of both Philadelphia Street and Beaver Street were marched. And one block of each: King Street, Duke Street, Queen Street and College Avenue were marched.
A 1908 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map is used to indicate camera viewpoint for the 1909 and 2024 photos of buildings at 1 through 19 South George Street in York, Pa.
Sievers & Devers Jewelry business
The principals in the jewelry business at 17 South George Street were Christian A. Sievers and Philip K. Devers. A newspaper article recalling the early history of Sievers & Devers noted, “Every Monday Mr. Devers, fortified with a hand crank, went to the court house to wind the clockworks that operated tower clocks. It was a heavy piece of machinery, but Mr. Devers had thought of a method, which helped him considerably in his task. He merely invited bystanders to prove their strength by winding the clock. When there were sufficient suckers in the crowd, his task diminished to practically nothing.”
In his book Jake: The General from West York Avenue, Michael A. Markey noted that for two or three years, Philip K. Devers’ son, Jake, accompanied his father on his weekly visits to maintain the courthouse clock. This timing was likely between 1900 and 1905, since future four-star General Jacob “Jake” Loucks Devers started his enrollment at West Point in the summer of 1905.
Charles Beck’s Cigars, Billiards and Pool business
An interior photo of Charles Beck’s Cigars, Billiards and Pool business at 15 South George Street appears in the advertisement section of the 1907 Directory of York. Charles Beck was one of the York businessmen providing Mummers Parade prizes, which may have influenced the location where the postcard photo was taken.
As one enters the business, the left wall contains the selection of cigars and the right wall has at least 8-shoe shine stations. The billiards and pool tables are in the back room.
Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos and illustrations in this post.
Links to related posts:
When Dallastown held a New Year’s Mummer’s Parade
Daylight Savings with a Devers connection
Reading the Headlines: A Quick Index to All YorksPast Posts
