Continuation of Lyle (Corky) Larkin remembers:
Halloween was always a very festive time in our neighborhood, we had a beautiful parade that completely closed Frankford Avenue from the Ruan St. fire station (which used to be the home for the “Philly Boy’s Club”) just north of the Frankford and Kensington Ave. split to Bridge Street which by the way was also the end of the line for the “El”. There were beautifully decorated floats, people dressed as cowboys and Indians on horseback, jugglers, acrobats, mounted police, etc. They would march down the Avenue past thousands of people standing at the curb, trying not to let one pass without their seeing them. During this time, people were more than generous in giving out treats. I can remember going out with my friends and coming home several times with filled shopping bags (from either the Penn Fruit or the A&P stores) and going right out again, sometime finishing up with as many as 5 filled bags. The parades stopped about 1950 and it seems as though the people started asking us while trick or treating, “do I know you” or “are you from this block?” At this point the loot went downhill to maybe quarters of a bag on a good night.
To be continued…
