(Digital Image. Photograph Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Photograph and Text, Copyright (c) 2013 Cynthia Shenette) Several weeks ago I posted a photo of a group where many of the young ladies (and one gentleman) were wearing bows. I thought the photo seemed a little funny at the time with everyone wearing similar hair bows. I decided to go back and take another look at the page in the album in which the original photo appears. The parade photos in this post appear next to the bow photo in the previous post. On reflection my guess is all the photos were taken on the same day at the same event. Apparently the people in the photos were involved in a parade in Worcester, MA.
The parade route was heading north on Main St. in Worcester. You can see Worcester City Hall in the background on the left in the top photo along with a long line of ladies carrying parasols. The photo looks as if it was taken from one of the taller buildings on Main St. along the parade route. The bottom photo is a close up shot of several of the young ladies in which you can clearly see them holding parasols and wearing neck bows! My guess is the parade photos were taken earlier in the day, and the photo of them wearing the bows in their hair was taken after the parade, possibly at a post-parade picnic. Also interesting is the Slater Building in the background of the bottom photo. If you zoom in you can clearly see "Slater Building" above the arcade sign.
One mystery for Mystery Photo #21 is partly solved. I think I now know why everyone had the same bow in their hair. Now I want to know what the parade was for or about. It looks like the same group, so the marchers probably represented St. Mary's Church in the parade. The parade happened during the warmer months, maybe spring because the ladies are wearing light/white dresses. The photo was probably taken in either 1916, 1917 or 1918. My grandfather, Adolf Szerejko, was in the army by spring of 1918, and he is in Mystery Photo #21 . Some of the business signs along the parade route are clearly identifiable. It may be possible to narrow down the date further with additional research in city directories.
If you recognize anyone in either Mystery Photo #21 or Mystery Photo #23 or have some information about the parade I'd love to hear from you!
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