Question: Although they had been invented in the early 1800s, bicycles did not become popular until much later. The early ones were heavy and dangerous. Pictured here is a six-man tandem cycle that belonged to Lee Mathewson of Canton Street. What do you know about this photo?
Last week’s answer: Last week’s photo was taken at Mercer Park the evening of Wednesday, July 9, 1947, as Baldwinsville Mayor W. Dalton Brooks placed a crown upon the head of Mary Woods. Miss Woods had been chosen “Miss Centennial,” queen of the village’s centennial celebration, a five day extravaganza that ran from July 8 through 12.
The queen’s court included (left to right) Norma Harkins, Evelyn Griebno, Johanna Fuess, Katherine Kinslow and Josephine Di Toro. A special throne had been erected in Mercer Park at the river’s edge, from which the queen and her court would have front row seats to view the water carnival, a grand production that included music, diving and surfboard exhibitions, outboard motor races, swimming races, and an elaborate water pageant featuring “the mammoth production of King Neptune with his Mermaids.” The carnival concluded with a lavish fireworks display. The festivities that evening drew visitors from Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Oneida, Oswego, Fulton and Cortland.
In the June 12, 1947, issue of the Messenger, all village residents were invited to nominate candidates for the royal court. Nominees were limited to single girls over the age of 16 who resided within the Baldwinsville postal district. Nomination ballot boxes were located at the Cozy Corner, Gates Genesee Food store and Rury’s store. The nominees who received the greatest number of ballots would be asked to submit photographs. The selection of the queen and her five attendants would be made by a panel of “non-resident judges comprised of a photographer, an artist and a dramatist. Beautiful costumes will be furnished for the queen and her court.”
Carroll E. O’Herin chaired the events of that evening and Raymond McCarthy was the overall chairman of the five-day celebration that marked Baldwinsville’s 100 years as an incorporated village.
Mary Dow called us with the correct answer. She was able to correctly identify everyone in the photo.
Contact Editor Sarah Hall at [email protected] or leave a message at 434-8889 ext. 310 with your guess by 5 p.m. Friday (please leave the information in the message; we are not generally able to return calls regarding History Mystery responses). If you are the first person to correctly identify an element in the photo, your name and guess will appear in next week’s Messenger, along with another History Mystery feature. History Mystery is a joint project of the Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse and the Baldwinsville Public Library.
