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To the Editor:
I definitely agree with the article I just read about the parade moving uptown (“The year without the parade,” Jan. 1).
I was born at Methodist Hospital in 1937, and grew up on Broad and Shunk streets, where some of the string bands would form. My mom would also make her famous bean soup for family. We were definitely South Philly people.
I especially enjoyed the block parties on the 2600 block of South 15th Street, where some of the Quaker City boys lived. A string band always livened up a party.
The fronts of the row houses were lined with tables of food and drinks, and since Oregon Avenue and Shunk Street were blocked off, there was plenty of dancing in the streets.
I was very found of the Quail family. Bobby Quail was a left-handed banjo player, as I remember, in the front line of Quaker City, and a good friend of my brother Bob. He went on to raise a huge bunch of kids who played musical instruments and sang, and I do believe they still perform together.
Thank you for the nice article. It brought back a lot of memories. Even though at my age, memories are sometimes hard to come by.
Kathleen Dieter Tustin
South Philadelphia
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