RESEARCH BRIEFS

Research provided by Mike Poniatowicz - October 27, 2026

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​              Now that autumn is here and the start of winter is becoming more of a reality the Conshohocken Historical Society has been researching the many autumn and winter Conshohocken traditions.  Most of the information used in this article was obtained from archival copies of the Conshohocken Recorder which was a Conshohocken newspaper published from 1869 until 2009.

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         The Conshohocken autumn tradition which is probably the most well-known is the Halloween Parade.  The origin of this parade can be traced to the 1940s and although its form has changed thru the years this parade continues to be a Conshohocken tradition to the present day.

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          Prior to 1920 there was hardly any mention in the Recorder about Halloween.  From about 1920 until 1946 there were small articles about Halloween but the celebration was seen as more of a non-town sponsored holiday.  The Recorder describes any number of private Halloween parties in great detail (who were the guests, what costumes they were wearing, etc.) but no mention of any town sponsored parade. Many civic organizations (churches, scouts, etc.) celebrated Halloween with their own parties.  Interestingly there were a number of articles about mischief night (which was called “gate night”) but most of these articles refer to the either the control or consequences of the deeds which occurred on gate night.  Amusedly I found one article where a teenager was brought before a judge to explain his actions of soaping windows on gate night.  After the hearing the teenager agreed to clean the soaped windows and the judge agreed, since no permanent damage had been done, to just forget that anything happened.

 

          After World War II in 1947 the Conshohocken Chamber of Commerce organized the first town sponsored Halloween parade.  It was a very big event and open to anyone in the town who wished to participate.  It was front page news in the Recorder as thousands lined the streets to view the parade.  Divisions were organized in a similar fashion to today’s Philadelphia Mummers parade and although these divisions shifted over the years, they generally were categorized as follows: Fancy Division, Impersonators, Comics and Clowns, Youngest, Floats, and Adults.  Awards for costumes (which also shifted throughout the years) were given for Best Dressed Couple, Most Original Costume, Best Group, Most Unusual Costume, and Best Decorated Bicycles.  The initial parade route started at First Avenue, marched up Fayette Street to Second Avenue, back down Fayette Street, across the Schuylkill River bridge to West Conshohocken, and then back across the bridge to a judges stand on First Avenue.

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         The Conshohocken Halloween parade was held yearly with the exception of 1949 which was cancelled because of a polio epidemic.  In many of the parades the St. Matthews all girls band, which was sponsored by St Matthews roman catholic parish in Conshohocken, participated in the parade.  During some years the parades ended at Washington Fire Company on West Elm Street with an outdoor dance and party.

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          Below are pictures of the various parade participants and winners from 1947 thru 1958.