(Thanksgiving in 1911)

From at least the early part of the twentieth century until about the early 1960’s, Brooklyn children celebrated a curious custom on Thanksgiving morning. While Mom was cooking the turkey, kids would put on old, over-size, ragged clothes—usually belonging to one of their parents— and go door to door with small hands outstretched begging for pennies, apples or candy chanting “Anything for Thanksgiving?” The kids sometimes used burnt cork on their faces or wore masks to make themselves look more like ragamuffins while begging for change (see 1911 Thanksgiving photo, “Scrambling for Pennies,” in the G.C. Bain collection). The tradition may have had European roots—and Brooklyn, with a large European immigrant population, became a major borough for a custom that seemed largely limited to New York City neighborhoods and mostly unknown outside of the city. In Betty Smith’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” for instance, Francie participates in the Thanksgiving tradition in Williamsburg, donning a mask.

In the early days of the tradition, “Ragamuffin” parades were held and children dressed in more elaborate costumes as well as the more tattered ones. The parades became a chance for the poorer immigrants to march through the street in extravagant costumes. More organized parades were established in 1923 by a director of the Madison Square Boys Club for the sole purpose of discouraging begging on the holiday among the youth of the city. An item in the New York Times of November 25, 1938 notes that eight year old Frank Manino came dressed as the mayor (“Fiorello”) and others impersonated John L. Lewis and Thomas E. Dewey, with the piece de resistance was “Ferdinand the Bull.” The first prize of a 15 lb. turkey went to an 11 year old boy dressed as a scarecrow.

The parade lives on in Bay Ridge’s annual Ragamuffin Parade, now held in late September or early October. Indeed, the tradition of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade may hark back to the European tradition of ragamuffin parades. The custom died out after trick-or-treating became more popular after World War II, though it still existed into the 1960’s in some neighborhoods. An attached photo shows the author (Ruth Edebohls) circa1947 in her “Ragamuffin Bride” outfit on Thanksgiving Day, standing on the stoop of her parent’s delicatessen on the corner of 18th Street & 7th Avenue (now part of the Prospect Expressway).

Wishing everyone a Happy – and Hopeful – Thanksgiving!

(Thanksgiving, 1947)

(Ruth Edebohls is the Coordinator of Urban Tours at the Center for the Urban Environment. To learn more about the Center visit us at www.thecue.org.)