Louis B. Lomax 1849 - 1934 Commander of Wilde Post, No. 29, Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Soldier participated in many civic parades in Chester.
Soldiers marching down 3rd street in Chester during a civic parade. Unknown date.
THE KID
Herman Shooster - Growing up with two older brothers left little room to socialize with their friends. To them, I was just the kid. My big brother, Iz, was a very warm and friendly guy. Harry, on the other hand, was always a bit more annoyed by his little brother. In so many ways I felt like I was an only child. Harry used to pin all kinds of sports post- ers from the newspaper on the walls of his room. After he got married and moved out, I inherited that room. I took his stuff down and put up my own; A Chester High School pennant, and some newspaper clippings of my heroes, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig. Izzy, meanwhile, never left our home as long as I lived there. His room was at the end of the hall. Money was always tight, so I’m sure living at home kept his expenses down. One of the most exciting events in my neigh- borhood was the Fourth of July parade. It went directly down 3rd Street right past my front door! I will never forget those parades. During one of them, I noticed it was led by a few old soldiers from the Civil War. Ponder that! [70 years prior] In 2013, we searched the Internet and found a newspaper article regarding those parades. That is how I learned the name of the Civil War soldier
who led those parades, Luis Lomax. He was from Marcus Hook, about two miles from Chester. Those parades were always full of excite- ment. Fire engines, marching bands, and veterans from all the wars, each in full uniform, marched through Chester. Full of fanfare, it was quite a thrilling spectacle for everyone. Civic parades weren’t the only excitement rolling down my usually quiet street. When the Barnum and Bailey Circus came to our town, they caused quite a ruckus, too. That is when I saw elephants as big as houses walking down the middle of my road, followed by colorful fancy trailers. The whole procession was flanked with circus people costumed and interacting with the people on the street. When the circus came to town, you couldn’t keep me away. I used to hang out there the whole day with my friends. I have no clue how I got in. I had no money, but I do recall seeing all the shows. I must have done a few odd jobs to earn admis- sion. Those were the good ol’ days at their best. Most days were nothing like this. Winter was dreadfully cold and dreary. Sometimes the snow- drifts were stacked over my head. Huge walls of snow ended up flanking the sidewalks as the winter drove on lasting for weeks.
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