Yes, there is controversy surrounding the Mummers Parade this year.
And yes, incredibly, it involves blackface. We covered that here.
But there also is a great, uplifting story tied to this year's strut - and it has a strong Delaware County connection.
One year after losing three members of their Mummers family, the South Philadelphia String Band took top honors at this year's parade.
It was in the early morning hours of Jan. 2 last year, just hours after the 2019 parade, that a car carrying four people connected to South Philly String Band was slammed into by a driver from Delaware who was trying to evade police.
Joseph Ferry, ,36, was killed, as was his fiancee Kelly Wiseley, 35, of Glenolden. Another passenger, Dennis Palandro, 31, of Morton, also was killed. His wife was badly injured. Palandro and Ferry were members of South Philly String Band. Palandro's father, Denny, is the captain of the parade.
Yesterday, Denny Palandro said the group was marching in the memory of those they lost.
They wore T-shirts under their Mummers regalia emblazoned with the initials of their loved ones.
The Palandro-Ferry Memorial Foundation, which was set up a day after the crash, continues to provide monetary scholarships and goodwill among the Philadelphia Mummers community in memory of the three loved ones lost in the crash.
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