African American Picnic Sylvan Beach New York 1941 Black Americana Poster
Scarce advertising poster for an annual picnic for Black Americans in Sylvan Beach, New York. Sylvan Beach is on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake (near Rome and Syracuse, NY). The picnic was held for many years. An article as far back as July 22, 1886 in the Rome, NY Daily Sentinel advertises the event. The picnics stopped by the mid to late 1950s.
They attracted Black Americans from all over the region and were large festive occasions with food, games, rides, fishing, music, etc. The poster contains 29 advertisements for businesses supporting the event. Frog legs must have been a favorite in the region as they are advertised in 7 different ads. Based on a variety of information on the poster, I believe this poster dates to 1941.
July 31 fell on a Thursday in 1930, 1941, 1947 and 1952. The 1930, 1947, and 1952 are ruled out for the following reasons.. (Patrick Joseph) Dwyer is listed as the proprietor of the Shamrock Restaurant. Newspaper records list him as proprietor of the Shamrock starting in 1940. Previous to that, as late as 1936, the proprietor was a relative named Jerhmiara Dwyer.
Dwyer died in September of 1948. Florence Gawer is listed as the proprietor of the Gawer's Tavern. She is referenced in all local newspaper advertising by her maiden name, as on the poster, from 1936 to 1942. Starting in 1943, her married name, Florence Gawer Gates is listed. McCarthy, listed as proprietors of the Forest Home Hotel, are shown to be running that establishment from at least April 1940 to October 1944. By June 1946, the Forest Home Hotel was under the management of Bud McCarthy and Gene Aubeuf. Russell's Danceland, is advertised as Central New York's Newest and Largest Ballroom.An ad from the May 20, 1939 Rome, NY Daily Sentinel uses the exact same wordage to advertise the establishment so it's not unreasonable to assume it was still referenced this way a few years later in 1941. (Morris) Abbis is listed on the poster as proprietor of the Lake Shore Hotel. From 1939 to 1941, Mr. Abbis is shown in newspaper articles and ads as the proprietor of the Lake Shore. Abbis was running The Tavern in Oneida, NY.
In 1946, the proprietor of the Lake Shore was J. CONDITION: Good- with some light staining, a few scuffs, and 3 nail holes at the top center. There's a small hole at the upper left corner of the "Gawer's Tavern" ad. The 4 inch crease at the upper right corner has a 1 1/4 inch tear/separation at the top part of that crease.SIZE: Measures approximately 14 x 22 inches.