William E. Lickfeld

WILLIAM ERNST LICKFELD was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to William H. Lickfeld and his wife, the former Emma Gaebler. The 1880 Census shows William and Emma Lickfeld living in Philadelphia, where he operated a saloon. William and Emma Lickfeld lived in Pennsylvania through at least May of 1888. Three other children followed, Emma, Frederick and Agnes. Sadly, Emma passed before her first birthday.

The 1900 Census shows William H. Lickfeld and his family living at 454 Academy Street in Glassboro, New Jersey, where he operated a hotel. The family included sons William E. and Frederick, and a daughter, Agnes.

By 1906 William Lickfeld Sr. had moved to Camden where he operated a bar at 200 Mickle Street. The family was living at 425 Stevens Street. Sadly, Fred Lickfeld passed away at the age of 19 on June 21, 1907. The following July, William Lickfeld Sr. sold his business at 200 Mickle Street to Harry Wein. By 1910 and most likely sooner William H. Lickfeld had acquired the saloon at 818 Broadway which had been owned and operated from 1892 through 1906 by Nicholas Dillon. With the help of son William E. Lickfeld, he operated the saloon until his death on February 7, 1919 at the age of 69.

After his family moved to Camden, William E. Lickfeld became an active member of the Alpha Club, a social club of young men, many of who lived in South Camden. Standing over 6 foot in height, William Lickfeld was a member of the Alpha Club’s basketball team during the 1900s.

William E. Lickfeld married Ruby Royal Twoes in 1908. The young couple lived with his parents at 818 Broadway as late as September of 1918. Their first son, William Alpha Lickfeld, was born in Camden in 1911. Another son, Frederick E. Lickfeld, was born in 1916.

The Lickfeld family kept the saloon open into 1920 but by 1924 were no longer running the business. Emma Lickfeld retained ownership of the property into the 1930s.

By 1924 William E. Lickfeld Jr. and his wife and children had moved around the corner from the bar to 567 Spruce Street. With saloon work at a standstill due to Prohibition, he worked as a laborer. Ruby Lickfeld worked as a saleswoman at the Ladies Bazaar women’s wear shop at 713 Broadway, owned by Louis Wishnefsky. The Lickfelds were still living at 567 Spruce Street as late as April of 1930. At that time William E. Lickfeld Jr. was working as a matrix setter at the RCA-Victor factory in Camden.

William E. Lickfeld’s sister Agnes M. Lickfeld died in 1931 and was buried with their brother and father at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia. His mother, Emma Gaebler Lickfeld, joined them in March of 1936.

By 1933 John Pennington had begun operating the bar at 818 Broadway, and continued to do so into the 1950s. William E. Lickfeld Jr. went back to work as a bartender at what was his father’s saloon at 818 Broadway and was still there as 1946.

William Alpha Lickfeld married Evelyn Hill in 1934. Frederick E. Lickfeld was married in 1939. By 1940 William and Ruby Lickfeld had moved to 549 Washington Street, where his mother had lived for many years after moving out of 818 Broadway in the early 1920s.

The 1947 Camden City Directory shows William and Ruby Lickfeld living at 543 Washington Street. He and his wife later moved to 416 Bailey Street in North Camden, where they lived with his son William Alpha Lickfeld, his wife, the former Evelyn Hill, and their children.

William E. Lickfeld passed away in 1953 at the age of 72. He was buried at Arlington Cemetery in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

Reed Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

October 14, 1900

1900s

December 1909

William A. Lickfeld

1910s — Alpha Club Activities

Holly Beach, N.J., 1911

David Duffy and Mrs. Mary Parker Lead the Grand March of 100 Couples

Andy Maguire Floor Manager

To the inspiring strains of Olin Wright’s orchestra, David Duffy, as grand conductor, and Mrs. Mary E. Parker, of Gloucester, led the grand march of over one hundred couples at last night’s fourth annual ball amid a scene of social splendor and gaiety of the Bartenders’ International Union No. 263. That genial gentleman, Andy Maguire was in charge of the festivities and that capable policeman, “Buck” Taylor, along with Phil Knauff, John Gilbert, “Kid” Begley, Sergeant Pete Stow preserved the best of order, in fact there was no disorder, everybody being in good humor and out for a good time.

The officers of the ball are as follows:

Grand conductor, David Duffy; assistant grand conductor, James Martin; floor managers, John McNulty, Claude Reinwick, John Brosel.

Officers—David Duffy, president; James Martin, vice-president; William Dischert, secretary-treasurer; Anthony F. Petry, recording secretary; William Stetler, chaplain; Michael Flynn, inspector; Matthew Flanagan, inside guard; William Sultzbach, press agent; Harry Wible, business agent.

Ball Committee—Harry Wible, chairman; Anthony Petry, secretary, William Dischert, treasurer.

Trustees—Philip Gorman, chairman; Harry Neutze, William Lickfeld.

Executive Board—Harry Wible, chairman; Philip Gorman, George A. Koehler, William Dischert, Anthony Petry.

Printing Committee—Alex. Weill, chairman.

Refreshment Committee—Philip Gorman, chairman.

Police Committee—Matthew Flanagan.

Delegates to Central Labor Union—Andrew J. McGuire, John Kelly, Daniel Whalen.

It being St. Patrick’s Day, the colors of old Erin, even to Mrs. Neutze giving away green eggs at her hospitable lunch table, predominated, and the full moon like a big yellow chunk of cheese, was hanging amid the twinkling stars on the western horizon when Ball Chairman Harry Wible left the festal ball with a grip full of the coin of the realm.

Official Journal of the Hotel & Restaurant Employees International Alliance & Bartenders International League of America

Dear Sir And Brother—

Another good report from Local 263: One of the largest crowds that has ever assembled in Eagles Home, 415 Broadway, participated in our fifth annual ball, which was held Friday evening, February 16. From every standpoint the affair was the most brilliant ever held by the local. It was estimated that about 1,400 persons attended. The dining hall was handsomely decorated with practically the same trimmings that featured the Hebrew Ladies’ Aid Community Hall, which were considered the prettiest that ever graced the walls. Through grotesquely carved swinging lanterns came the soft, pink rays of light, making the scene a handsome one. There were thirty-two dance numbers on the program, eight more than the usual number. The couples started to dance early, and “early” in the morning they were still at it, whirling about the floor, and keeping time with the strains of music rendered by Olin Wright’s famous orchestra. There was no grand march this year, the feature being eliminated because of the density of the crowd.

The ball committee was composed of the following: John H. Riddle, grand conductor; William Lickfeld, assistant conductor: John J. Coffey, John McNulty and Edward Steigerwald, floor managers; Charles Brown, Andrew Maguire, Frank Brewer, Joseph Mulvihill and Jesse Sawyer.

The following are the officers of Local 263: President, Philip J. Gorman; vice-president, William D. Potter; secretary-treasurer, William Dischert; recording secretary, Anthony F. Petry; chaplain, Andrew Maguire; inspector, Joseph Pierce; inside guard, Matthew Flanagan; trustees, Alexander Weill, Henry Neutze and John T. Kelly; press agent, William Sultzbach.

We held our regular semi-monthly meeting Sunday, February 18th, and the report of the ball committee showed it the grandest success of anything ever undertaken by the local. One new member was initiated and we are working hard to have every bar unionized.

William Sultzbach, Press Agent, Local 263

Wildwood — Late 1920s

Wildwood — Late 1920s

William E. & William A. Lickfeld — circa 1930

Fred E. Lickfeld — circa 1930

William A. & Joyce Lickfeld

William E. Lickfeld Jr. & Family — 1940s

The Lickfeld Women — 1940s

Thanks to Karen Whyte, great-great-granddaughter of William E. Lickfeld, and Evelyn Hayes, granddaughter of William E. Lickfeld, for their help in creating this page.