8. The Story Behind the Wishbones on the Chandelier

On the former gas chandelier that hangs in McSorley’s, you’ll find wishbones left by soldiers leaving for World War I. Soldiers who eventually returned would collect their wishbones, so the ones that remain were left by the fallen. The tradition has actually continued, with wishbones of those who went to Iraq and Afghanistan. Matthew Maher, who has worked at McSorley’s since 1964 and the third in his family to run the bar, told the New York Times in 2011 that the tradition actually began during the Civil War.

The wishbones look pretty spick and span at this time, as they get regularly dusted due to pressure from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. But prior to that, they had been left in situ, gathering thick layers of dust (as you can see in this New York Times photograph). Maher saved the dust in a container and keeps it in a container at his home in Queens, a sacred memoriam to the lost soldiers.