Balloon Parade, Eugene OR
Hey hey! Here's something extra fun for your Thanksgiving Eve (that's a thing, right?). GDB pal JB generously shared some photos from a Thanksgiving parade in Eugene, Oregon, sometime in the mid-1960s, he estimates. The photos were taken by his dad! And not only did JB provide the photos, but he wrote the text to accompany them, which was super nice and helpful. Here's JB:
This balloon parade rolled through my hometown- Eugene, Oregon sometime in the mid 1960s. I was probably 11 or 12 at the time and remember watching it. My dad was the photographer. Judging by the appearance of the trees lining the street, this parade took place sometime in the fall, maybe around Thanksgiving.
I had always assumed, even at the time, that these were early, 'retired' Macy's balloons; maybe from the 1930s. But after a couple of hours searching online I couldn't find any images of Macy's balloons that matched these. So I broadened my search to include other parades from other cities. I eventually found a couple of images that matched!
Turns out, these balloons were in the 1956 Seattle Santa Claus parade. (Probably other years as well.) They (and many other things) are chronicled in the book "Seattle Now & Then"- by Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard. HERE is the author's web page where I found this info.
The author writes:
"The Santa parades typically featured the region’s best high school marching bands and the parade’s stars, giant balloons representing classic cartoon characters and monsters – the shapes most likely to thrill the kids, many of whom were also dressed in costumes. (We imagine, only, that the balloons were recycled from one of the east coast department store parades, like Macy’s in New York City.)... The 1956 parade features a dozen bands and forty balloons or “Novelty Units.”"
Apparently, these balloons were never intended to 'fly', being strapped onto rolling platforms instead. I'm guessing the platforms seen in these photos are the original ones from the '50s.
So, here is the parade as it appeared in Eugene, Oregon in the mid '60s:
At first I thought this was Paul Bunyan with his axe slung over his shoulder. But then I noticed that his 'axe' is actually a pitchfork (or rake). Which makes him a farmer. But which one? Most of the other slides in this group show different kinds of animal balloons. So I thought- Old MacDonald! (he had a farm, y'know. E-I-E-I-O). But some of the balloons didn't seem to match the song; there's a woman and a cat behind him. I don't think the song mentions either of those.
Then I noticed the words on the rolling platform he's anchored to. They're hard to read, but it says "Farmer In The Dell". Aha! Now, some of the other balloons make more sense.
The second verse of Farmer In The Dell goes:
The farmer takes a wife
The farmer takes a wife
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer takes a wife
And here she is! Looking all wifey and motherly with her kind eyes and flowery apron. She has just been to the chicken coop to gather a basketful of eggs... which look dangerously close to spilling out.
Behind her are the nurse and the child mentioned in the third and fourth verses. My dad didn't get any close-ups of them, so this will have to do. Actually, according to the song, the child should come before the nurse. Whoever organized the parade got the order wrong. HEADS WILL ROLL!
In the next verse of the song, we are introduced to the farmer's cow. With its long pointy horns and furrowed brow, this cow looks more like a bull to me. Maybe this balloon played a different role in a previous parade. Ferdinand, perhaps?
Next comes the farmer's faithful dog. At first I thought this was an orange cat. But there's another cat coming up behind him (you'll see it next). Makes no sense to have two cats in the parade. Then I noticed the long floppy ears on the orange critter... Oh! It's a dog! It does look very cat-like though. I bet it was a cat at some time and is now standing in as the dog.
And here is the aforementioned cat. A Siamese, no less! And behind the cat comes the mouse and the cheese (no close-ups of these) to complete the Farmer In The Dell song. The mouse looks decidedly rat-like, to me. I think this is another case of one balloon standing in for another.
We leave the Farmer and his entourage behind and move on to other balloons; like this stagecoach. It's being pulled by at least four sturdy horses, and a troop of sturdy Boy Scouts. Speaking of scouts- the inflated guy with the rifle is taking aim at what appears to be an 'injun' (sorry, those were the times) coming up behind the coach. At least I think it's one of our First Americans. It looks like he's wearing a feather headdress and riding a painted pony. This stagecoach is a pretty elaborate creation!
Next, switching themes entirely, we have this beautiful young lady, reclining on sumptuous cushions. I have to assume that she is Sleeping Beauty. She looks princess-y to me. Plus, she's wearing a crown or tiara. Oh, and she's got her eyes closed. Seems odd for Sleeping Beauty to be propped up on her belly with her hand on her chin. She's gonna be this way for a hundred years or so, after all. I suppose if the balloon makers had depicted her lying on her back, spectators wouldn't be able to see her sleeping face very well, and have a hard time telling who she was. I think that might be Prince Charming coming up behind her. Run prince, run! She's getting away!
Here we have an octopus smoking a pipe because, why not? He's got a crew of mighty sailing men tangled in his tentacles. I'm sure their skipper is brave and sure. The octopus is wearing a sailor's hat, I think. Sort of a nautical theme going on here. I bet those boys got their uniforms from the local Army/Navy Surplus store. They're about 8 sizes too big. They look like they're wearing straight jackets.
Here is the very same, pipe smoking, octopus as he made his way through downtown Seattle in 1956. This is one of the online photos I found that led me to discover the origin of these balloons. Photo courtesy of Paul Dorpat, from his web site.
Here's a nice close-up of a friendly-looking dragon. At least he looks friendly to me; he's smiling. Then again, crocodiles smile just before they eat you... that's why they're smiling. Perhaps this is The Reluctant Dragon. He didn't want to scare (or eat) anyone. He liked to read poetry.
And here, in this 1956 photo (by Paul Dorpat), we can see more of the dragon as he is carried, pulled, and pushed through downtown Seattle. This was another online photo I found that helped me track down where these balloons came from.
Finally, here is a short (40 seconds) YouTube video showing the last two balloons, and others, in the 1956 Seattle Santa Claus Parade:
I hope you enjoyed watching this balloon parade go by.
- JB (Jim Barr)
THANK YOU SO MUCH, JB! I absolutely love these balloon floats from that parade. What a great record of some classic Americana, they are the perfect appetizer for the big Thanksgiving holiday. I am very appreciative of your hard work and generosity, and I'm sure everyone else is too!
NOTE: Starting today I will be out of town for the next few days. As usual I won't have regular access to a computer, but will try to check in when I can, so leave those comments if you are so inclined
23 comments:
Wow, these are great!
The poor cheese! It doesn't get to "take" anything. Why? Because the cheese stands alone.
In that pic of Sleeping Beauty, is the Boy Scout out in front wearing hot pants? And in the middle of Oregon's chilly Fall? Maybe he knows the hot pants-wearing lady, hanging out in Fantasyland (from Major's November 4th post).
In that black and white octopus balloon pic, it looks like there is an explosion going off behind the Orpheum Theater sign, with some smoke and flying debris to complete the effect.
Today, the 1962 World's Fair Monorail track goes right through the middle of the intersection in those black and white pics, and there is now a Westin Hotel standing in the spot of the former Orpheum Theater.
In that video clip, the dragon/sea monster is going past the Coliseum Theater. That theater was built 1916. Fortunately it is still standing, but it is now a Banana Republic store. They did restore the building and kept many of the interior "theater" features, but it would have been nice to have it restored for use as a theater.
Thank you so much for sharing your personal family photos with us, JB!
Thankful Magic!
We had a toy soldier balloon about this size that would lead off the Holiday Parade in Bowling Green, Ohio from the early ‘90s at least through the early 2000s. It was the only giant balloon in that parade, though. This is pretty impressive.
Check out the people balanced on top of the chain link fence in the first three photos. I’m sure it was a great view, but even with that horizontal pole to lean against it can’t have been very comfortable.
When I learned “The Farmer in the Dell” when I was a wee laddie, the version we sang had a rat taking the cheese rather than a mouse, so that balloon makes total sense to me.
Boy Scouts in almost every photo, doing community service work by providing the prime movers for the balloon carriages. Warms my heart. Which is weird because I’m actually an AI construct.
Junior Gorillas, if the Seattle parade video isn’t coming through on your screen (my computer was actually trying to show me the Major’s Rainbow Falls video from last Saturday), try refreshing your web page and that should take care of it.
Thanks so much, JB! I hope you have more photos to share from Eugene. Do you have any taken along the riverfront? I feel that’s famous somehow, but I can’t remember why. Still - I could swear I’ve heard the phrase “Eugene Levy” somewhere.
I love how they didn’t even make anyone move their cars from the street. A Pontiac and a couple of plymouths, if my memory serves. But I’ve been wrong before.
I wonder how heavy these ballon’s were that they had to be on carts and some pulled with horses.
Wow, Thanks JB. Seeing those Boy Scout uniforms tweaked some memories.
I had a good time as a Scout, for a while anyway.
Love those Autumn leaves, and the Octopus takes the cake. And a clown on a Vespa. I did mistake that dog for a tree sloth, but what more could you ask. These photos your Dad took are so 1960s. Takes me back.
Thanks for sharing JB and thanks Major for the chance to see these beauties.
Going back to the previous post, we were an Imperial margarine family. That and some Blue Bonnet on it occasionally.
And remember Major, it's going to take 2 weeks to get that Dapper Dan.
Ciao
Wow, JB! A magisterial post!
Wonderful stuff, and the backstory research to boot. The idea of hauling a huge mass of inflated rubber down a city street to tell a story seems peculiarly American, and I love it.
I notice Scouts from multiple troops involved. I can’t read the troop numbers, but some are double digits while others are triple. I love the large generous neckerchiefs, unlike those paltry ones of today.
Dr. Goat, continuing the conversation from yesterday, I don’t think we had a house brand margarine, but that’s all we had as a kid, never butter. I recall Nucoa, Parkay, Imperial, and the Safeway house brand at various times. But when Mrs G and I set up, she always bought butter, now sometimes even the Kerry Gold, which our kids taught us about. My grandfather always called margarine “Nucoa-butter”. I haven’t had margarine knowingly for many years now.
JG
JG, thankfully, BSA Supply went back to larger, better-looking and more useful neckerchiefs a few years ago. I guess someone finally realized that what we were teaching the Scouts about using their neckerchief as a bandage or sling wasn't meeting the reality of the scrap of fabric being offered. It's just a shame that it took a couple of generations to figure that out; I know I struggled with trying to use one in that capacity after I hit a growth spurt at 12 in 1980.
I am going to add my Wow! to what others have said. Who would have thought this kind of stuff went on? Being in Los Angeles we had the Hollywood Christmas Parade which I went to once with Mom and Dad because Bruce was in the color guard of the Los Angeles Jr. Police Band and they played the parade that year. But I don't remember any balloons in that parade, I only saw them on TV in the Macy's Parade.
This is great stuff and finding out the history and including the YouTube clip of the Seattle parade was great. Really enjoyed all this.
At Disneyland, I usually skip parades so I can go on rides without lines, but, in this case, I wouldn’t miss this parade for anything! I’m watching for my pal—JB! Even if he isn’t IN this parade, I’m going to find him and join him—to watch all these fun balloons pass by! Maybe ice cream, afterwards??
Happy Thanksgiving Eve, and safe travels, everyone!
Thanks, JB and Major!
JG, We're a Challenge butter house now too. Land O Lakes if it's on sale. We usually keep about 6 or 7 in the spare freezer (especially around this time of year) and one in the fridge. Do use Land O Lakes margarine spread for some things. Kerry Gold gets a little too intense, but occasionally we get Danish Creamery. Butter talk.
Mom would always cook with butter, but we had to use margarine on our toast in the morning. I think because it spread easier.
Major-
What a great post. The Farmer In the Dell as seen in inflatable parade floats. America - what a great country-!
@ budblade-
Make that a 1958 Oldsmobile Fiesta station wagon. All that 'stripy' stainless steel trim really gives it away. Behind it, is a 1960 Mercury Comet. On the opposite side of the street, that's some sort of Chrysler product station wagon - probably a 1950 Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler, or maybe even a DeSoto.
Thanks, JB, for this splendid assemblage of images to get us in the Thanksgiving mood. (That - and all the food I've been cooking).
A bit of Americana whose time has passed. I see myself in my Scount uniform like those pictured...except in the Peach Festival parade in Brigham City Utah around the same time. No balloons...but so much fun nevertheless. Takes me back. Happy Thanksgiving to all. KS
Faint memory of a pre-1960 parade in San Jose. I was under five, so forgive the vagueness. I remember inflated floats being dragged along by clowns, including one of a teepee and a seated Indian squaw (with one of the clowns sitting in her lap and, well, clowning). The most vivid impression was some characters with big balloon heads. One bowed right in my face, and Mom had to assure me they weren't coming back.
Second impression was the Happy Hollow dragon. It was a ride at a local park, identical to one featured at Freedomland. Here it was full of kids in costumes.
Later, clearer memories of watching the Macy's parade on our furniture-style B&W television. In early years NBC had the whole Macy's parade, while CBS cut between multiple parades (including Macy's) in different cities. A major attraction was the plugs for big holiday movies: The marionettes from "Sound of Music" (a fixture for a few years, as the movie stayed in theaters for that long), the ship from "Doctor Dolittle" (later repurposed as a generic vessel), and a kid from "Family Affair" costumed as his character from "The Littlest Angel" (the small and gentle children's book bloated into a big cheesy musical special. Still floating around on Youtube and cheap DVDs).
Also remember the Linus the Lion balloon appearing long after his TV show and even Crispy Critters cereal had vanished from the scene. His spiritual heir was the friendly T-Rex from "We're Back", who was back multiple times after his movie was quickly forgotten.
A final memory: One year MAD magazine had a float. It was actually just a modest-sized truck carrying an outsized MAD cover of Alfred E. Newman. Even as a kid I got it was an intentional joke, dwarfed in size and budget by everything before and after.
@ DBenson-
HERE'S Alfred E. Neuman, from the 1961 Macy's Day Parade. And if'n you're in the mood for a statue... HERE'S Alfred E. Neuman taking the form of Paul Bunyan.
Thankful Magic!, (nice nickname today! I bet you were saving this one for either today or tomorrow).
The cheese stands alone because it's stinky. Even the rat doesn't want it.
I remember that the parade was in the morning, maybe 10:00 am. So the temp probably was kinda bracing. That Scout is certainly wearing shorts, don't know if they qualify as hot pants.
I assume that the explosion is merely Seattle fog mixed with crud on the film. It does make for an excellent explosion though.
Thanks for the monorail route info. When I saw these pics I wondered about that.
The narrator of that video clip calls it a sea monster, so that's probably what it is. I call it a dragon. A sea monster is just a sea-going dragon, right?
Chuck, I noticed the fence sitters, too. Makes me hurt to look at them. I knew you would comment on the Scouts.
I don't think I have any more Eugene photos. But lots of 'em from other places. I suspect this whole paragraph of yours was just an elaborate setup for your Eugene Levy pun. ;-)
Budblade, Someone must have made a calculation that the street was wide enough even with the cars. Also, it's a residential street just off the downtown area. The residents probably didn't have anywhere else to park them? I wonder if they needed horses to pull the (inflated) horses?
DrGoat, haha. Now that you mention it, that orange thing does look remarkably like a tree sloth.
JG, thanks. Until I did the research and found out this was the Farmer In The Dell story, I wasn't aware that there was a connecting theme between any of the balloons.
Growing up, we never used actual butter either, just oleo. Except maybe on Thanksgiving and other family get-togethers.
Irene, Thank you, and nice to hear from you! We never had a balloon parade before this, or after this.
I am curious how we got this parade, but I couldn't find any reference to it anywhere, other than the Seattle connection. I think the author of the book/website mentioned earlier is correct about these balloons coming from an earlier parade, maybe 1930s or '40s. They have that look to them.
Sue, You betcha! We'll watch the parade together! I looked to see if I was a spectator in any of these photos... no luck. You'll see me in some future postings though.
DrGoat (again), We use Challenge as well. We keep a stick of butter on the kitchen counter (well, not directly on the counter), and unlike most other brands, Challenge stays more spreadable in our somewhat coolish kitchen.
Nanook (Car Guy), thanks for the auto I.D.s. I knew those cars were parked on the street for a reason!
Good luck with your feast. My brother is baking a couple of pies as I am writing this.
KS, thanks for sharing your memories with us.
DBenson, I chuckled at "One bowed right in my face, and Mom had to assure me they weren't coming back." My memories of watching the Macy's parade on TV are pretty much the same as yours.
Nanook, that Alfred E. Neuman statue as Paul Bunyan is... weird. But I guess that was the point of it.
And thanks to the Major for shuffling his posting schedule on such short notice to fit this in today. I sprung it on him just a few days ago and he really came through.
- Jumbo Bird (A 28 Lb. frozen Butterball that should've been taken out of the freezer and placed in the fridge 5 days ago to thaw.)
Whew! I'm surprised Blogger didn't make me divide that lengthy post! Writing all these replies takes a while, but it's a labor of love, as I'm sure the Major would agree.
- Jim (JB)
Great pics today, thanks JB. I remember freezing my buns off as a kid watching the Rose Parade one year. Brrr. Something about a parade that really gets a community to team up and make a day great. love it. Thanks again JB and Major as well.
JB, well, not the whole paragraph. I really did want to thank you for sharing these. :-) And I really am looking forward to future posts from your collection.
As far as I know, Macy's keeps the retired balloons from their parades - even though they're all sponsored. Much like Disney keeping the World's Fair attractions. when they moved the parade studio from Hoboken to Moonachie NJ, a big motivation was to keep everything in one place. Before then, they only had a few balloons at the studio at a time to work on them, and trucked them to and from warehouses in the area.
A few of the smaller (ornament) and medium balloons have made their way to Orlando for the Macy's Holiday Parades at Universal. I don't know if they're permanently kept there or a batch is prepped and sent each fall.
Jonathan, thank you for the thank you! ;-) I hope you got plastic surgery to replace those frozen buns.
Chuck, I didn't mean to imply that. Re-reading what I wrote, I can see how it could come across that way. Oops. [JB slowly slinks off the edge of the screen, unnoticed.]
3 seconds later:
I'm back! At some point, I hope to share photos of 1957 Disneyland, the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, and a 1966 family trip that included Yellowstone Park, Mt. Rushmore, Six Flags Over Texas, and the Grand Canyon. Plus a few other things!
Dean Finder, I think you're right about these not being Macy's balloons. In my 'extensive' research, I didn't see any of these come up in Google Images for Macy's balloons. Also, I found a list of all of their balloons, past and present, and while a couple sounded familiar, none of them matched. Maybe they originated in Chicago, or Philadelphia, or...
Wow, today is a treasure trove, between the Eugene and Seattle posters and the video! It was a stroke of genius to dress the octopus wranglers as sailors. All of the balloons have a vaguely nightmarish quality, but I like the look of that longhorn cow. Seems like a very sensible animal.
We were a margarine family too, but I’ve converted to butter as an adult. Grandma always put butter, margarine, AND Squeeze Parkay on the table. We kids thought the Squeeze Parkay was a big treat because we didn’t get it at home and it never tore your bread.
Melissa, thanks for chiming in! I agree about the 'sailors' tangled in the octopus tentacles. Somebody earned their pay that day. (Even though the sleeves and pant legs are way too long!)
Thank you, Nanook. I may well have misremembered a truck, but I was sure MAD magazine was in the parade.
Post a Comment