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