New Year's Day
Happy New Year! Did you have fun last night? I sat in my home all by myself, staring at the wall, but it was pretty fun. So, what photos could I share on January 1st? I know just the thing! I have two vintage images from the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena - well, actually from after the parade, when the flower-covered parade floats were parked near the Rose Bowl for guests to admire up close.
The 1954 parade's theme was "Famous Books in Flowers"; See's Candy (still a SoCal favorite) sponsored a float featuring Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I haven't been able to find any mention of Disney's involvement with See's, but the characters are all easily recognizable as "the Disney versions". Grumpy! Sneezy! Happy! Dopey! Crunchy! And the rest. To the right of the cottage we see two interlopers, one wearing a chef's toque, which means he is whipping up a batch of candy, hopefully some classic liver brittle. Just like grandma used to make!
You'd hardly know it, but the stately San Gabriel mountains are back there - sometimes the televised parade would show Pasadena in glorious sunshine while the mountains had a frosting of snow. Beautiful! But this day looks smoggy, sadly - unusual for a Winter day. The float with the clock is the "Cinderella Float", sponsored by Minute Maid Orange Juice.
Let's all hope that we have a sane and happy 2025!
11 comments:
Major-
"... one wearing a chef's toque, which means he is whipping up a batch of candy..."
I think that may be Chef Milani - or perhaps it's Chef Boyardee - whipping up a batch of 'Mini Ravioli' - a dwarfs favorite-!
Happy 2025 to all.
At least you had the wall to stare at. All I had to stare at was The Void... But it was pretty fun too... can't complain.
When naming the Dwarfs, you left out Drippy; my favorite! Although, he was cut from the final version of the film. Walt thought it was a little too gross to see snot running down into his beard all the time. I'm glad you mentioned Crunchy though; he rarely gets mentioned.
I like how they have Sneezy trying to stifle a sneeze. That makes it easier to tell him apart from Sleepy, which is often hard to do.
That little deer in front looks like... himself, caught in headlights. Poor thing. I guess he represents all the woodland critters we see in the film. Oh wait, I just noticed a couple of rabbits and a blue jay in the first pic.
A nice way to start the new year. Thanks, Major.
JB, it looks more like a dingo — in the headlights.
And what’s up with that chef?! He ain’t wearing any pants!
Looks like See’s borrowed their dwarfs from Disney and their chefs from Pea Soup Andersen’s. Maybe he’s making pea brittle with chunks of ham?
I remember attending one of these parades when I was very young. That is, I remember freezing on the curb, I don’t remember any of the parade at all. Might have some pictures around somewhere.
Thanks Major, these are very appropriate today. Wishing all Junior Gorillas the very best of New Years!
JG
I lived in Pasadena just off the parade route and was able (if I was so inclined) to see the parade from my apartment. Later in life, I was on a leadership team with a store right on Colorado Blvd. I didn't stop for too long to see floats in either case, but what I did see was super impressive, and the TV or cameras does not do it justice, including the smell of flowers in the air. The "after party" was quite near my school, so I would drive past it...on my way to civilization on the other side of the hill in Hollywood....it's not that Pasadena is not civilized...it possibly is one of the most civilized places in California...it's more that the people of the world camping out for days prior, in happy spirits, but nevertheless...quite a lot of them...there were laws that they had to move spots every so many hours, and couldn't "camp" until (I think) the night before...all fuzzy memories...It's odd that it's a smoggy day in these photos on Jan 1 in Pasadena...known as the "crown city" because of the mountains behind "cuddling" the city. What the mountains also did was hold in all the smoke from the "other valley" (San Fernando) as it pushed it's way into San Gabriel. So when you watch the Rose Parade, and see a clear day...it's rare overall, but not this time of year. When people see these scenes from their winter homes elsewhere in the world...it seems that there would be a mass domestic immigration a few months later. Before I moved there, I was cautioned about the lack of apartment inventory certain months of the year due to this phenomena. I really liked Pasadena a lot: it was a great college town, with many cultural fascinations: like the Norton Simon, the Huntington, The Arboretum (close by), The Pasadena Playhouse, Cal Tech, Jet Propulsion lab....but overall a quiet place except for the week leading into and out of Jan 1 when the entire town became a world wide phenom. Happy New Year to all. As a side note, I think I ate my body weight in Sees Candy this season...perhaps a mix of cheese and chocolates...but not at the same time. See's is wonderful, and it's odd that they haven't had an official Disney connection: seems like a natural match that I would absolutely approve of.
I'm with JG. One of the coldest mornings of my life was watching the Rose Parade! We got up before dawn and parked on someone's lawn. It seems like we walked miles to get to our seats. The theme that year was "Happiness Is.."
I think the "cooks" might be on a float behind this one, but regardless, it's good to see the Dwarfs. Crunchy was always my favorite with the funny sounds he made when he walked.
In the background of the second pic there's what looks to be a Cinderella float. Beyond that there's a heated cauldron dumping molten sulfur on people's heads. Happy New Year everyone!
Nanook, yum, ravioli is always better when it’s “mini”. And the finest ravioli comes from a can, everyone knows that.
JB, whoa, the Void, that’s pretty cool. It is funny to read what some proposed Dwarf names were, the dumbest was something like “Biggo Ego”. What is he, some kind of waffle? Crunchy was hard to animate due to his two heads. Deer always look like that, I’ve seen them and usually point and laugh. I have a good time! I’ll bet See’s Candy had to ask Disney’s permission to use their characters, but it’s kind of fascinating to see them in a non-Disney context.
Lou and Sue, a dingo ate my baby!
Lou and Sue, all the finest chefs go pants-less. That way there is less laundry to wash! Stay away from the deep fryer though.
JG, yum, pea brittle, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. I went to watch the Rose Parade one time when relatives were in town. I’m glad I did it, but had no desire to do it again. And I even lived in Pasadena for a number of years!
Bu, I used to be jealous of the people who somehow managed to get up on to the second story levels of the businesses along Colorado Boulevard. Or better yet, on top of the buildings! Away from the riffraff. I’ve mentioned it before, but when I lived in Pasadena, I would sometimes see floats going down the road in “test runs” before the big day, one time four giant white horses (made of flowers) passed by. Kind of fun. And it was fun to point out the pink line on the street to visitors. I don’t ever remember Pasadena being called the “Crown City”, as you say I mostly think of it as being the unfortunate place where all the smog wanted to settle. I did tend to like winter there because it could be so clear and beautiful. Maybe it isn’t smog in today’s photos, but actual fog, which happens of course. The other night I could barely see where I was going on the 101 due to the fog creeping in from the ocean. I miss living in Pasadena, but circumstances demanded that I move, and I’ve never moved back.
Omnispace, since my visitors were from out of town, we actually purchased tickets to seats in the bleachers near the corner of Colorado and Orange Grove. It really was cold! I don’t even remember what the theme was, though William Shatner was the Grand Marshall (I looked it up and that was in 1994). I’ll bet the crowd would have welcomed that nice warm molten sulphur!
You know, there was another Dwarf that was considered for prime time but sent to the minor leagues...his name was Dumpy. But he was way too slovenly to even march with the rest of 'em and failed to keep pace on every parade down Main Street.
My only attendance at the Rose Parade was back on New Year's 1969. My buddy and I drove up from Coast Mesa and also parked on somebody's lawn at an exorbitant price. We walked to Colorado Blvd with sleeping bags in tow finding a suitable spot on the street in front of the construction of the Pasadena Art Museum (later the Norton Simon Museum). Laying my head down on the pavement of the street, while it was still filled with cars, is not something worth repeating. I can still smell the exhaust from the tailpipes. In the morning we did have a great view of the floats. I can recall Jo Anne Worley passing by on a float and hearing her laugh.
Mom, Dad and I went several times to see the floats at the park a day or two after the Parade. The flowers would be a little faded and some would occasionally fire up the animation. All for free. I hear that's not the case anymore and has become an attraction unto itself. KS
Well, now all us Jr. Gs have our New Year's resolution: BRING BACK DUMPY! We can start an online campaign!... Go door to door! Make TikTok videos (If it's still here)! WE CAN DO THIS!!! ;-)
I enjoyed reading everyone's stories about being at the parade. I never thought about how pretty it must've smelled...thanks, Bu, for those details.
Happy New Year to all! And BRING BACK DUMPY!
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