‘True appreciation’ for Rose Parade

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- Flipping back through the yellowing pages of a

23-year-old scrapbook, Rhonda Heintz was reminded of her brief stint as

Rose Parade royalty.

As her eyes scanned each page, she knowingly smiled or laughed aloud,

explaining her special memories of that day.

“It is one of the best memories of my life,” said Heintz, who is now

42 and lives in Costa Mesa. “My daughters, my husband, my family and the

Rose Bowl.”

It was a brisk New Year’s Day morning in 1978, and Heintz was up

before the sun, getting ready to represent her high school -- Capistrano

Valley -- on the Mission Viejo city float. Just three months earlier, she

had been voted homecoming queen, and shortly after she was invited to

ride on the float in the Rose Parade.

Dressed in an ornate Mexican dress and her hair swept back with

colorful, tropical flowers, Heintz waved her way into history while

riding down Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.

The Mission Viejo float, a colorful Latin-flavored float named “The

Day of the Fiesta,” was awarded the top prize -- the Sweepstakes Award.

Heintz said it made her even more proud because she not only rode on the

float but worked on it in the months before the parade.

“I have a deep appreciation for the floats and all the hard work that

goes into the design and building,” Heintz said.

Her experience in the long-standing California tradition changed the

way she looked at the parade, she said. Before she was a part of the Rose

Parade, she was not intrigued by it. But now, she looks forward to it

every year -- passing on the tradition and memory to her daughters.

“I get to relive it year after year after year,” Heintz said. “I have

a true appreciation for it, having been there and worked on it.”

While looking through the scrapbook with her mom, youngest daughter

Samantha said she would love to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

“I want to be a homecoming queen and someday be in the Rose Parade,”

the 11-year-old said.

Heintz smiled, hoping her daughter would be so lucky.

“Maybe you will too,” she said.