A look Back -- Jerry Person

Today we will stand in line along Main Street with 200,000 others to

celebrate what is billed as the 98th annual Fourth of July Parade as it

winds its way past many of our historic homes.

This week, we will compare this parade with one held in 1947.

The big war was over and our boys were coming home. Huntington Beach

was busy making plans for a bang-up holiday.

In 1947 the directors of the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, who

ran the parade, voted to have a three-day extravaganza and elected Wayne

Pickering as general chairman. William “Bill” Gallienne, Ted Bartlett,

Douglas Hough, James Sayer and Bob Ware were also part of the general

parade committee.

Invites were printed and sent out to come and enjoy our 40th annual

Orange County celebration, which included a bathing beauty parade on July

3, the celebrated parade, hot rod races, a fireworks display on the 4th

and another bathing beauty revue on the 5th.

The route chosen for the parade would begin on Main Street at 12th

Street and would travel down Main Street to 5th Street. It would turn and

travel down 5th Street, past Memorial Hall and the old civic center to

Orange Avenue.

The parade would turn right on Orange and go to 10th Street, turning

left and onto Pacific Coast Highway. The parade would then march down

Pacific Coast Highway to Main Street and up Orange Avenue to Atlanta

Avenue ending at the Huntington Beach Stadium at Huntington Street.

The were many, many residents who served on the 48 official

committees. It seemed everyone in town was on some committee planning the

many events.

Col. Jack Greer chaired the military committee, Tom Talbert chaired

the old-timers parade section, Grace Nieto chaired the Spanish parade

division and Bob Ware the Hot Rod races.

The victory parade that year was titled “Cavalcade of the Golden

West.”

Betty Trichler, 17, of Huntington Beach was chosen as queen to reign

over the events. She was crowned at the open-air amphitheater bowl by

Mayor Ted Bartlett and by Chief Many Treaties of the Blackfoot nation,

who gave our queen the Indian name of Ah-Kee-Kwan meaning “our little

girl.”

There were 10 local girls in the queen’s court that included Kathleen

Achey, Lorene Gelvin, Jorita Andre, Barbara Ries and Lois Sharpes.

They would ride on a float that featured a large Uncle Sam’s top hat

made of flowers.

The general committee arranged to have the U.S. Marine Band and 200

Marines from nearby stations march in the beginning of the parade.

The committee also arranged to have 90 aircraft from the 11th Naval

District and one blimp fly over the parade.

The parade began with a bomb salute, no -- not the terrorist kind, and

then the men from El Toro, Seal Beach and Terminal Island military bases

marched to a cheering crowd, eight divisions in all.

The grand marshal was David Llewellyn and guest of honor was Orange

County Sheriff Jim Musick.

There were clowns to brighten the faces of children, old time cars and

bicycles along with floats, horses and brass bands.

In the parade were employees of North American Aviation who were part

of a military group known as the North American Flying Horsemen.

Pinkie, the Hubba Hubba Clown delighted the kids along with fellow

clowns Bessie and Rube.

Nearly all our civic and patriotic organizations were included in the

parade. There were 1,000 Boy Scouts assigned to help during the parade

and there were majorettes -- big and small -- marching in front of

now-forgotten brass bands.

A favorite that year came from the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor V.F.W.

Post and featured a hillbilly bride looking for a man, her shotgun-toting

father and a parson dressed in black and carrying his Bible.

Newport Beach’s float was titled “Mexican Colony” and it won first

place in floats with Santa Ana Carpenters Union float Iwo Jima taking

second and the Orange County Japanese-American Assn. third.

The La Habra Valley Riding Club took first place in its field.

After the parade ended at the Huntington Beach Stadium there were more

events planned as hot rods raced around the oval course.

When the races ended, drivers Troy Ruttman and Andy Linden stepped

into the winner’s circle to the cheering of 14,000 fans.

As darkness enveloped the stadium the fireworks display was readied,

but was delayed an hour due to the large holiday crowd.

On the last day of this extravaganza a bathing beauty revue was held

before 5,000 admirers at the beach bowl amphitheater with Huntington

Beach’s Phyllis Applegate taking the first prize trophy over eight other

girls.

I’ll bet some of you caught the 40th annual parade in 1947 when it

should be the 43rd. I spoke to longtime residents, and was told that

there were years in which there was no parade held.

But, who cares if its the 98th or the 95th annual, just come on down

and enjoy all the hard work and long hours out in the sun by the present

parade committee. And I hope some fond memories were brought back to

those of you who attended our 1947 parade.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.