Pageant of Light

A LOOK BACK

As I have said before in this column, it doesn’t take much for the

city to celebrate some little occasion or trifling event with a

parade on Main Street.

Before 1929, Main Street was lighted by gas streetlights, and each

one had to be lighted by hand each night. The city didn’t mind

because it was getting the gas as a by-product from nearby oil wells

and it was dirt cheap -- we all know how the city likes to save a

penny.

But it was in 1929 that these gas lights had become antiquated,

and the pipes and fixtures were rusting away, so new electric lights

were installed on Main Street. You would have thought “how nice,” and

then thought nothing more about it. But not our town.

To celebrate the new lights and let everybody know about them, the

Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce planned a Pageant of Light

celebration.

The chamber met in July of 1929 at the Golden Bear Cafe for a

monthly meeting and picked Walter McMillan to chair the entire

program. An advertising committee composed of A.W. Frost, William

Gallienne, Ralph Turner (chair) and Jack Robertson was set up to

spread the word and to help McMillan.

This would not to be a small event and would see more than 400

participants. The committee picked Saturday, Aug. 17, 1929, as the big day.

Cars for the parade were to be decorated with at least 20 electric

lights each. This was done by three local electric shops -- Miller

Electric, Bales Electric and Smith Electric.

The Pageant of Light began at 2:30 p.m. with an exhibition of

horsemanship staged by 75 riders of the El Rodeo Riding Club. In the

late afternoon, the chamber held a huge barbecue dinner at the old

Huntington Beach ranch out on Yorktown Avenue and Main Street for the

riders. At 6:30 that evening, the Huntington Beach Municipal Band

treated the public with an hour of music at Orange Avenue and Main

Street.

By now it was dusk, and the Standard Oil Company’s whistle

signaled for everyone to assemble at Triangle Park, at Main and

Acacia Avenue, for the start of the parade down Main Street.

The parade began with George Gelzer and Earl Shaffer riding on

their police motorcycles, followed by Huntington Beach Police Chief

Charles Stewart in Division A of the parade.

It had been planned to have Mayor Sam Bowen ride a horse at the

start of the parade, but instead he rode with his City Council in an

electrically lighted car.

After the chamber came the Huntington Beach Municipal Band led by

L.L. Gilmore. This was followed by Grecian dancers from Miss Burks’

School of Dance carrying candles. The Huntington Beach Fire

Department had its fire truck aglow with electric lights.

In Division B, more electrically lighted vehicles came. The Mayor

of Seal Beach, R.E. Dolly, and members of his City Council and

Chamber of Commerce rode in their lighted car, followed by members of

the Methodist Church’s Epworth League. Then in his brightly lighted

auto came our own George Shank.

J.L. Sherman’s Old Folk of 1860 novelty quartet came next. The

tiny community of Wintersburg had Loraine Pope and J.B. Crane dressed

up as Sun-Bonnet Babies. Carrying a lighted torch to signify early

day lighting was Sam Youngblood atop an old mule.

In Division C. the Huntington Beach Woman’s Club, in a horse-drawn

wagon and dressed in “Gay Nineties” costumes, carried coal oil

lanterns to depict light coming of age.

The Southern California Edison Company’s float had a thousand

lights around a large globe to represent light in the modern era.

Midway City’s entry was a lighted airplane mounted on a truck bed. In

the last division were more lighted autos, and in these were Charles

Furr and Ed and Boxie Huston. In the next float were the champion

fishermen B.T. Mollica and Walter Smith.

The Auto Club had its lighted car, and so did many of Main Street

merchants. The parade ended with cowboys portrayed by Clint and Fred

Brush, Walter Lamb, H.L. Wood and Walter Peters, with grand marshal

Tom Talbert bringing up the rear.

More than 10,000 people witnessed this glowing event. You would

think that the parade concluded the pageant, but no. Next came an

evening program at the city auditorium that featured speeches -- of

course -- a novelty string quartet and more dancing by the pupils of

Miss Burks’ School of Dance.

The entire Pageant of Light was filmed by the Gilbert Motion

Picture Co. and was to be shown at Scott’s Theatre (Surf Theatre) in

Huntington Beach as well as in theaters throughout Southern

California. I wonder if that film is still around?

To think that this was just for putting in some electric street

lights that cost $28,000 in the Downtown. I wonder what the chamber

is planning to do for the grand opening of the new $13-million sports

complex on Goldenwest Street.

* 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.