A Real Attachment

By NANCY CLEELAND

Dec. 30, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

PASADENA — When the flower-covered floats pass down the Rose Parade route Thursday, Bill Eggleton of Fullerton will point his glue-stained fingers at the medallion worn under a horse’s neck and say, “I made that.”

Alycemae Kelly of Fountain Valley, along with Julie Jackson of Huntington Beach, will keep an eye out for the pig’s tongue, which the longtime friends spent an entire day fitting with red, pink and white carnation petals.

And Susan Mowder, who moved to Irvine from Ohio a year ago, will pick out a red garland--second from the front on the left side of the Automobile Club of Southern California float--and know that she helped give it just the right velvety glow.

“I always wanted to do this,” said Mowder, a Nordstrom manager who talked her old college roommate, kindergarten teacher Dee Thomas, into joining her for a day of tedious, finger-numbing, eye-straining flower pasting. “I used to watch it on TV and wonder who put all those floats together,” Mowder said. “Now I’m one of them.”

In the enormous brown barn across Seco Street from the Rose Bowl, half a dozen other floats came to life as hundreds of volunteers balanced themselves on 20-foot-tall scaffolding or crawled under bulbous plaster molds.

The air was thick with the mingled scent of carnations and glue. Designers marched briskly with clipboards, pointing their troops toward the next horse’s hoof or pumpkin, making sure the purple statice leaves were properly cut, or the corn husks pointed in the right direction.

Outside, tourists waited at least an hour to walk a gangplank that afforded a fleeting glimpse of the float assembly. But the army of volunteers, including many from Orange County, was in the middle of it, making it happen.

“It gets in your blood,” said Louise Miller, who vowed to be part of the hubbub six years ago when she watched from the gangplank.

Miller, of San Juan Capistrano, has come every year since, usually with her daughter, Niki Lovett of San Clemente. “It beats sitting in my rocking chair,” she said, laughing. “It’s fun. It’s creative. And it gives you a better appreciation of the parade.”

Mother and daughter had spent the morning “fluffing” carnations and fitting them with spikes, to be inserted in the foam of the auto club float. Lovett, who took a vacation day from her administrative job to volunteer, fondly recalled making the buggy wheels last year, and a treasure chest the year before that.

“Every year, I get to do something different,” she said. “It’s relaxing.”

With only three days to the big parade, the assembly station, like others scattered around the parade route, buzzed with activity while the finishing touches were applied to 54 floats. Every inch must be covered with plant materials, ranging from flowers to seeds, rice, chile powder and pinto beans.

The work is carried out with excruciating care to detail, which explains why thousands of volunteers are needed, working two shifts through the week. But there are plenty of volunteers to go around; for the auto club float, they began calling as early as September to reserve a day.

“We also ask for four spots, because there’s usually somebody who wants to join us at the last minute,” Lovett said.

Sure enough, family friend Steven Campbell of Laguna Beach decided to make the trip this year for the first time. “It’s astounding,” he said. “I didn’t anticipate this many people, or this much work. But I love it. I’ll be back next year.”

For some, like Dick Gast of Mission Viejo, the float assembly volunteer business has become like a second job.

Gast caught his first close-up view of a float 12 years ago, when he took his family on a tour of the assembly barn. Now his three daughters work as professional detailers, and Gast stays busy for weeks organizing volunteers who help raise money for the Lutheran Hour float.

The volunteer “Petal Pushers” number about 5,000 this year. From churches, Girl Scout troops and youth organizations, they volunteer one shift each working for Phoenix Creations, one of the major float builders. In return, Phoenix gives the Lutheran Hour a hefty discount on its float, which normally costs $100,000 or more.

One Petal Pusher volunteer, Suzette Rydzeski of Lake Forest, a member of Morning Star Christian Fellowship, was busy gluing carnation petals on the Unocal float.

“I’ve been coming for five years,” said Rydzeski, who brought 10 youth group members and their parents with her. “Once you get glue on your hands, you keep coming back.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Orange County Floats

County entries in the 109th Tournament of Roses and float themes by order of appearance:

32. Ruby’s Restaurants; Summer Fun

54. Lutheran Laymen’s League; Livin’ God’s Promise

56. Odd Fellows and Rebekahs; Party Time

80. Automobile Club of Southern California; A Day at the Fair

81. Kiwanis International; Hayride

98. PacifiCare/Secure Horizons; Generation of Fun

Fast Facts

What: 109th Annual Rose Parade

Where: Pasadena