Armistice Day Parade of 1929

JERRY PERSON

We all think of our Fourth of July parade as the most important event

in Huntington Beach. But that was not always the case.

During the 1920s the biggest event had to be our Armistice Day

parade. So many of the boys of Orange County served in the Great War

(World War I) that this parade and the days events had more meaning

to them.

Although the first parade was held in 1918, we are more interested

in the eleventh annual parade held on the eleventh hour of the

eleventh month of the eleventh year since World War I ended. That was

Nov. 11, 1929 and that day entailed more than just a parade, there

was much entertainment throughout day and night.

The mile-and-a-half parade began with the firing of the cannons at

exactly 11 a.m. The parade started at 17th Street, traveled down

Ocean Avenue (now Pacific Coast Highway) up to 3rd Street, along 3rd

to Olive Avenue and onto Main Street, where it then traveled back to

Ocean Avenue and back to 11th Street where it turned and travel 11th

to Orange Avenue where it finally disbanded.

Cars from the closed street were diverted over onto Palm Avenue

with our police officers directing traffic away from the marchers.

This parade was backed and planned by the Huntington Beach

American Legion, which spent many months in meetings to plan for this

one-day event.

As usual, our William “Bill” Gallienne was a big part of the

planning and he chaired the music committee. He arranged to have 15

bands and drum corps stationed along the line of march, which

included bands from Anaheim, Santa Ana, Fullerton and Huntington

Schools, the Spanish American War Veterans Drum Corps, the U.S. Navy

Band, St. Catherine’s Military school band and the Sherman Institute

Indian band.

There were horses and riders and more than 80 floats.

The theme for this year’s event was a “History of California.” A

60-by 20-foot stage was erected under the steel arches at Main Street

and Ocean Avenue for concerts and various types of entertainment

during the day. The lights on the steel arch would be changed to red,

white and blue just for this event.

As morning of the big day arrived the cities of Fullerton, Santa

Ana and Huntington Beach’s Breakfast Clubs met early at the Golden

Bear cafe for breakfast with members and their guests.

Huntington Beach Breakfast Club President Eldon Conrad welcomed

all and introduced Lew Blodget, the chairman of the celebration, then

gave a patriotic address. And when that was completed, Blodget

introduced Miss Orange County, Mirian Pendleton, who added some

additional color to the breakfast.

The floats, riders and bands assembled in readiness for this

$500,000 parade.

As the cannons roared as the eleventh hour arrived, the parade

began as Col. E.J. Marks opened the march followed by Civil War

Veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic. They were followed by

Spanish American War Veterans, American Legion Post members, Disabled

World War I Veterans who rode in automobiles, and they were followed

by local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

It was estimated that there were 100,000 people watching this

parade go by.

As the parade arrived at Main and Ocean, the band from the

Battleship Tennessee played for the crowd. After the band finished

playing, it was Mrs. Burke’s dancing class from Huntington High’s

time to treat the audience.

After the parade ended there were football games at Huntington

Beach High School -- and what games they were. Huntington High’s

A-team played against Orange High in the Orange League and beat them

with a score of 6-0. Now it was Huntington High’s B-team’s time to

crush Fullerton High with a major defeat of 20-0. Then it was time

for Huntington High’s C-team to face off Santa Ana’s Poly High and

after the dust settled, Huntington had whomped Poly with a score of

26-7.

After these games there were still more events to come. The U.S.

Navy concert band and the Anaheim High School band provided more

music to a waiting audience on stage.

Next came the Huntington Beach Municipal Band with selections that

begun with the “Fairest of the Fair” March, a selection from

“Raymond,” selections from “The Red Mill,” and ending the concert

with “The Stars and Stripes Forever” March by Sousa.

After the concert were two hours of vaudeville performers on stage

and another hour that featured the Santa Ana Legion Glee Club.

By now it was 7 p.m. and time for the fireworks to be lighted off

of our municipal pier, followed an hour later by dancing in the

street. For those dancers more inclined to indoor dancing, for a

small admission to the Pavilion, you could dance your heart out until

midnight.

Awards were presented and the city of Anaheim carried off the

sweepstake prize for the best float in the parade. The award was a

huge silver cup in the form of a flower with a girl at the very peak

for “The Girl of the Golden West.”

I wonder if that trophy still is around somewhere?

Parades like this one no longer grace our Downtown streets, and if

you look at 1929 standards and what money was worth then, our July

Fourth parade would have a hard time to match our city’s Armistice

Day Parade of 1929.

* 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.