Bring back Christmas of 1952

JERRY PERSON

Friday night is Christmas Eve and Saturday is Christmas, where has

this year gone?

I received a phone call recently from longtime Huntington Beach

resident Eileen Stricklin Knee who wanted to let me know how much she

enjoys reading about the Santa Claus parades and how we celebrated

Christmas in our city in the past.

With Christmas this week, I thought I would reflect back one more

time on our famous Santa Claus parade.

There is an old saying that it’s not what you know, but whom you

know, and for members of our city’s Recreation Department this was

certainly true.

For they obtained the “top secret” telephone number of the one we

know as S.C.

That’s right, Santa Claus.

Children were given that special number to dial (536) 4526 and

could ask to speak to Santa and the North Pole Telephone Company

would connect them to the big man himself.

This year’s Santa Claus parade, as with all our Santa Claus

parades, was master minded by Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce’s

Executive Secretary, William H. Gallienne.

Early in the month the city crew decorated Main Street and

merchants decorated their store windows just for the holidays.

It was on the night of Dec. 5, 1952 that “Whitey” Walker in the

guise of Santa Claus climbed aboard his sleigh for the ride in

Huntington Beach’s 6th annual Santa Claus parade.

The parade began with a color guard from the Seal Beach Ammunition

and Net Depot followed by the 85-member Colton Union High School

Band.

Coming up behind this band and riding in an electrically lighted

float were Miss Meri Christmas and her attendants.

This year the 15-year-old daughter of Sam and Alice Terry,

Marianne Terry, was chosen to reign as queen.

Riding with her were Lois Holliday, Marilyn Renner, Glenda Orrell,

Rose West and Carolyne Applebury, all students from Huntington High

School.

This year there were 1150 entrants in the parade including

majorettes, pom pom girls and marching band members.

The festive magic had turned Main Street into a wonderland ablaze

with lights and yuletide decorations for the thousands of holiday

shoppers lined the way to watch for that special elf dressed in red.

The parade continued with the members of the Drum and Bugle Corps

from the Ernest Kellogg V.F.W. Post No. 1680.

Coming behind them were Huntington Beach Mayor Roy Seabridge and

members of his City Council.

With 130 members in its band, the combined high school and college

members from Santa Ana was the largest single group in the parade.

Representing the chamber of commerce that year in the parade was

its president, Paul Jones and along side of Jones representing the

Downtown businesses was Roy Bryant, who owned the Dodge dealership at

401 Main St.

In the parade were Sybil Ring’s Starlet Majorettes, the Marine

Corps Humpty Dumpty float, the Music Center Studios of Accordion Band

and Float.

Knott’s Berry Farm entered a float that year and so did the Milton

Mann Accordion Studios of Huntington Beach.

This was the time when polka music was popular and the accordion

was the instrument to play it on.

No parade would be complete without bands from both our elementary

and high schools.

Representing the Boy Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps were members from

Troop No. 43.

It was now time for Whitey Walker (Santa Claus) to make his

appearance riding a real sleigh pulled by six black ponies.

His sleigh came equipped with “running lights” and a P.A. system

as he headed the sleigh toward the Pavalon and the end of the parade.

But along the way he stopped to hand out candy to the children who

were waiting for him on Main Street.

Bringing up the end of the parade was El Gereralissimo himself --

William Gallienne.

The voice of that handsome Southern California Edison announcer

Charles “Chuck” Rothert could be heard as he introduced the musical

organizations from all over Southern California.

Times have changed and the accordion bands no longer echo along

Main Street, but the memories of those who were lucky to have been a

part of those wonderful Santa Claus parades will forever carry those

images of Santa Claus and his magical sleigh.

I hope this brings back a few good memories to Eileen and to

another longtime resident, Ann Minnie, who as a child remembered how

our town used to celebrate the holidays.

* 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.