Friday, July 12, 2019

Love A Good Parade

A few weeks ago I had watched the classic movie
Meet Me At St Louis with Judy Garland.
The movie was set in the early 1900's
with the entire family going to the world's fair
which was hosted in St Louis, MO.
Since I have seen this movie quite a bit,
I was more interested this time 
in the clothing and the setting.
In this case much to my glee,
found me saying out loud....
"I have that" many times over. 


So afterwards I gathered up my goodies 
I have all around the house and decided
to do one last 4th of July display.
This one featuring early 1900's parade garb.
Yes parades were a major gathering place
in those days and were a grand time!


Ladies would wear their finest dresses which
included wearing their Summer boots.
They would also be found carrying 
a Summer parasol and even a fan if it was too hot.


Gentleman of that day would definitely
 be wearing their Summer straw hats and holding
a cane. Also most likely they would have a pipe
in their mouth with their favorite tobacco.


All of the parade goers would be waving 
parade flags similar in size to mine,
but the current flag then only had 45 stars.


Uncle Sam originated in the war of 1812,
so he would have made an appearance.
My Uncle Sam is from the 1930's
and is a chalkware piece that would
have been a prize at a carnival.
Trumpets and tin noisemakers 
would be in those early parades.


Fabric red white and blue banners
would be seen everywhere.
Although the ribbons I have incorporated
into my display would not have been seen then.


The Chinese invented fireworks 
in the 6th century.
Sparklers were invented in 1893,
however were not introduced to America
until the early 1900's with the creation
and availability of aluminum powder in the U.S.
These would have been in our 1900 parade.


What a fun time it must have been
to have your entire town participate
in some shape or form to honor our
country's birth.


Here in our town we still have both
a Memorial Day and July 4th parade.


I have also attended some unusual parades.


A Tractor parade.
Big, small, red and green ones.

A horse parade where the horses
would have pretty bows in their mane,
 lights on their saddles and the riders decked out. 



Classic car parades.
Vintage and classic cars driving up and down
a dedicated route.

Boat parades, where each boat 
would be decorated in a different theme.
All lit up at night, they would go up and down the river.
Some even would have music playing
as part of their theme.

Have you ever attended a parade or
an unusual parade like I have?

Love A Good Parade Blessings To All!
Janice


17 comments:

  1. The best parade I remember was 1976 our BiCentennial parade in our little town. Every business, organization and even several families dressed up or had a float, horse, bike, wagon some sort - it's a sweet memory. Love your treasures.

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  2. It has been awhile since I attended a parade. Love your display. We usually watch Meet Me In St Louis at Christmas not sure why.
    But love that Judy Garland and the Maid who always play in Ma and Pa Kettle.
    Cathy

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  3. Great display. I love anything patriotic 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

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  4. I love your patriotic display, reminiscent of the early 1900s. The beginning os the 20th Century have been a passion mine for about a decade . This was such a huge time of change and reshaping of the American life through technology with cars, electricity, sewer systems and indoor plumbing, and medicine. Add to that the Great War and all of it's fall out and the changes become numbing they happened so fast.

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    1. It sure was. I sometimes wish I could have lived back in that time myself. Janice

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  5. The boots and straw hat really make this! Love it!

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  6. Hi Janice,
    Love your wonderful display of red, white, and blue, parade goodies!! Also love that movie and Judy Garland is a favorite!
    Thanks for the wonderful history behind parades, too!! Yes, I have enjoyed a number of parades and been in several as well!!
    Hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friend!
    Heart Hugs~
    Julie xo

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    1. Parades are such fun! No matter what time of year! Janice

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  7. We used to do a great one day craft fair in Peru ,Vermont ….they still have this great fair ….Before the fair started they had the prettiest parade of Cows with daisy chain necklaces & tractors decked out & you felt like you stepped back in time . I went as a customer last year & it was just wonderful !!!

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    1. Sounds like a fun parade. I can just see those cows walking down the street. Thanks for sharing! Janice

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  8. I've been to many county fairs and cultural fairs but the only parades I been to with the kids when they were small were the Santa Parades. I've watched the Rose Bowl parades, Mardis Gras parades on TV and that was as much fun. No worry about finding a pace to park.

    It's always fun seeing what people come up with to decorate a patriotic scene. Thanks for sharing your passion.
    I love your historical display and the history behind it. You researched your history well.

    Hugs, Julia

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  9. Thank you Julia. I so love reading your blog too! I forgot about the Rose Bowl parade and the Santa parades we have here as part of the tree 🌲 lighting festivities. Thanks for reminding me of these other parades along with the Mardi Gras one. Janice

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  10. Janice, when I saw the title of this post, I just had to comment. You see, I *hate* parades. Don't ask me why, don't know. Always have. But my mother was like you. I remember once walking down a street in some town with her when I was very young and she heard the music and got so excited. "Oh, we'll cross the street now and try to find the parade!" And we walked and walked until she found it!

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