Verdugo Views: Return of Rose float supports a long tradition
It was a blow to many residents when they realized the Glendale City Council had not funded a float for Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses parade this last New Year’s Day. After all, the city had entered a float for more than 100 years.
The day after the parade, this message appeared on nextdoor.com, a communications website for neighborhoods.
“No rose parade float for Glendale,” Lori Silao posted. “I have to just put this out there and say that I am so disappointed that Glendale didn’t have a float for the first time in 100 years and even after we won a prize last year. I hope the city gets its act together for next year. We need new leadership for this exact kind of thing.”
There were 54 responses. Three weeks later, Cindy Slaughter posted an invitation to an organizational meeting.
“Lori’s nextdoor.com posting was the ball that started this whole thing,” Slaughter wrote recently in an email. “I picked up that ball and organized the first meeting.”
Out of that January meeting, a group of enthusiasts began creating a new Glendale Rose Float Assn.
Keith Sorem, fresh from several years with the successful Hoover Tour of Homes, became the organization’s president.
A local attorney and CPA, Akop Baltayan, initiated the paperwork for nonprofit status, which has since been achieved.
“From nothing to being functional in only a few months,” said Sorem said.
This isn’t the first time the float has faced adversity. This city has had many prize-winning entries, but a fair number of trials, too.
One of the first major obstacles came on New Year’s Eve 1933, when heavy rains caused horrifying mud and rock slides in our hillside communities — with tragic consequences. The extent of the damage wasn’t known until later, but the flood didn’t stop our float, which was then constructed near downtown Glendale. It took an alternate route, down San Fernando Road, past Van de Kamp Bakery, to York Boulevard and then through South Pasadena.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. Army decreed there would be no parade, and it didn’t return until January 1946.
In 1976, the nation’s bicentennial, the city budgeted $15,000, but a newly formed Tournament of Roses Committee, organized by Vonnie Rossman and others, raised extra funds. The result, “America — Let’s Show Our Colors’” won the theme prize.
In 1979, when Proposition 13 put a major crimp in funds, businesses and organizations quickly responded. The next few years were rough, as the city threatened not to fund a float without more support.
The pattern continues today, with local groups coming to the fore when needed.
The new committee, working with the city, applied for readmission in the parade and was accepted. In June, the City Council allocated funds and signed a contract with Phoenix Decorating to build a float highlighting city landmarks.
Silao, whose posting led to this year’s float, recently emailed, “I am so excited to be involved with the Rose Float. Our board is a dream team to work with. Wonderful people with loads of experience in all kinds of areas that have come together to make this a reality.”
Fundraising efforts are underway, with the first event to be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Nov. 15 at the historic Ard Eevin estate. A donation of $75 per person will help get the float back on Colorado Boulevard. For more information, visit glendalerosefloat.com.
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Readers Write:
Suzy Zimmerman enjoyed the article about Civil War veteran Henry Mingay and wants to know if he fought for the Union or the Confederacy. He was a Union soldier, originally from upstate New York.
John Hammell Jr. also emailed regarding Mingay as well as Billy’s Deli.
“Along with so many others, I was very sad to see Billy’s close down.” he wrote, “I could not find the ‘Readers Write’ in the hard-copy version of your column” on Oct. 8.
He did find it online and wonders why it didn’t appear in print.
“I’m sure many of your readers who see only the hard-copy version of your column would have enjoyed the most recent ‘Reader’s Write’ comments about Billy’s,” he wrote.
Editor’s note: “Readers Write” was cut from the Verdugo Views column on Oct. 8 because of space issues. Here it is below.
Emails have arrived regarding the late lamented Billy’s Deli: This from Jill Benone: “Loved your story. When I told my daughters the deli was closed, Jordana, who lives in Santa Monica, suggested we go to her deli there and have a corned beef sandwich in Billy’s honor.”
Daughter Jennifer Howard, who lives in England, wanted to know what happened to the swordfish that hung on the wall. “Such a shame Billy’s is gone,” she wrote.
From Carl Rasmussen, “Thank you for the well-researched and informative article about Billy’s Deli in Glendale. Billy’s was always the go-to place for lunch whenever I ventured down the hill to Glendale. Also, I would never miss having corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. I’ll miss Billy’s.”
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KATHERINE YAMADA can be reached at katherineyamada@gmail.com or by mail at Verdugo Views, c/o News-Press, 202 W. First St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Please include your name, address and phone number.
