1 Million Line Sunbathed Route : Patriotism Adorns the Rose Parade

Floral tributes to buoyant patriotism and sentimental Americana glided down the sunbathed streets of Pasadena on New Year’s Day, ushering in 1985 for 1 million cheering, good-natured celebrants witnessing the 96th annual Tournament of Roses Parade.

Parade goers showered participants--and themselves--with confetti, jumped to their feet for favorites--particularly the U.S. Marine Corps Band--and shouted encouragement at tiring marchers.

“Are you having fun?” one curbside group needled weary Boy Scouts carrying a trophy bannerpreceding an award-winning float. Teasing continued until the boys, prompted by the crowd’s applause, broke into smiles.

“You don’t get this feeling when you’re watching on TV,” Michael H. Martin of Duarte said as a band marched by. “That brass drum blasting--you can feel it in your chest.”

The crowds basked under typically brilliant blue skies, sunshine and temperatures near 70 degrees, the kind of weather tournament officials have come to predict for New Year’s Day. Many scurried into Pasadena just as the bands and floats started their 5 1/2-mile march down South Orange Grove, Colorado and Sierra Madre boulevards. More than 100 million people watched the festivities on television, officials said.

Tradition gave way in one instance--the 1985 parade ran virtually trouble-free, without the lengthy delays that slowed past parades.

Only three of the 59 floats were stricken with mechanical trouble. Those were swiftly carted down the parade route by tow trucks, causing only minimal delays. The final entry, the City of Santa Ana’s “Architects of Freedom” float, actually trundled past the starting line five minutes early.

Pasadena police said the massive crowd was generally docile. Through 1 p.m., police reported 299 arrests, mostly alcohol-related. Although the total was 77 arrests higher than last year, police spokesman Mike Guerin said the crowd generally was “a little quieter.” Only a few minor injuries were reported.

A huge float featuring an animated family of California grizzly bears visited in their Sierra Nevada meadow by Girl and Boy Scouts captured the sweepstakes award for the most beautiful float in the parade. “Scouting on the John Muir Trail,” sponsored by Atlantic Richfield Co., also proved a big crowd favorite.

The President’s Trophy for floral excellence was awarded to “Spirit of the Eagle,” sponsored by Bank of America, which last year won the animation award. This year’s winner celebrated American Indian art with two 22-foot kachina dolls.

The Pioneer’s Trophy, given to the float best depicting the romance of California, went to Rand McNally & Co.’s “California Here We Come.” The float featured a family of pioneers struggling west, borne by a covered wagon pulled by two spirited horses.

Barbershop Singers

This year’s animation trophy went to American Honda Motor Co. Inc. for its “America Sings,” a quartet of barbershop singers whose eyes and mouths moved. Dr. Pepper’s “The Old Corner Drugstore” won the humor award for its lighthearted look at an old-time soda fountain.

The Grand Marshal’s Trophy for design excellence was awarded to Eastman Kodak Co.’s “Circus America,” featuring two immense Bengal tigers on an ornate floral tapestry.

Two non-award winners also came in for applause, both of them bearing the unofficial patron of this year’s parade, the Statue of Liberty. The first float in the parade, Hilton Hotels Corp.’s “Sweet Land of Liberty,” bore the original torch from the famed statue in New York Harbor.

American flags, sold by vendors along the route, waved in the light breeze as the torch passed by, guarded by U.S. Park Service rangers walking alongside the float. Because the torch was not completely covered by flowers or seeds, as is required of award-winning floats, there was no prize. But that did little to lessen the moment.

Feel Patriotic

“We’ve had people walk up to us and say how patriotic it makes them feel to get this close to it,” Ranger Bill Farrand said.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to do this,” said fellow Ranger Tom Cox. “It was pretty awe inspiring to see that many people.”

Also drawing applause from the crowd was Farmers Insurance Group’s “Spirit of America,” the float that adopted the same theme as the parade itself. A 40-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty, covered in blue-green flowers, stood amid a waving band of red, white and blue stripes and stars. Her torch was a bit less secure than the other Liberty’s, threatening to topple off the float as it made its way down the parade route.

Lee A. Iacocca, chairman of the Chrysler Corp. and of the fund-raising effort to restore the Statue of Liberty, oversaw the parade as grand marshal. He appeared unmoved by the preparade hubbub. Shortly before he and Rose Queen Kristina Kaye Smith left for the parade, he sat in the Tournament of Roses Assn. headquarters, watching television and working a crossword puzzle.

“This is a great start for 1985, even if I did have to get up at 4:30 in the morning,” he said.

For those camped along the parade route, the New Year started early and colorfully. Up to 200,000 people spent New Year’s Eve on the Pasadena streets, bundled into sleeping bags and sprawled across beach chairs.

As dawn broke, parade participants gathered in band formation, on horseback and on floats; the paradegoers awakened, and vendors began hawking their wares.

Skywriters peddled beer and promoted an evening TV rerun of the Rose Parade. A small plane pulled a banner advertising a home for sale--”5% down and $600 a month.” Handmade signs wished a Happy New Year to Willmar, Minn.; Eau Claire, Wis., and a dozen other places.

Roller skaters and skateboarders startled pedestrians and a mother-and-son cycling team drew stares, offering through placards attached to their backs a $500 reward for their lost dog, Tiki.

Blows Kisses

John Parsons, a Canadian travel agent, toted a huge red-and-white Canadian flag through the crowd at Colorado and Hill Street. “Give a hand for Canada,” he begged, blowing kisses.

“Hurray for Canada!” the crowd responded.

Good-naturedness prevailed during the parade. The Valley Westernettes, a group of Central California women riding quarter horses, passed a grandstand near the end of the parade. A man ran out of the crowd, took one rider’s hand, kissed it in salute and returned to his seat.

On Colorado near Lake Avenue, a few people jumped a fence and found seats in the skeleton of a 10-story building under construction. Within minutes, 50 people had clambered onto the structure.

Pasadena’s favorite “little old lady,” a fixture on the Huntington Sheraton’s float each year, was featured this year as the heroine of a neighborhood watch group, nabbing would-be burglars with her rolling pin.

Sign of Times

“This is a sign of the times, when crime makes the Rose Parade,” observed one viewer near Colorado and Lake.

But for most, the mood was lighter.

Kathi Aichner, 38, of Ventura and her 29-year-old brother, Joe Layng of Carlsbad arrived in Pasadena at 3 p.m. New Year’s Eve--and remained happily satisfied nearly a day later.

“The camaraderie was so great!” Aichner said. “It was like the spirit of the Olympics all over again. I love it.”

Harold Ludwig and Mike Eliason, both of Pasadena, meet with their families each year in the same place on Colorado near Grand Oaks Avenue. On Tuesday, they guarded 118 chairs reserved for their families.

“Every year we bring more chairs,” Ludwig said. “It’s like a family reunion now.”

Likewise for May Hanks of Pasadena, who was watching her 48th parade.

“I love a parade, and this is the most beautiful one, and it gets more beautiful each year,” Hanks, 86, said. After Tuesday’s festivities, the family headed for a big dinner.

“We get more family together for the Rose Parade than for Christmas,” said Hanks’ granddaughter, Susan Hanks of Pasadena.

And then the parade ended--albeit curiously.

After the final parade float passed by, the dispersing crowds collided with the unofficial 107th entrant, the Soldiers of Jesus. The casually dressed “soldiers” dispensed pamphlets, talked of hell and damnation and marched down the crowded, confetti-strewn streets without opposition.

On Sierra Madre near Washington Boulevard, where the 59 floats will be on display from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, the floats, scores of musicians and horse riders ended their march.

Times staff writers Julia Fortier, Lenore Look and Victor Merina contributed to this story.