HUNTINGTON BEACH : Parade Watcher Gets Preferred Seat

Former City Clerk Alicia M. Wentworth recalled the first Fourth of July Parade she watched in 1947.

It was the year she moved to the beach city--the population was 5,000--from her hometown of Rochester, N.Y.

The parade route was down Ocean Avenue, now Pacific Coast Highway, and Main Street.

“There were more floats than anything, patriotic floats, and there was this carnival atmosphere,” Wentworth said.

Since then, Wentworth, 68, has watched every Fourth of July parade, either by attending or seeing replays on local cable television.

This year, Wentworth, will be getting a different view of the city’s 91st parade, which last year attracted more than 300,000 spectators.

She will be the community grand marshal for the event, themed “Reflections of Freedom,” and will ride in a convertible automobile down Main Street. The celebrity grand marshal is actress Ruth Buzzi of the 1968-1973 television show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” who currently appears on “Sesame Street.”

Wentworth is also the official city historian, who has compiled a historical data book. She still has a desk inside the city clerk’s office and goes there without fail on Friday mornings to work on her history project.

While a public figure for many years, a modest Wentworth said she was surprised to be marshal and has always preferred to be out of the city limelight.

“I’m honored,” said Wentworth, who retired from the elected post in 1988 after working in the city clerk’s office for 27 years, first as deputy city clerk. “I was amazed they chose me.”

Wentworth, a mother of four, grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of two, said her family and friends are excited.

“Three of my grandchildren are riding with me. They begged me. They think it’s the greatest idea,” she said, adding that the parade is a patriotic event that brings the town together each year.

Bob Traver, president of the city’s Fourth of July Executive Board, said Wentworth was chosen because of her contribution to the community.

“She’s been a grand lady of Huntington Beach and has done a lot for the city,” Traver said. “We like to recognize people who have done a lot for the community.”

The annual Independence Day parade started on July 4, 1904, to celebrate the day the Pacific Electric Railway--the “big red cars”--came to Huntington Beach from Los Angeles, Wentworth said.

This year, the parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Main Street. A 5K run will be held before the parade, at 7:30 a.m., followed by a 1K walk for children. Registration will be at 6:30 a.m. at 17th and Main streets. A fireworks show at 7 p.m. will also be held at Huntington Beach High School’s stadium. Admission is $5 a person.