Crowds Swarm Thanksgiving Day Parade but Mother Nature Blows It

Big Bird’s wings were clipped, the Pink Panther went pfft and the Cat in the Hat knocked down a street light, injuring four people, as strong winds wreaked havoc on the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Only one injury was serious, though it didn’t appear life-threatening, authorities said.

Most of the 17 balloons, which normally float three to four stories above the street, never got more than a few feet off the ground. Their handlers--Macy’s employees and relatives who volunteer for the duty--struggled desperately to keep their inflated charges under control along the 2 1/2-mile parade route.

“We lost an ear at Columbus Circle and the head in the theater district. It’s amazing we made it this far,” said Carmela Slivinski, who had volunteered to handle the Quik Bunny character. “It was a real battle. I wouldn’t want to do this again.”

An estimated 1 million spectators lined the route from Manhattan’s Upper West Side to Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square in midtown. Several balloons arrived at the department store visibly damaged by 40-mph gusts, which howled in from side streets and whipped the floats from side to side.

Police said the Cat in the Hat, a Dr. Seuss character that has been in the annual procession for several years, slammed into a lamppost on Central Park West at 72nd Street, a few blocks from the start. It knocked off the light section, which fell into the crowd standing 12 to 15 deep along the sidewalk, according to witnesses.

Two women were taken to a hospital with head injuries. One was in critical condition, the other stable, a spokesman said. Two other people went to a hospital with minor injuries.

Even before the parade began, winds shredded a giant Flying Fish balloon and damaged several others as the procession was being readied. The Pink Panther was pulled from the parade after it went flat in Times Square.

The parade, a holiday tradition started in 1924, has only been suspended three times--from 1942 through 1944 because of World War II.

In 1993, winds caused the 64-foot-tall Sonic the Hedgehog to crash into a lamppost and explode. The falling debris injured an off-duty police officer and a 10-year-old girl.

High winds also caused problems in Philadelphia’s parade. Organizers there scratched the two- and three-story balloons, including Garfield, Yogi Bear and the Cat in the Hat. Smaller balloons, in shapes of stars and balls, were tough to handle in the 45-mph gusts.

*

Elsewhere, families of all sizes gathered to give thanks and chow down Thursday, including a huge clan in Ohio that has celebrated together for the last 60 years.

Alice Najarian has played host to a family feast in Swanton, Ohio, every year since 1937--when 30 people showed up. This year, Najarian, 84, needed 30 loaves of bread to make enough stuffing for 115 people.

Najarian is one of three family members who have made it to each of the celebrations--which feature pinochle, football and lots of gabbing--and she hopes to continue that streak.

“If I’m up to it, I’ll try it another year,” she said.

President Clinton went golfing with his brothers-in-law before settling in for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the Camp David, Md., presidential retreat.

Clinton played in nearby Thurmont with Hugh and Tony Rodham before joining Hillary Rodham Clinton and other family members to dine on turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin and mincemeat pies.

The president’s daughter, Chelsea, was home from Stanford University for the holiday.

Space shuttle Columbia’s astronauts got a holiday call Thursday night from Clinton, who said he was grateful this Thanksgiving for their efforts.

The astronauts rescued a $10-million science satellite in a dramatic spacewalk, three days after its botched release from the shuttle.

“You know how important your work is to the international space station and to our entire effort, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am,” Clinton said in a two-minute call from Camp David, Md.

Commander Kevin Kregel assured the president that while he and his crew miss their families down on Earth, “the six of us up here are a family in itself so we’re enjoying this Thanksgiving Day also.”

It was a working holiday for the astronauts, who stuffed in science experiments as well as turkey dinners.

Their holiday menu included processed turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin cookies and pecan pie--”about as traditional as you can get” 175 miles up, said Kregel.

*

In Plymouth, Mass., an annual American Indian gathering in the town where Thanksgiving began turned violent when police confronted a group of Native Americans trying to march through the center of town.

About 20 protesters from the United American Indians of New England were arrested by police and charged with disorderly conduct.

Police refused to release any information about the event and declined to comment on the arrests.

Witnesses said the disturbance began when American Indian protesters and hundreds of supporters tried to march through the historic center of Plymouth.

Earlier in the day, a group reenacting the first Thanksgiving marched down the same road dressed in traditional Pilgrim costumes in an annual event called the Pilgrim Progress walk.