The Things They Do for Love of a Parade

Every New Year’s Eve is the same for the Bartleys of Phoenix. They decamp from their home bearing many of their worldly goods, head 380 miles west to Los Angeles, and set it all down on the southwest corner of Madison Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.

That’s been the routine for the past 16 years. On Thursday, they made it 17, joining thousands of others spending a chilly night staking out prime viewing space along the 5 1/2-mile route of this morning’s Rose Parade.

Weather forecasters had predicted temperatures in the mid-40s New Year’s Eve, which usually sees Colorado Boulevard transformed into a miles-long block party. And Thursday night, a wind advisory was issued, warning of possible 20 to 30 mph winds through Pasadena. Undaunted, the crowd had unfurled acres of blankets and sleeping bags and set up portable picnic tables, chairs and more.

With as many as a million people expected to take part in parade-related events, the jockeying for the best vantage point from which to see the 56 floats, bands and other entries started early.

Although thousands of parade-goers buy tickets in advance for bleacher seats and others come at the last minute and try to squeeze in, the most intrepid make the parade experience a 24-hour expedition that relies on days of planning and preparation.

Furniture, such as mattresses or couches, are banned. And a special Pasadena police “couch detail” hauls away the contraband. Scofflaws can pick up their couches later from the city.

“They’re really an obstruction,” said Janet Pope of the Pasadena Police Department. “They block the sidewalks and they’re dangerous.”

But lawn chairs are OK, and one family had set up and roped off a row near Plaza Pasadena and spelled out “Family Diaz” with a letter on each seat.

Other parade-goers, wearing heavy coats, earmuffs and mittens, unloaded boxes of snacks and sodas and other gear.

But none were better prepared than Jay and Pauletta Bartley.

Arriving at 10:30 a.m., they laid out the basic bivouac of blankets, sleeping bags and folding chairs. Then came the hibachi and the charcoal for grilling chicken and corn on the cob for dinner. And the gas burners, for the pot of chili that Jay Bartley would start cooking “just around the midnight hour.”

Finally, there was the clay fireplace that would keep them toasty warm on their sidewalk encampment. Back in the van, parked nearby, was a portable toilet.

“We brought the house, just not the walls,” said Pauletta Bartley, a contact lens technician.

“We’ve kind of got it down to a science after 17 years,” said Jay Bartley, a self-employed handyman.

They brought along their 16-year-old daughter, Quisha. And, as they have for the past 13 years, they would meet up with Sam and Mary Kleinschmidt of Lakewood and their 14-year-old daughter, Kristy.

Jay Bartley said there have been as few as six and as many as 24 people in their little band of parade-watchers. Toting all their gear requires two vehicles: a half-ton pickup truck and a van. So committed are they that one year, when Jay had to work on New Year’s Eve, Pauletta drove the hundreds of miles alone to Pasadena and then picked Jay up at the airport.

They first saw the parade 19 years ago when Pauletta’s sister was a student at USC. Jay and Pauletta made it their own tradition when they got married 17 years ago.

“There’s really no comparison to seeing it on TV, all the smells and such,” Jay Bartley said. “There’s no parade in the country as nice as this one.”

Vada Johnston of Hemet is a first-timer. She came with her husband and two daughters to watch her niece, who will be marching in one of the 22 bands. But she was also there to soak up the scene. “I’m here to people-watch,” she said.

To keep things under control, the Pasadena Police Department, California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department all planned extra patrols during the night.

“This is the time of year when, if you’re breathing, you’re working,” Pope said. Among those who were keeping watch was Sheriff Leroy D. Baca.

Baca, who was elected in November, signed up to work a 12-hour shift, which he spent strolling the boulevard shaking hands as if he were still campaigning.

“We’ve got to be closer to the people,” Baca said.

As he strolled, the traffic on the street and the crowd on the sidewalks grew. Cars honked, motorcycle engines revved and parents tried to get their children to nap. In and among the revelers were some in black ties and formal jackets headed to restaurants and bars.

Although many of the campers brought their own provisions, some restaurants planned to cater to the captive crowd. Several fast-food restaurants near Colorado Boulevard advertised that they would open at 3 a.m. to serve breakfast.

Sue Tang, the owner and manager of Tiffany’s Coffee near the entrance to Plaza Pasadena, planned to stay open all night. As in past years, she anticipated a trickle of customers through the night and then a huge rush around dawn.

But she didn’t plan to stick around for the parade. “When the crowd stops coming, I go home,” she said.

Gloria and Harry Smelser were out on the parade route Thursday, but only to hold down space for their children and grandchildren. Their children had driven from Wisconsin with their families, stopping in Colorado to ski and then pick up the Smelsers from their home in Phoenix.

But the Smelsers planned to retreat to a hotel, leaving the camping to the younger generations. They said they would be back this morning to bring a parade-time breakfast.

“We’ll have rolls and coffee,” Gloria Smelser said. “Oh, and milk. They’re dairy farmers, you know.”