1. Page 6 • CEDAR STREET Times • October 4, 2013
By Dixie Layne
The costumes are ready, the bands are arranged,
banners are set to wave, and the air is filling with
excitement as Pacific Grove prepares for its annual
Butterfly Parade and Bazaar. For 75 years, Pacific
Grove’s schools have joined together in the fall to form
a parade that welcomes the monarchs back to their
overwintering home, Butterfly Town USA – America’s
Last Hometown. This year, on Oct. 5, the parade will
line up at its host school, Robert H. Down Elementary,
and begin its procession at 10:00 a.m. from Pine Street
to Lighthouse Avenue and back again. The Bazaar will
be held behind the school from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
“Each year the Butterfly Parade takes us into
winter – it marks the end of summer and the start of the
holiday season,” explains parent and Butterfly Parade
Committee member, Elizabeth Harvey. “You can feel a
change in the air; it is quintessential fall,” she contin-
ues. “It is the first occasion many of our new military
families see Pacific Grove in action; they see what
Pacific Grove is all about.”
The 75th anniversary of this iconic event will be
marked by a special exhibit celebrating the Parade and
Bazaar’s history with photos, memorabilia, and stories
from 1939 through 2012. The exhibit’s tent will be part
of the Bazaar and open to the public. Don’t miss this
opportunity to visit the exhibit. For many of us it will
provide a chance to relive the joy and pride we felt dur-
ing our own march through the streets of Pacific Grove.
The first Butterfly Parade was held in 1939 and
was part of a much larger celebration called the “First
Annual Butterfly Pageant and Golden Anniversary
Celebration,” whose purpose was to mark the City’s
50th anniversary. According to the event’s Program,
the Celebration started at 10:00 a.m. at Pacific Grove’s
Municipal Ball Park with a social get-together and
impromptu talks; the PTA bazaar booths opened at
11:00, and at noon the Golden Jubilee program began.
At 1:00 p.m. the Kidddie Wheeled Parade started at
the Post Office, preceded by the high school band and
butterfly banner with the PTA Dad’s Club supervising.
Parade judges were Mrs. C.C. Stewart, A.B. Ingram,
and Mrs. W.G. Cook. With the parade’s arrival at the
Ball Park, prizes were awarded followed by talks about
the monarchs, music, a play of four scenes described as
an Indian Legend written and performed by residents.
Then Leo Weber and his trained horse performed, and
the event closed near 10:00 p.m. when the final curtain
came down on the play – the history of Pacific Grove
performed in six episodes.
The Pageant was presented again in both 1940 and
1941, but World War II put the Pageant on a five-year
hiatus. In 1947, the Pageant was revived as a three day
celebration with a Parade of more than 800 children
being held the preceding Saturday.
Jayne Dix Gasperson recalls the 1947 Pageant.
“It was a big deal. I remember performing as a solo-
ist opening night at the Ball Park.” News reports of
the day and the 1947 program describe more than 150
local actors performing in the Butterfly Play; a lavish
production with a set built by The Lighthouse Club
and City employees who donated their time. The set
included a real waterfall and the representation of a
pine forest. The costumes were said to be treated of
colorful luminous paint that provided a special effect
with the use of a dark light. The Monterey Peninsula
Masonic Choir performed, of which Mrs. Gasperson
was a member.
75 Years of Celebrating Butterflies
National Geographic, 1963
Nte Harvey and Connor Bo, 2012
Below, majorettes c. 1950s. Left, Mr. Gary Williams’ Class, 2012
Above, Robert Down School
Marching Band, 1958. Be-
low, James, Elizabeth, Con-
nor, Dexter Harvey
Ford Times cover, 1977
By 1950, the Butterfly Parade and Bazaar was a
school event, kept alive by Pine Street School teacher
Millie Gehringer and the PTA. The Parade started at
Pine Street School and finished at the Boy Scout Hall
where the Bazaar was held. Although there were only
25 children marching in the 1939 Parade, in 1951
more than 1,500 costumed children from public and
parochial Pacific Grove elementary schools marched
in the Parade, including 34 class groups, two bands,
baton groups, school clubs, Scout troops, decorated
horses, bikes, wagons, and costumed dogs and cats.
In 1968, First Lady of the United States, Lady Bird
Johnson visited Pacific Grove and was welcomed by
some local “butterflies” – costumed elementary school
children.
With thanks to those who have kept this home-
town tradition alive for 75 years, we thank this year’s
team for reminding us of our heritage; Robert H.
Down principal Mrs. Linda Williams, Butterfly Parade
Committee co-chairs Steve Rodolf and Rachel Hunter,
and Historical Exhibit chair Elizabeth Harvey and her
husband James. And in turn they would all like to
thank everyone who contributed to this year’s Parade,
Bazaar, and Exhibit.