Aunt Lee and the 1950 Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

The 24th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was held 73 years ago, on November 23, 1950. My honorary Aunt Lee Wallace (1903-1989) directed the whole shebang as the head of Macy's special events and public relations. She had so many creative ideas and was brilliant at getting publicity for the department store.

So many famous folks and so many impressive floats and performances made this a special parade for spectators of all ages who lined the route in Manhattan. According to the 1950 news advertisement on the fandom page for the parade, Jimmy Durante led off, with Bert Parks greeting Santa in person. Boris Karloff rode on a pirate ship float.

Cowboy star Hopalong Cassidy (played by William Boyd) rode his white horse, Topper, in the parade--you can see them in this home-movie clip from Dusty Old Thing and in this clip from the Footage Farm. For more images of this big parade, including a spaceman float my aunt mentioned in a 1952 interview, see this photographic retrospective. 

My honorary aunt, partner of my mom's twin sister, planned every detail of the parade, from start to finish. Thinking of Aunt Lee and remembering her with love on this Thanksgiving Day, 2023.