Christmas parades past
Jan Huston, Special to The Gazette
Monday, November 30, 2009
It was 1977 when Emporia once again began celebrating annual Christmas parades. That year Robert Doudican, then owner of Robert’s Leather Goods, volunteered to organize a Christmas parade to help Emporians share the Christmas spirit. He hoped that the parade would be spiritual, not just commercial, in spirit. Only the Chamber of Commerce float was allowed to have a Santa Claus.
By 1985, the number of units participating in the parade exceeded 100, and all but 15 or 20 were floats. Plaques were awarded for the best entries judged on originality, appropriateness, coordination of color, materials, props, characters and general appearance. The divisions were commercial, Chamber of Commerce; clubs and organizations, Parade Marshal Award; family and individuals, Parade Committee Award; and churches, Mayor’s Award. The winning entry in each division was preceded by a banner announcing its honor. In 1985, five Shrine groups from as far away as Topeka joined the parade.
Since 1977, Christmas parades have traditionally been held on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving with the festivities beginning at 7. Entries line up on Fourth Avenue from both the east and west and feed onto Commercial Street heading north toward ESU.
The early years
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