Macy's Day Parade

Its almost that time !
One of my favorite holiday “to do’s” (since I was a child) is waking up and watching the Macy’s Day Parade.
I recently found some new photos to add to this post which – I originally posted awhile back, I hope you enjoy the photos and fun facts.

The Macy’s Day Parade !
Started by Macy’s in 1924, at the request of Macy’s employees who had experienced big parades in their home countries. Macy’s originally used live animals in the parades and after learning the children were frightened by the animals, the large character balloons were introduced.

Starting in 1927 Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was asked to make the balloons since they had successfully made blimps and dirigibles.
INITIALLY, the balloons were released after the first parades and a monetary gift was given from Macy’s to the finder. So that the balloons could appear in more parades (and because there were a few unusual close call accidents –SUCH AS.... Felix the Cat, Macy’s first character balloon, met its demise after floating into a high-tension wire and catching fire, and - One hit a plane, sending it on a 5,000-foot plunge. A 22-year-old woman had been piloting the plane over Jamaica, Queens, with her instructor when a 60-foot Tom Cat floated into view “like a sea serpent out of its native element,” The NY Times reported. “She sent the ship hurtling at the goggle-eyed creature,” the article said. “The left wing of the plane smacked against the balloon fabric that was Tom’s hide.”

--- Macy’s began tethering the balloons.
Much like making the blimp, a pattern or template was created, which was placed on the special fabric and cut out. Each piece had to be sewn or glued together, then painted. This process was repeated for each section. Then many hours were spent attaching the various sections to complete the figure. Final touches of paint were added to finish the balloons
Some of the first character balloons produced by Goodyear included The Katzenjammer Kids, Mickey Mouse & Felix the Cat.

The parade took a hiatus during World War II. In 1942, the president of Macy’s, Jack Straus, announced that the parade would be canceled because of the war. He deflated a green dragon balloon and gave the rubber to the military. The company eventually donated 650 pounds of balloon rubber. In 1945, when the war ended, the parade returned.

Over the next fifty years, Goodyear created many classic Macy's balloons. The partnership with Macy's ended in 1981, with the third Superman, debuting the year prior, being the last balloon to be produced by Goodyear.

Many photo credits from the University of Akron Archives to Summit Memory project (Summit County Library) to the Macys Historical page

The 2019 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade takes place on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 28, from 9 a.m. to noon ET. Viewers on the West Coast won’t need to wake up at the crack of dawn to watch it; the television broadcast on NBC will air at 9 a.m. across time zones.

by Beth Becker