The Silver Screen Oasis

I hope this makes you smile. Here's a few images of days gone by for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The original Macy's balloons were created by a wonderfully antic artist named Tony Sarg who was half surrealist-madman, half whimsical observer of life. I was lucky to have some of his rare books that had been my mother's as a kid, so these looked very familiar, even though many of his freakier, more cubistic creations might have fit right in with a monster movie from the '50s. :



This cheerful fellow is reportedly from the first Macys' parade in 1923.


Totally freaky 1930 parade...people probably needed distractions desperately.

The next 10 photos are from a treasure trove of snapshots of the 1932 Macy's Thanksgiving parade discovered in a trunk in Texas about 3 years ago. Someone must've had a great day back then.


Look! Up in the sky! It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Turkey who looks like a dragonfly in the 1932 Macy's parade. Hey, do you think those Mothman prophecies might have stemmed from this sight?
Check out Divorce in the Family (1932) with Lewis Stone & Jackie Cooper playing at the movies.

I guess Tom Turkey's underfed look might reflect the Depression era, eh? Or, he's sprung a leak.

Bye, Mr. Turkey.


I think it's a 1932 piggie, but what a strange place to put the Macy's logo...


Felix the Cat!! Does anyone spot Ignatz?


Noah's Ark, on a human scale. Wish that I could figure out if that is a skull creature or a panda on the left...Check out the billboard with the Coca-Cola Santa reaching for a bottle of the cool stuff...coke, that is.


This clown with the fez(?) really looks like a Tony Sarg drawing.


A Toy Soldier, I think? Is that guy with the big grimace and the pork pie hat leftover from Halloween?


Sleepy looking alligator looms over Gotham.


Santa's in there among the balloons. Do you think the cop is saying: "Move along, nothing to see here, move along, people"?


This Eddie Cantor balloon is from the 1940 parade.


A frankfurter dog from 1941. Look, it's Lulu advertising some kleenex on the billboard...


A fish from 1941.


Now we're within living memory. It's Bullwinkle, circa 1965!!


Underdog!! Bring him back, Macy's! And Dudley DoRight too.

This has nothing to do with the parade, but this 1907 postcard struck me as a uniquely self-destructive view of the day's centerpiece:

Moira, those are great photographs. Thank you for sharing.

To all my American friends, have a lovely thanksgiving. I hope you all have the chance to have a lovely day with your loved ones.

Moira, my perception of Sarg is primarily his puppetteering identity. Jim Henson acknowledged Sarg as an influence, and many of the balloons, especially the one in the second photo from the top, look very Muppet-like to me.

Sarg is also a favorite of crossword builders -- if you've done NY Times puzzles in the past, you've come across Sarg's name.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Moira,

Those photos are fantastic, especially the ones found in a trunk in Texas!

And Underdog! Oh my! I remember him from the parades like it was yesterday. Flying down the canyon of New York streets. I don't think there was a Polly Purebred balloon though.

He and Mighty Mouse were my two favorites when I was a little girl.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the SSOers out there. May your holiday be bright, your table filled with family and friends and may you all revel in the bounty and good graces of the celebration!

Happy Thanksgiving all- may we all be truly grateful for the blessings we've received.

In addition to the fine things I have I am grateful to be acquainted with such a grand group. You all add so much here. Thanks.

Don't forget about "The National Dog Show", hosted by John O'Hurley, on NBC @ noon tomorrow.

Normally, I'd be hyping whetting an edge on one's appetite with a good ol' heapin' helpin' of NFL pigskin drama 'tween the drumsticks . . but after the Monday Night debacle . . I'm not in the mood to discuss anything football!!

A Happy Thanksgiving to all at SSO. I'm glad with all the problems in the world, that this place has kept its namesake and been indeed an "oasis", where I can get away from the pressures of life for awhile and simply have fun. Have a great holiday and stay safe everyone.

Mr. Arkadin wrote:A Happy Thanksgiving to all at SSO. I'm glad with all the problems in the world, that this place has kept its namesake and been indeed an "oasis", where I can get away from the pressures of life for awhile and simply have fun. Have a great holiday and stay safe everyone.

Wonderfully well-said, Mr. A!
Truth be told, I'm especially grateful to have SSO "in the house" this year; see it's our first-ever "Empty Nest" Thanksgiving: Wes & Morgan, and their respective broods, are "in-law'ing" in Virgina & Massachusetts; downstairs will be vacant, too, as Doug & his kids are going over the river & through the woods (literally) to his Great-Gram's house.
So at table, just the Bride & I, with Malamute underfoot, and the Spirits who are seated within our hearts . . .
May your Day be merry & bright.
Thank you all.

First off Moira thank you for those pics! There is nothing I love better than finding old things in forgotten pieces of furniture up in the attic, or down in the cellar. What fun it is to try to figure out who the people are, or what the time period is!

I've been laughing at myself lately because for the since the purchase of Marshall Fields I saw the inside of a Macy's store a couple of weeks ago. I always thought Macy's was a high end type of store like Saks, Lord and Taylor, and Marshall Fields. When they bought out Fields I assumed they would carry on the lovely traditions, but find Macy's is little more than a high end Sears, or Penneys. Attitudes towards Macy's in movies always seemed classier or something of the sort, but I guess I was mis-reading it. It's so sad to see our lovely Marshall Fields sink to such depths, but then with the economy, I guess most shopping is done at K-Mart, and Walmart now as I do. I did like to visit Fields at holiday time to dream though, our store had a great ice cream parlor type coffee shop which was such fun to have a hot chocolate and a petite-forte (spelling?)while planning the shopping day. I could never afford anything there, but it was fun to look.

We Americans are pretty lucky, because we have a lot of Federal holidays that are uniquely ours - 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Presidents Day, etc. So, lets all give thanks tomorrow for what we hope will be a big, and necessary change for us, with hope for tomorrow.

* * * * * HAPPY THANKSGIVING * * * * *

Anne

Anne,

I was giving some thought to your description of Macy's and I realized that at one time in the 20th century it really was grand department store. People thought of it as they did Marshall Fields, Neiman Marcus, Saks and other stores. Part of that allure came from the fact that you had to actually go to NYC and San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, etc to shop at these stores. They weren't in every city across the country.

The Macy's in NYC, like its counterpart in San Francisco (hi, Marco!), are still really elegant trips back in time. They are nothing like the Macy's in every mall in America.

I think when Macy's decided to go nationwide they decided they wanted to appeal to more people and so they moved away from being a high end retail store to being more like a high-end Target.

But over the last few years, it seems you are right, they have become a high-end Sears of Penneys. There's nothing really special about shopping at Macy's.

But I still dream about the one in San Francisco (where I found some of the best Fiesta dinnerware accessories I have ever found) and am glad I got to visit the one in NYC.

Neither of those are like the ones in our own backyards.

Lynn:

Here in Chicago we had two shopping places when I was a kid. For normal people like us there was 63rd and Halstad with Sears, Wieboldts, etc. For High end we had State Street with Saks, Marshall Field, Neiman/Marcus, etc. and State Street was where we went to see the beautifully decorated windows. One night every Christmas season, we bundled up, and took the bus and El down town to see the windows with all the terrific Christmas decorations. Every store tried to out-do the one next door and it made for a great night, ending up with hot cocoa at Walgreens. A few years ago I suggested we go down and see the windows and lucky for us my sister joined us because all those department stores have been re-done into apartment houses and we had to go up North to find decorated windows, but they were nothing like my childhood. What a let down it was for me. As an adult, I wanted to cry for my lost childhood which my grandkids would never experience.

But everyone have a good day tomorrow!!!!

Anne

Twas the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't sleep.

I tried counting backwards and tried counting sheep

The leftovers beckoned - the dark meat and white

But I fought the temptation with all of my might.

Tossing and turning with anticipation,

The thought of a snack became infatuation.

So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door

And gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,

Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.

I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,

'Till all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.

I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky

With a mouthful of pudding and a hand full of pie.

But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees....

Happy eating to all - pass the cranberries, please.

May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious, may your pie take the prize,

May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs.

May your Thanksgiving be blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends. It's been so long since i've been here. I hope to be back in the swing of things soon

Those are great vintage photos of past Macys parades too!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends at SSO!

Wonderful photos, Moira!