Historic Hood River
Parade Mystery
1-9-2025
Notes
Here’s a bit of a mystery with a New Year’s theme. This image is from the George Thomson family album. While this parade clearly isn’t in Hood River, we have images of that stork posing with someone who I think is George Thomson at a Hood River location. One of the banners across the street says “Welcome BPOE” and Thomson’s car has the number “1507” on it which is the number of the Hood River Elks Lodge. Can you fill in any more details? What are those odd costumes? Where is the parade? Circa 1930s based on the automobiles.
L. E.
I don’t know if this applies, but evidently there was a large Elks convention in Portland in July of 1925.
Quite the celebration. “Elks Drink Up 96 Barrels of Lager in a Day”.
“Special headquarters for women visitors attending the Elks convention at 12th and Alder streets is the daily meeting place of hundreds of women….”
Portland businesses declared a half day holiday for the parade.
Officials Elks’ parade routed through Multnomah field.
The parade was in the area of South Park, Market St. to Fifth St. Pine St. to Sixth St. Yamhill, Broadway, Alder.
The newsprint is hard to read, but it looks like the Elks Temple is on Twelfth St.
Auto trips to Mt Hood were planned and boat trips up the Columbia.
Pat A
Possibly the Rose festival parade in Portland.
Lots of spectators and the
tracks for street cars definitely are in a large city.
nels
Does the large building in the left background offer a hint?
nels
Must be a North-South running street with the shadows
Does the negative include the name of
the apartment building?
Arthur Babitz
LE sent me the Oregonian clip which explains the Hood River folks were a brand new Elks chapter, so attended this July 1925 Portland Elks parade dressed as babies. George Thomson led with the stork. The article promised 200 Hood Riverites would be in attendance. Mystery fully solved!
kmb
Seems like a large public turnout for an Elks parade, but maybe the Elks and these types of parades were more popular back in those days.