by Rene Torres
“The decade that changed America.” The roaring twenties arrived in Brownsville with a splash!
As it rolled out the “Charlie Chaplin Parade.” “Come one, come all, and participate in the Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest.” At 10:30 a.m. sharp on a Saturday, the crowds were murmuring with excitement to witness the first parade of the year.
The Brownsville Herald, Queen Theater, and local business houses contributed five dollars to the top prize winner. And an additional dollar was given by a traveler who was most impressed by the clones. As a gesture of gratitude, after the parade, each imitator visited the stores that donated additional prizes.
After the judges concluded their evaluations, “Joe L. Kowalski” was awarded the first prize in the Charlie Chaplin Parade.
Other awards were given in different categories as follows:
Lupe Cerde was given a cap by the Bollack Store and a big bottle of grape juice by Eagletont Confectionary.
Willie Vertrees was awarded a silk tie and tennis shoes.
Robert Ingram, for being the smallest "Chaplin," received $5 from the Queen Theater and a pound of candy for the Sanitary Cash Grocery.
Russell Olmsted was given a .22 caliber air rifle by Borderland Hardware.
John W. Lynch, for his efforts in the make-up division, won a silk tie and box of candy from the Olympia Confectionary.
Marion Ingram earned $2.00 from John Rutlege and a pair of sunglasses from M. Landin.
Edwin Atlee was presented with 200 S&H Green Stamps and a watch.
Herman Rock was given a Radiolite watch.
The crowd and participants were "immersed in a storybook holiday, setting the sights and sounds of a new decade for Brownsville and the rest of the country," according to TIME Magazine. . . . "Business boomed and a consumer culture flourished.”
The Charlie Chaplin Parade outdid the original with each imitator with its own identity, introducing the community to a grand opening of a decade that changed America.
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment