Weighing in at 400 pages without pictures, Everyone Loves A Parade is more of a museum-worthy historical encyclopedia than just another regular ‘ol book about the big apple. The amount of research that John Walter and his son, Mark, did about New York City, its ticker tape parades, and all of the notable guests of honor who were featured is nothing short of extraordinary.

I enjoyed learning about all of the famous athletes, politicians, celebrities, foreign dignitaries, and a host of other incredibly accomplished individuals just as much as I enjoyed getting a behind-the-scenes look at what makes New York City one of the world’s most popular travel destinations.

These were a few of the stories that stood out:

7/6/28 - Amelia Earhart, Wilmer Stultz, and Louis Gordon

I didn’t know that Amelia Earhart did her first record-breaking flight with two men or just how dissatisfied she was with simply taking instrumentation notes. Then, four years later, tired of being referred to as “a sack of potatoes,” she basically gives the middle finger to all chauvinistic men by repeating the same 19 hour flight herself and getting her OWN ticker tape parade.

9/3/36 - Jesse Owens and The U.S. Olympic Team

After Jesse Owens pretty much single-handedly defeats the Germans at the Summer Olympics, he still has to use the service elevator to enter the post-parade reception at the Waldorf because of ridiculous segregation laws that were still in effect at the time.

Howard Hughes - 7/15/38

I love how, after his request to include in the ticker tape festivities nearly all the members of his aviation team who helped him fly around the world was denied due to budget constraints, he refused to celebrate without them and proceeded to pay for all of the extra transportation, security, and accommodations himself!

4/20/58 - General Douglas MacArthur

I always find it interesting to hear or read little factoids like how much paper was tossed out the windows at these huge parades. I think General MacArthur had one of the highest amounts when the sanitation department cleaned it all up and revealed the tally at 6000 tons of paper! WOW! Now, I’m sure if we channel our inner Karen we can all agree that that’s a huge waste of paper and human resources, but party pooping aside, that’s impressive.

3/8/71 -Apollo 14 Astronauts

I think there’s a time and place for everything. For example, staging multiple protests about racial tensions or inequality during a parade meant to celebrate a couple of really impressive humans who just flew back home safely after successfully navigating a rocket to outer-space and back-is not the right time or place. It reminds me of anti-war protesters who, to this day, continue to show up uninvited at the funeral of a fallen soldier. I get and respect the idea of peaceful protests, but in my opinion protesters who lack common sense and common courtesy (like when they block city streets and people can’t get to work) are doing more harm than good for their cause.

10/19/77 - New York Yankees - World Series Champs

This is pure nostalgia because my dad took me to see one of these World Series games. Willie Randolph, Greg Nettles, Reggie Jackson, Lou Pinella, Ron Guidry, Dave Winfield, etc….. This entry of John and Mark’s book took me back to the years when I used to know about all the players from the Yanks. This was a time when I collected baseball cards and knew what everyone’s batting average was and how many homers they had. Willie Randolph was the reason I played 2nd base when I was old enough to play Little League after finally graduating from being the team bat boy for the Oakland Pirates with my good buddy, Tommy Few.

10/3/79 - Pope John Paul II

This one reminded me of Woodstock. John and Mark noted that the police had given up trying to estimate the size of the crowds but veterans of previous parades estimated the size at over one million. Imagine having fans from all over the world and seeing signs in English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Slovak, Tagalog, & Haitian Creole. And even more impressive- being able to speak and communicate in nearly all of those languages! Regardless of how you feel about religion, you gotta appreciate the positive influence it can have when it comes to bringing people together for something positive.

1/30/81 - American hostages released from Iran

In addition to being a huge fan of the movie Argo, I love the patriotic feeling I get when I hear/read stories about our troops and/or regular American citizens doing some truly brave stuff.

6/20/90 Nelson Mandela

When you read about everything Nelson Mandela accomplished, how many people across the globe he has inspired, and the size of the crowd that day, it restores your faith in humanity (a little) when you look back at the entry for Jesse Owens.

If you’re interested in learning more about NYC and it’s evolution over the years, this is a perfect book to pick up for yourself or for someone on your Christmas list who appreciates well-crafted anecdotes about some of the most memorable moments in our nation’s history.

Click here to order your copy of Everyone Loves A Parade- A Guide To New York City’s Ticker Tape Parades.

Cheers,

-m