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The floats in this parade are full of detail.  Are the cars decorated with cotton?  Can you imagine making them or what about the clean up?  What was this parade acknowledging or celebrating?  Where was it?  When was it?

Click on any image to see it up close.

These photos belonged to Ottie Brown nee Rury, my paternal grandmother, who lived in Guthrie and Enid and her grandmother lived in Ponca City.  I believe these images are of a parade and was likely in one of those Oklahoma towns.  My guess, primarily based on my grandmother’s other photos, is that these photos were taken between 1922-1927.  None of the photos have any inscriptions on the front or the back so I’ve pieced together some information in hopes of better identifying the date, location and/or event.

  • IOOF float but I do not see a lodge number
  • Pioneer Cotton Mills float.  Pioneer Cotton Mills was located in Guthrie, Oklahoma and opened about 1907 and I found referenced that it was still in business in 1931
  • National Bakery Supreme Bread float
  • A float with something about homes, possibly building or selling them
  • Vehicles that appear to be prior to 1925.
  • A tank float with the number 7 on it and uniformed men from WWI.  It is a Mark V type tank introduced about 1917.
  • American flags with 48 stars, which means it was after 1912 when Arizona became a state and before 1959 when Alaska became the 49th state.
  • A float with a large cross in the middle.
  • The women are wearing short sleeves and have parasols and the trees are full of leaves indicating the season is late spring or summer.
  • The streets are all brick

These images seem to have a theme that would be fitting for Memorial Day aka Decoration Day or Independence Day.  Guthrie has the 89er Day parade that takes place in April but I’m not sure if tanks, a cross, US flags, and IOOF floats would be included for that.

Everybody loves a parade and I’d like to know which one this was.  What suggestions or observations do you have?