News from all over - Akron
They're a hallmark of the American holiday, those giant balloon wonders of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.And now, some of their inflatable cousins will rule over Akron's Thanksgiving weekend parade to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Lighter Than Air Society, a club founded by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. mechanics and pilots who worked on the company's blimps.
Four 48-foot balloons -- Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, the Happy Dragon, Dino the Dinosaur and a Giant Candy Cane -- will star in the Welcome Santa Parade on Saturday.
"It's a slice of Americana," said Dave Osterland, chairman of the 800-member Lighter Than Air Society. "It's what we were raised with, which is what makes this thing so exciting."
The appearance of the helium-filled characters also is a sort of homecoming, Osterland said, since Goodyear workers in Akron made the balloons used in the Macy's parade from 1927 to 1982.
The Macy's parade was three years old in 1927 when employees decided to abandon the practice of rolling lions and tigers from the Central Park Zoo down the parade route, said Macy's spokesman Orlando Veras. The live animals scared the children.
So Tony Sarg, Macy's window designer and puppeteer, imagined inflatable animals. At first, they were carried on sticks, like upside-down marionettes, Veras said. But in 1928, Goodyear used the technology it developed for rubber-coated fabrics to make the giant animals fly.
"That's why Macy's called them," said Ron Syroid, a trustee of the Lighter Than Air Society. "They'd gotten all that attention about blimps and dirigibles in that era."
Over the decades, the balloons built at Goodyear's Wingfoot Hangar and Airdock depicted iconic characters, from Felix the Cat to Underdog. When television came into vogue, they became a familiar part of Thanksgiving. Today the balloons range in size from 15 feet to 78 feet tall. "We're the opening act of the meal, per se, and we're part of the family," Veras said. "It's always flattering when others would like to add that kind of tradition to their events."
The rubber company left the balloon-animal business in 1982, and a South Dakota company now constructs Macy's wonders. The balloons that will be parading through Akron will be accompanied by 2,500 pounds of sandbags, 150 volunteers, 40 tanks of helium and a whole bunch of pickup trucks.
Other Lighter Than Air anniversary events include a display of balloon photographs and artifacts at the Akron-Summit County Main Library throughout November.
Source
Four 48-foot balloons -- Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, the Happy Dragon, Dino the Dinosaur and a Giant Candy Cane -- will star in the Welcome Santa Parade on Saturday.
"It's a slice of Americana," said Dave Osterland, chairman of the 800-member Lighter Than Air Society. "It's what we were raised with, which is what makes this thing so exciting."
The appearance of the helium-filled characters also is a sort of homecoming, Osterland said, since Goodyear workers in Akron made the balloons used in the Macy's parade from 1927 to 1982.
The Macy's parade was three years old in 1927 when employees decided to abandon the practice of rolling lions and tigers from the Central Park Zoo down the parade route, said Macy's spokesman Orlando Veras. The live animals scared the children.
So Tony Sarg, Macy's window designer and puppeteer, imagined inflatable animals. At first, they were carried on sticks, like upside-down marionettes, Veras said. But in 1928, Goodyear used the technology it developed for rubber-coated fabrics to make the giant animals fly.
"That's why Macy's called them," said Ron Syroid, a trustee of the Lighter Than Air Society. "They'd gotten all that attention about blimps and dirigibles in that era."
Over the decades, the balloons built at Goodyear's Wingfoot Hangar and Airdock depicted iconic characters, from Felix the Cat to Underdog. When television came into vogue, they became a familiar part of Thanksgiving. Today the balloons range in size from 15 feet to 78 feet tall. "We're the opening act of the meal, per se, and we're part of the family," Veras said. "It's always flattering when others would like to add that kind of tradition to their events."
The rubber company left the balloon-animal business in 1982, and a South Dakota company now constructs Macy's wonders. The balloons that will be parading through Akron will be accompanied by 2,500 pounds of sandbags, 150 volunteers, 40 tanks of helium and a whole bunch of pickup trucks.
Other Lighter Than Air anniversary events include a display of balloon photographs and artifacts at the Akron-Summit County Main Library throughout November.
Source
