In 1953, the first recognized Autumn Leaf
Festival was held during the Clarion State College Homecoming. Businesses were
asked to decorate, adding a touch of color to the town. Ruth Neiger from
Brockway served as Homecoming Queen that year. Little did she, or the others
involved with the very beginning of Autumn Leaf Festival, know what it would
become. Going back to those earlier years offers insight into the history of
Autumn Leaf Festival.
The following year, 1954, the Clarion Chamber of
Commerce had an idea. Since the leaves were colored and beautiful during the
fall, a larger festival would attract even more people to the area. Two parades
were offered. The first was held from 9:30 a.m. until noon. It included veterans from foreign wars, Girl
Scouts, volunteer firemen, the Lions’ Club, the Autumn Leaf Queen’s float, and
seven Clarion County bands. Redbank’s band received a $50 prize for first place . Two and a half hours later,
the Clarion State Teachers College held their homecoming parade with many
beautiful floats made by local fraternities.
Early years of ALF did not include
rides, but slowly, people became more interested. In 1954, 1,000 people
attended the festival. Joe McCrae and the Rhythm Masters provided music at the
ball while Betty Blair, Miss Autumn Leaf, reigned as queen of the ball.
The 1955 Autumn Leaf Festival offered
a wider selection of events. The Clarion Republican, the local
newspaper, published poems, advertisements, and posters touting the event and
described scenic tours being offered. They included Helen Furnace, Cook Forest,
Piney Dam, Dutch Hill at Lookout Point, and Foxburg Golf Course, the oldest
golf course in the nation.
Other events included a fishing contest, Autumn Leaf
Ball, Farmer’s Day, tractor pulls, horse contest, farm implement show,
“Tournament of Leaves” parade, and entertainment by bands from Clarion,
Clarion-Limestone, Redbank Valley, North-Clarion, and Keystone. Scouting groups
joined in the march.
To help fund the festival, businesses donated money and
the “fine-o-meter,” used to collect parking ticket fines, was introduced.
Unfortunately, many didn’t take the red box seriously and problems arose when
people did not pay. Although wet at the beginning, the event ended successfully
with clear weather.
In 1956, the annual “Tournament of Leaves” parade was
one of the highlights of the Clarion State Teachers College Homecoming. Clarion
businesses donated monetary prizes for the float competition whose theme
followed movie titles. Ardie Gourley reigned as Homecoming Queen. Bands from
Clarion joint schools and Clarion College performed. Parade marshals were
Donald Stroup, president of Clarion Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Paul G.
Chandler, president of Clarion State Teacher’s College.
Merchants held a three-day “Harvest of Values” to
promote local businesses. On Friday, Aunt Jemima arrived in town to help the
Kiwanis Club promote their pancake festival. Funds raised supported a Christmas
program for underprivileged children, and James Arner presented Aunt Jemima
with a key to the city.
Prior to Saturday’s parade, a pancake-flipping race was
held on Main Street, and house-wives were the only ones eligible to enter. The
weekend ended with college football and
the homecoming dance. With fall’s foliage at its peak, all roads led visitors
to Clarion County for the Autumn Leaf Festival.
“October is a glorious time of year when her lovely maid
of honor drips a flame of color and enchantment on all her bounds of nature”
was part of a poem noted in the Clarion Republican in October 1957. The
weather was quite good for the parade, however, the number of participants
dropped from previous years due in part to an outbreak of influenza at Clarion
College. Judges watched the parade from the Anderson Hotel. The Civic Club’s
float, displaying Abraham Lincoln reading the Emancipation Proclamation, won
first place. Other events included a street fair sponsored by the American
Legion (offered rides for young and old), a model airplane meeting conducted by
the Modelaires, a street dance on Grant Street, and the second annual pancake
festival ($1 bought all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, and a beverage!) The
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2145 sponsored the Autumn Leaf Festival Ball.
Interestingly, through the years, the celebration of fall was carried over in
advertisements used by businesses throughout the days surrounding Clarion’
Autumn Leaf Festival.
In 1958, the Autumn Leaf Festival earned status as a
permanent event. The Chamber implemented a committee to organize the
festivities. Both high schools and college worked together producing impressive
floats for the parade. With bands, cars, horses, marching units, and drill
teams, joining the floats, this year’s
parade lasted an hour and 15 minutes and was thought to be the best and longest
ever seen in Clarion. The Clarion Republican quoted this year as “Best
Autumn Leaf Festival Yet is enjoyed by Thousands”.
The 1959 Autumn Leaf Festival was also a great success.
Activities included a community hymn sing, the Pennsylvania State Police rodeo,
teenage rock ‘n roll show, a U.S. Air Force Band performance, an Agriculture
Day parade, the ALF parade, and Clarion College Homecoming. A number of
celebrities were in town during the week including David Lewis and Jerome
Reeves of KDKA-TV, Gilbert Love of the Pittsburgh Press, and
Pennsylvania Governor David Lawrence.
Agriculture Day was a celebration in itself with
contests in fiddling and corn-husking. The “Ag-Day” parade included eight
floats and four bands while the Autumn Leaf Festival Parade included 46 floats,
15 bands, and drum and bugle corps, all following the governor. A total of 106
units participated.
Some 300 people packed the college stadium for the hymn
sing. William McDonald conducted the 75-person choir. The rock ‘n roll record
hop, held in the VFW auditorium, featured the “Crests” who recorded the number
one hit “Sixteen Candles”. Just 17 years old, Walt Smith, the only blind disc
jockey in the world, played records from 9 a.m. to noon.
The “lucky seventh” or 1960 Autumn Leaf Festival’s events
ranged from free pony rides to parachutes and from the Tommy Dorsey Band to
“Mrs. America.” The opening of that year’s event was the Army Sports Parachute
Team on Sunday. Monday included the street carnival.
Wednesday evening, the Clarion College Theater
Department presented “Dream Girl.” Thursday evening, the famous Four Saints and
Top Hats of the U.S. Air Force Band appeared and the second annual Bi-County
art show exhibit was held. Friday was designated as agriculture day featuring a
parade, an exhibit of farm machinery, and the first open-air barbecue.
Saturday, the final day of the festival, offered a full
day of events. The parade included KDKA-TV personalities Marcy Lynn, Faye
Parker, Josie Carey, Sterling Yates, Don Riggs, Johnny Costa, and John Hills,
in addition to “Mrs. America 1961”, Rosemary Murphy.
Saturday concluded with the Autumn Leaf Ball, held at
the high school auditorium, where the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra played at a cost
of only $10 per couple. Saturday also offered the second “Little Kadey” contest
for girls and the new “Alf” contest for boys. “Kady,” the symbol of
Pittsburgh’s KDKA-TV, became associated with Clarion’s Autumn Leaf Festival.
Lastly, the 1960 festival created a “boom” of tourists
visiting Cook Forest. An estimated 10,000 people visited the Fire Tower and
Seneca Point Saturday and Sunday.
A look at the not so long ago 1970s takes us to the 1977
Autumn Leaf Festival. Although rainy,
activities were well attended. At the “Opening Leaf Cutting Ceremony,”
the 26-member U.S. Honor Guard Drill Team from Washington, D.C., performed.
Clarion County native Barry George, of Rimersburg, was a member of the drill
team who exhibited tosses, strategic maneuvers, and two shootings. This year,
the first Autumn Leaf Festival half-marathon was held. Other activities
included the Art Show, Clarion’s Homecoming game, concert/dance, train or fire
truck rides, Miss Teen Autumn Leaf Festival Pageant, Gong Show, Kids’ Parade,
carnival, and food stands highlighted by the Farmers and Merchants Day Craft
Show and Auto Show on the closing weekend.
The 1977 parade contained more than 100 units, and
another successful Autumn Leaf Festival was had by all ages. Although recent
festivals contain similarities to those in the beginning, they have become more
organized, structured, and longer in length. The 80s and 90s finds ALF
capturing the beauty of fall foliage as well as bringing special memories to
life.