The Roanoker - November/December 2018 - 22

1946 Christmas Parade Tragedy
Crowds thronged downtown to view what was billed as the largest Christmas parade in
Roanoke's history. Twenty minutes before the parade commenced, tragedy struck.

Nelson Harris

is a former mayor of
Roanoke and author
of a dozen books
on the region's
history. He is the
minister at Heights
Community Church
in Roanoke and
a past president
of the Historical
Society of Western
Virginia.
22

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

COURTESY OF NELSON HARRIS

I

T WAS PROMOTED TO BE ONE OF THE
largest Christmas Parades in Roanoke's history. The
1946 event ran high with expectations, being the
first year after the close of World War II. Department
store owner N.W. Pugh chaired the parade committee,
composed of leading members of the Roanoke
Chamber of Commerce and the Roanoke Merchants
Association.
The main attraction was the use of
large balloon figures-lizards, dragons
and animals-brought in by a company
that specialized in mammoth-sized
parade inflatables. Some 140 Boy Scouts
shouldered the balloons for the 45-minute
walk. The most notable was the 45-foot
green-eyed dragon carried by 34 Scouts.
There was also Clarabelle the Cow, Dino
the Dinosaur and, of course, Santa.
A reviewing stand was erected in front
of the municipal building on Campbell
Avenue, where mayors from Roanoke,
Salem, Vinton and seven other surrounding

towns were positioned. Braving overcast skies on that
Tuesday afternoon, December 3rd, were an estimated
50,000 spectators lined along the 27-block route that
snaked through downtown. They saw eight high school
marching bands, veterans from the two great wars and
a menagerie of floats, clowns and decorated vehicles.
WSLS broadcast the event live over radio, and people
were seen crowded around the upper floor windows of
offices and stores for better viewing.
Among those in the crowd was Jeanette Sherrard
Robertson of Salem. The widowed mother of eight had
brought along her daughter, Martha Ann. The parade
was perfectly timed for the Robertson family as it was
the mother's 55th birthday. They stood on the southwest
corner of Campbell Avenue and Henry Street.
The sidewalk along Campbell Avenue in front of the
State and City Building where Jeanette and Martha
Ann stood was already packed with children excited
to see the giant balloons. The official start time for
the parade was in 20 minutes, and the Robertsons had
positioned themselves early along the route for a good
view.
Coming along Henry Street was a streetcar operated
by veteran motorman V.H. McCarty of Vinton. As he
moved down Henry Street toward Campbell, a city
bus pulled alongside the curb on Campbell, but the
crowd prevented the bus from clearing the intersection.
The driver, A.L. Roberts, idled the bus as he waited
for the street light to change. McCarty gently applied

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