Cigar Harvest Festival, Hartford
PhotographerPhotographed by
John Vignoli
Date1952
MediumPhotography; gelatin silver on paper
DimensionsSheet (height x width): 8 x 10in. (20.3 x 25.4cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Object number2015.117.2.1-.65
Description65 photographs of the 1952 Cigar Harvest Festival parade held in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Many of the photographs depict the floats, while others show the cars carrying parade and city officials marching bands, all with spectators visible in the background. Also depicted are the Harvest Queen and her court, as well as prisoners such as the state's Adjutant General, Frederick Reincke, in the festival's "jail".
Floats represent the following interests: Suffield, Connecticut; Sunderland-Montague; the insurance companies of Hartford, Connecticut; The Hartford Times' Carol Sing; the Water Follies at Bulkeley Stadium, featuring Paul Barbarian and his New Orleans Jazz Band; Because You're Mine, a musical, at Loews Poli theater; the electric companies of the Connecticut Valley; the Fuller Brush Company; Future Farmers of America; a reenactment of the flag raising at Iwo Jima; AAA; East Hartford, Connecticut; Windsor, Connecticut; The Merry Widow at Loes Poli theater; the Connecticut trucking industry; Southwick, Massachusetts; South Windsor, Connecticut; Manchester, Connecticut; 4H; Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Hartford; East Windsor, Connecticut; Hatfield, Massachusetts; Ernie's Bavarian Band; Northampton, Massachusetts; New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad; Phillies; Windsor Locks, Connecticut; the Rheingold Girls, Ivanhoe at Loews Poli; a Lithuanian float that reads, "When Communism dies, the Lithuanians will have a festival;" Connecticut State Police; United for Freedom; Glastonbury, Connecticut; Park Street Board of Trade; Deerfield-Whately, Massachusetts; the King of the Sun Dodgers; and Shriners' Hospitals for Crippled Children.
The "tobacco valley" is referenced frequently. Many of the floats carry young women in evening gowns.
NotesSubject Note: The Cigar Valley Harvest Festival was a celebration of the "tobacco valley" in Connecticut and Massachusetts that was held in Hartford in 1951 and 1952. It consisted of an evening parade (depicted in these photographs), the naming of a Cigar Valley Queen, and a coronation ball. In 1951, the parade depicted in these photographs was held on September 11, and started at Colt Park, continued on Main Street, and ended at Bushnell Park. The queen that year was Shirley Ann Sullivan.Floats represent the following interests: Suffield, Connecticut; Sunderland-Montague; the insurance companies of Hartford, Connecticut; The Hartford Times' Carol Sing; the Water Follies at Bulkeley Stadium, featuring Paul Barbarian and his New Orleans Jazz Band; Because You're Mine, a musical, at Loews Poli theater; the electric companies of the Connecticut Valley; the Fuller Brush Company; Future Farmers of America; a reenactment of the flag raising at Iwo Jima; AAA; East Hartford, Connecticut; Windsor, Connecticut; The Merry Widow at Loes Poli theater; the Connecticut trucking industry; Southwick, Massachusetts; South Windsor, Connecticut; Manchester, Connecticut; 4H; Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Hartford; East Windsor, Connecticut; Hatfield, Massachusetts; Ernie's Bavarian Band; Northampton, Massachusetts; New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad; Phillies; Windsor Locks, Connecticut; the Rheingold Girls, Ivanhoe at Loews Poli; a Lithuanian float that reads, "When Communism dies, the Lithuanians will have a festival;" Connecticut State Police; United for Freedom; Glastonbury, Connecticut; Park Street Board of Trade; Deerfield-Whately, Massachusetts; the King of the Sun Dodgers; and Shriners' Hospitals for Crippled Children.
The "tobacco valley" is referenced frequently. Many of the floats carry young women in evening gowns.
In 1952, the festival was expanded from three days to six, running from September 9-14. Entertainment stars Elizabeth Threatt, Mel Allen, Jimmy Dorsey, Marguerite Piazza, Jane Pickens, Ed Sullivan, Yul Brynner, Ted Husing, Paul LaValle, and Lee Bowman made appearances and filled various roles during the festival.
Status
Not on view
Rand Avery Supply Co.
about 1900