California Morgans Love a Parade, Part One

Watching the annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena is more meaningful to me when I reflect on the countless horses and riders who have taken part over the years. One of those riders was Monrovia/Duarte horseman Merle Little, who rode in countless Rose Parades.

The December 1948 issue of The Morgan Horse magazine printed a photo of Merle and his family members getting ready to take part in the January 1949 Rose Parade.

The caption reads:

"From left to right -- Merle Little on SENOR MORGAN 8647 by SQUIRE BURGER 8282 out of BONNIE SUE 05436 by ROSCO MORGAN 7573; Marlene Little [Merle and Edna May's older daughter] on ANITA BELLE GIFT 05714 by MONTABELL 8117 out of SERENATA 05069 by MOUNTCREST SELLMAN 7289; Donnette Little [Merle and Edna May's younger daughter] on SANTA YNEZ 06183 by MONTABELL 8117 out of DORRIS F. 04705 by MASTER G. 7585; Edna May Little on LIPPITT MORMAN 8211 by MANSFIELD 7255 out of LIPPITT KATE MORO 04785 by MORO 7467."

What we don't see in the magazine photo is that it was cropped a bit for publication.  Here's a copy of the print that is part of the Merle Little estate collection.

Looking at the original printed proofs of two pictures of the Little family on their Morgans, getting ready for the Parade, gives us a bit more context. The photos were taken by John Williamson. His mark appears in the lower left corner of both images.

Williamson, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, was a well-known and very respected equine photographer based in Southern California. (He was also a grandson of cereal magnate W. K. Kellogg, whose Arabian horse ranch was in nearby Pomona.) Several photo prints with Williamson's mark on the front and/or his rubber stamp on the back, are in the Merle Little estate collection.

The other photo Williamson took on this day shows the Little family and their Morgans walking towards the camera. 

Merle's children told me that Edna May wasn't feeling well, so Donnette stayed home with her and only Merle and Marlene took part in the 1948 Rose Parade.  (I'm not sure which of their Morgans they rode.)

The Little family were rightly proud of their Morgan horses. They used one of the photos on a Christmas card.

Many thanks to members of the Little family for sharing their memories with me.