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“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
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–John Fitzgerald Kennedy
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1948, Hyannisport, Massachusetts, USA — Kennedy family at Thanksgiving at Hyannisport, Massachusetts. From left: John F. Kennedy, Jean Ann Smith, Rose Kennedy, Joseph Kennedy Sr., Patricia Lawford, Robert F. Kennedy, Eunice Mary Shriver, Edward Kennedy (squatting). — Image by © CORBIS
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Enuff of the preachin’, go and enjoy the parade in vintage B & W–
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Circa 1940, Manhattan, NY: This float, depicting a scene from the “Thief Of Bagdad,” was among those included in the annual Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade at Times Square. Photograph, ca. 1930s. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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1956, Manhattan, NY: Photo taken at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City shows the crowd watching behind a police barricade and children watching in front of the barricade. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1930, Manhattan, NY: Photo shows the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Giant balloons are led down the street by attendants, past sidewalks crowded with spectators. Ca. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1939, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: A great multitude of New Yorkers turned out today for the great annual free Thanksgiving show staged up by R.H. Macy’s department store. The parade was up to the minute with the giant replicas of comic strip and movie charactors that never fail to make a hit. Here is a view of the Tin-Man from the Wizard of OZ made from the sixth story of a Times Square building as the parade went past. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1931, Manhattan, NY: View of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Broadway. Image foregrounds giant hippopotamus balloon. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1941, Manhattan, NY: Parade participants hold ropes attached to the Santa Claus parade balloon as it collapses during the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1934, Manhattan, NY: This gigantic figure of Eddie Cantor, featured in the annual Macy parade which every year brings joy to the kiddies of New York. The route of march was down Broadway through the theatrical center and hundreds of thousands of kiddies lined the route of the march. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1934, Manhattan, NY: This big crybaby balloon was one of the features in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which paraded down Broadway, bringing joy to the hearts of the thousands of kiddies who lined the route of March. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1958, Manhattan, NY: Thanksgiving Day – Macy’s Parade. Spaceman Balloon Held Up By Crane Moves Down Broadway. Towering Spaceman balloon, held by crane, wins out-of-this-world admiration from young and old at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1959, Manhattan, NY: Thanksgiving Day – Macy’s Parade. A balloon of a thirsty crocodile in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Date unknown, Manhattan, NY: Crowd Watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. — Image by © Underwood & Underwood/CORBIS
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Circa 1959, Manhattan, NY: Thanksgiving Day – Macy’s Parade. Balloon of crocodile in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1952, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: A giant spaceman balloon looms over the crowd watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. The helium-filled balloon was one of the Macy parade’s five stellar attractions, with 15 floats, 11 bands, 31 comedy acts and 54 clowns regaling delighted spectators. An estimated 2,250,000 persons, mostly children, enjoyed the “standing room only” show. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1962, Manhattan, NY: A giant Bullwinkle float looms over the crowd in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Despite the weather, a large crowd came out to see the parade on a rainy Thanksgiving Day. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1951, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Thanksgiving Day – Macy’s Parade. Happy Holiday For Many… A Toy Soldier Balloon, paced by float bearing an American eagle, lords it over Times square as Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade provides the annual eye treat. More than 2,000,000 persons, old and younG, viewed the holiday capers. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1962, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Macy’s Parade. Times Square & 43rd Street. All He’s Quacked Up To Be, Donald Duck takes a bow in Times Square. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1959, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Popeye, one of the huge balloons in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, makes its way through Times Square. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1959, Manhattan, NY: Thanksgiving Day – Macy’s Parade. Spaceman is seen as it comes down Broadway in the annual Macy Day Parade. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1959, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Thanksgiving Day – Macy’s Parade. ‘Here comes Popeye. The pipe-puffing sailor man, high-strung and swaying in a brisk breeze, floats over Times Square as one of the balloon characters in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. A million kids of all ages saw it.’ — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1959, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Macy Day Parade. Photo shows the “Turkey” one of the helium filled balloons on it’s way through Times Square. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1961, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Thanksgiving Day Parade, flying dragon balloon. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1925, Manhattan, NY: Santa Claus rides a parade float pulled by a team of horses down Broadway during the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1940, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Hippo Balloon at the Thanksgiving Day Parade. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1941, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 1941 — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1941, NY: Some pretty queer looking pedestrians can be observed at large gatherings at Broadway, but some of the creatures who make their way down the famed thoroughfare in the annual Macy Thanksgiving Parade are enough to faze even a taxi driver. Here throngs of New Yorkers jamming Columbus Circle gape as a flying fish swings onto Broadway from Central Park West. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1933, Manhattan, NY: Macy’s Parade. Ooh, Father Knickerbocker, Your Streets Are So Narrow! You can just hear “Andy the Alligator” complaining of the narrowness of New York’s most famous “lane” which is Broadway, as the helium inflated “Andy” floated over and dwarfed the street and everything in it. “Andy” and a host of such gargantuan figures of rubber delighted the myriads of New York kiddies and their Ma and Pas in the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade of a New York department store, that ushers in the Christmas shopping season, and the store’s opening of its toy department. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1955, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade passes Times Square in New York City. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1949, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: There was more than turkey with all the trimmings for New Yorkers today. Youngsters and oldsters got an extra treat from the gas bags, floats and bands in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. This critter looked down on the crowd as the procession went through the Times Square area. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1963, Manhattan, NY: Larger Than Life. Members of the “ground crew” appear to have their hands full as they prepare to “launch” Dino the Dinosaur, a feature of the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade, November 28th. Launching site was Central Park West in the seventies, where a huge net keeps Dino anchored. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1900s, Manhattan, NY: A Felix the Cat and other parade floats and balloons are led down Broadway during the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. — Image by © Underwood & Underwood/CORBIS
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Date unknown, NY: A Turkey balloon in an early Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — Image by © Underwood & Underwood/CORBIS
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Circa 1949, Times Square, Manhattan, NY: Man Of The Moment. It was quite a treat for these youngsters when a Santa Claus on stilts stopped to shake hands with them and find out what they want for Christmas at Times Square during the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Grownups got a big kick out of the proceedings too. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Circa 1975, Times Square, NY: Seven-year-old Wanda Ojeda gets an early start letting Santa know what she’s expecting for Christmas. She just happened to be on hand as Santas gathered in the Times Square area here to kick off the 79th Annual Christmas Fund-Raising Campaign for the Volunteers of America. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
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Guys and dolls… siiiiiick!
Hello, My daughter, Mary Railey Binns, was in the parade in (we think) 1990. She rode on the Santa float and dressed as a package. One can imagine the excitement of being in the parade because we are from Columbus, Georgia. A friend who worked for Macy’s, Mary Howard, arranged for our daughter to be in the parade and we had such a wonderful weekend in NYC . It was Mary Railey’s first trip and it was magical from beginning to end. To make it even more special, my father and I have had the longtradition of watching the parade together on Thanksgiving morning as my mother scurried around the kitchen preparing the feast to come. At this very moment in 2010 I am at our Beach house with Mary Railey, now aged 28, her fiance, Rick Bartlett from Burlington, Vermont and my wonderful father, William Nevels who will be ninety in a few weeks. We are, of course, watching the parade, enjoying Bloody Marys and enjoying our wonderful traditiion. Thank you Macy’s for creating this for my family. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Susan Binns