The 1949 Covered Wagon Days was a real treat. The festival's theme for that year for "1849 to 1949: A Century of Gold." President Harry Truman sent a letter of praise to San Bernardino for hosting such a wonderful celebration. Entries came from as far away as Arizona and Nevada and stayed in San Bernardino from Oct. 13-16.

There were many fun events to fill up the four-day festival. "The Spelling Bee" inside the California Hotel and "The Costume Ball" at the Municipal Auditorium kicked off the festival on Thursday.

The following morning featured popular radio personality Jack McElroy and ABC-KITO presenting "Breakfast in Hollywood" in the dining room at the beautiful Arrowhead Springs Hotel.

On Friday evening, a "Base Line Re-enactment" celebrated Col. Henry Washington's historic Southern California survey back in 1852. Ten magnesium flares were set on top of Mount San Bernardino. A tremendous explosion was visible in San Bernardino when the flares misfired. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

During the same evening, there were outdoor square dances at three locations along Base Line - between D and G streets, east of Arrowhead Avenue and near the corner of Mount Vernon Avenue.

Of course, there was the grand parade through San Bernardino. Starting at noon on Saturday, Oct. 15, more than 1,700 horses, 20 marching bands, 15 mounted police and riding groups, 25 floats, numerous stage coaches and 30 automobiles of a vintage dating from 1894 to 1912 proudly made their way through town.

The route began at the corner of Sierra Way and Highland Avenue, followed Highland westward to E Street, continued south on E and turned west on Third Street and ended at H Street.

So that nobody felt left out, there was even a "Junior Covered Wagon Days" parade held earlier that morning. Children of all ages wore costumes ranging from pioneer and Native American to comic attire. The route ran west from the corner of Waterman and Highland avenues to Eliott School near E Street.

"Grandpa's Follies," featuring 12 beautiful can-can girls, was a popular treat at the Municipal Auditorium on Saturday night, as was the first of two rodeos at the National Orange Show Stadium. The second rodeo concluded the 1949 celebration the next day.

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