Our Eyes Are on the Stars”: A Rose Parade Float as Public History

Saturday, January 7, 2017
Grand Concourse (Colorado Convention Center)
Katherine Sharp Landdeck, Texas Woman's University
“’Our Eyes are on the Stars’: A Rose Parade Float as Public History”

On January 1, 2014 the Wingtip-to-Wingtip Association (WTWA) sponsored a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. The float, “Our Eyes are on the Stars” won the National Trophy Award for best depiction of American life past, present, or future. The float honored the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II and their legacy. As eight of the ninety-something year old women sat on the float fourteen younger women representing those who earned their military aviation wings in the 1970s, a USAF Thunderbird pilot, and modern combat pilots walked alongside them.  Tournament of Roses judges, notoriously serious about their business, cried with emotion as they judged the float. It was a powerful, moving experience in a hangar that smelled of roses. And it was, I argue, an example of public history at work.

While by day I am a history professor at Texas Woman’s University, on my own time I am Vice-President of WTWA, and was the sponsor of the float.  I was determined that the story of these women whom I have studied for over twenty years was told correctly and with as little sensation as possible in a float. The process of building the float and creating the message convinced me that this could be a living historical exhibit. And so that is what the float builder and I set out to do. And I believe we achieved it. Each part of the float represented some part of the WASP story and the women who walked alongside it represented some specific part of their legacy. It was a carefully crafted, beautiful example of public history.

My poster/exhibit will include images of the float, “Our Eyes are on the Stars,” breaking down each part and explaining how it represents a part of the WASP history. I will explain why and how we chose the “Legacy Walkers,” and I will show video of the crowds of nearly one million people who stood and cheered the World War II veterans and the modern women as they passed.

A final section of my presentation will include the media coverage that we received on the float which included articles in the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times(as well as numerous smaller papers), CNN, NPR’s All Things Considered, Al Jazeera America, CBS Nightly News, NBC Nightly News, Nine Network Australia, KTLA pre-parade coverage, and more. I tightly crafted the media package that went out and am happy to report that all of the coverage was historically accurate.

This Tournament of Roses Parade float is popularization of history at its most dramatic. And yet the research and care that went into creating it was as serious as any history I have undertaken. I look forward to the discussions that this poster/exhibit will bring about on what is public history scholarship. And I would really like someone to help me know where to put this on my vita.

See more of: Poster Session #2
See more of: AHA Sessions