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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;leeg, post: 3412604, member: 17073&quot;]I discussed the 1921 Alabama Half-Dollar in an earlier thread. This is about the Celebration.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a195/leeg1957/Book%20Project%20Images/Alabama/Birm%20Public%20Library%20Central%20Figures%20%20B.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>“<b>Here are the central figures in Birmingham’s Semi-Centennial celebration. Of this number Mr. Bowie was the general chairman; Mr. Harold, as secretary-manager of the Civic Association, which fostered the birthday party idea, executive secretary of the Semi-Centennial Association; Mr. Ramsay, finance chairman, who raised more than $45,000 to stage the celebration, and Mr. Wiley, chief chairman of the exposition building committee. Of the others, Mrs. W. J. Adams had charge of the chorus of 1,000 voices in the pageant; Mrs. Hornady, the cast of the pageant; Mrs. L. J. Haley, pageant work; Mr. Erickson, the music; Mr. Crowder, chairman of publicity; Mr. Warren, architecture and Col. Pierce, assistant to Mr. Ramsay. The Birmingham Civic Association put forth early last February as one of its principal objectives for 1921 a really big celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of what it then declared to be the biggest city of its age in America--Birmingham. </b></p><p><br /></p><p>In order to spread the propaganda for such a celebration, the association at its annual meeting on the night of February 18 put on a series of tableaux illustrating the successful stages of Birmingham&#039;s growth. That started the ball rolling and the idea kept gathering force. Then came the National Balloon Race, which was offered to Birmingham by the Aero Cub of America. The Civic Association organized the Birmingham Semi-Centennial Association and induced this organization to stage the National Balloon Race as the first celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Birmingham.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Semi-Centennial Association, in which the pioneers were Frank E. Butler, afterwards elected chairman, Sam C. Bowman, W. V. M. Robertson, Jr., C. N. Wiley, Mrs. W. J. Adams, Dr. J. H. Phillips, Reid Law-son, Chas. L. Harold, secretary-manager of the Civic Association, and others, considered the advisability of making the National Balloon Race the center of a great Semi-Centennial celebration, which would be the only event of the year. It was decided that a pageant and an industrial exposition, displaying the manufactured products of Birmingham, would he essential features of an adequate celebration.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; <b>Pioneer Group Gets Busy</b>. Then came the suggestion from the pioneer group, Butler, Bowman, Robertson and Harold, that Birmingham&#039;s 50 years of history, marvelous for its unparalled growth, were important enough to command nation-wide attention. Therefore, why not fix the celebration at a season of the year when no less than the president of the United States should grace the occasion with his presence. The thought did not improve all of the original committee and cold water was thrown upon the project of inviting President Harding. However, those making the suggestion were organized to extend the invitation and if President Harding could come May 21 in connection with the Balloon Race, it would be proper to prepare for the big birthday party at that time, but, if for any reason President Harding could not accept the invitation for the Spring and should per chance consent to be the city&#039;s guest in the Fall, then the principal events would be reserved for another celebration in the Fall.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a195/leeg1957/Book%20Project%20Images/Alabama/Harding_in_Premocar_1.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>A grand parade began at 10:00 AM and looped around the entire business district. The lead car, in which Harding was joined by his First Lady, former Mayor <a href="https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/George_Ward" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/George_Ward" rel="nofollow">George Ward</a> and <a href="https://www.bhamwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Frank_McQueen&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.bhamwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Frank_McQueen&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" rel="nofollow">Frank McQueen</a>, a black barber, was a gleaming white <a href="https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Premocar" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Premocar" rel="nofollow">Premocar</a>, manufactured in Birmingham by the <a href="https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Preston_Motors_Corporation" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Preston_Motors_Corporation" rel="nofollow">Preston Motors Corporation</a>.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; <b>Get Delegation Together</b>. After more than two weeks of constant endeavor, in which nearly every citizen of prominence in Birmingham was urged to join a delegation to go to the White House to extend the invitation, it appeared that the project would fail for lack of cooperation. Undaunted, however, Bowman, Butler, Robertson and Harold, kept plugging away until the following delegation agreed to accompany Butler and Harold to Washington: Sid W. Lee, Frank P. Glass, T. H. Aldrich, Thos. W. Martin, W. M. Walmsley and Forney Johnston. Accordingly, a delegation through the prompt action of Senator Underwood secured an appointment with President Harding for Wednesday, April. 10. Meantime, the national balloon race has been fixed for May 21 as the first event of the year to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the city. Joined by the representatives and the Washington correspondents of the Birmingham newspapers and accompanied by Senator Underwood, the delegation called on the president and after an admirable presentation of the Birmingham case by Senator Underwood and Mr. Glass, flanked by all members of the delegation, President Harding declined the invitation to attend the Spring celebration, but definitely accepted for the Fall event. And as evidence of the affair, the president yielded to the suggestion of Mr. Harold to step out on the White House lawn and be photographed with members of the delegation.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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