Celebrating Easter in 1951

JERRY PERSON

Today is St. Patrick’s Day and are we celebrating the deeds of the

man known as Patrick?

No, we are instead celebrating the creation of that tacky

concoction, green beer and not a saint of the Christian faith.

This coming Sunday, we will have Palm Sunday and count down to

Easter, two of the most sacred religious days of the Christian

religion. Easter is also the time for the return of spring with

flowers just emerging from the ground, foretelling the coming of lush

green lawns, beautiful flower beds and warmer weather.

This year, Easter will arrive early, as it did in 1951. This week, we’ll look back at how our town celebrated this important holiday and

reflect on what we may be missing today.

It would be our local churches that took the lead in celebrating

Palm Sunday (March 18) in 1951.

Huntington Beach was enjoying a Santa Ana condition with

temperatures in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

The First Christian Church at Eighth Street and Orange Avenue

brought in a local boy to speak to the congregation. George Wiedman

had recently been ordered to report for active duty as an Army

chaplain and he was to report to Japan.

George had grown up here in Huntington Beach and graduated from

Huntington High School.

Meanwhile, over at the First Methodist church at 11th Street and

Orange Avenue, the Rev. Robert Blume was holding a 10:45 a.m. worship

service, which included his sermon that he called “A Great

Reception.” That was followed by the “Open the Gates of the Temple”

and “Ride on in Majesty,” sung by the church choir.

The Rev. Pete Nyenhuis of the Foursquare church at 715 Lake St.

spent many hours planning an old-fashioned revival meeting and

brought in evangelist Bob Herald, a firebrand of God, to speak nearly

every evening beginning on Palm Sunday.

As Easter Sunday arrived on March 25, our town became a beehive of

activity. A large cross, decorated with Easter lilies, graced

Memorial Hall as the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce held its

13th annual Easter musical, “Penitence, Pardon, Peace.”

J. Sherman Denny and Ray Elliott of the chamber spent many hours

in planning this special event that would attract 330 people.

The chamber brought in the “Balladeers,” an eight-man singing

group, to perform along with our local girls’ choir under the

direction of Ralph Hawes. The choir included soloists Anita Vidal,

Josephine Courreges, Darlyne LeBard, Dorothy Van Beck and Marilyn

Huish.

Others in the choir included Carol Renfro, Deanne Murdy, Connie

Denny, Shirley Mashburn, Betty Jo Van de Veen and Sarah Carrol.

The chamber also brought in Charles Booker, a famous boy soprano,

who sang “I Heard You Singing.”

An Easter sunrise service was held at Talbert Stadium (the old

H.B. Speedway) and featured the Boys’ Christian Athletic Club

Orchestra. The service attracted more than 500 early morning risers.

The First Church of Christ’s effort to the holiday celebration

included its sunrise pageant, entitled, “The Open Tomb.”

At the regular morning service, the Rev. James G. Hurst spoke on

“Christ with Us.” For the evening service, a special musical cantata,

“Christ Victorious,” was performed under the direction of L.E.

Worthy, and included the musical number, “How Calm and Beautiful the

Morn,” sung by Shirley Worthy.

Dante Siracusa, Elroy Critton and members of our town’s Windsor

Club held Easter egg hunts at Circle Park for children up to 6 years

of age and across the street at Lake Park for children 7 to 12 years

old.

The Ocean View PTA sponsored an Easter musical that included

musical numbers by the Mothersingers, directed by Orion Bebermeyer.

These are only a few of the many ways that residents of Huntington

Beach celebrated this special holiday. And if you go out tonight to

celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a cold one, remember that this

holiday has more to it than pots of gold.