As World War I loomed, here’s how Fort Worth gathered in a spirit of patriotic unity

World War I began in Europe in August 1914. In the next two years, tensions escalated between the United States and Germany over violations of neutrality and freedom of the seas, coming to a head with the loss of American lives in the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915.

Woodrow Wilson and Congress agonized over joining the war, with public opinion favoring by a large margin. To pressure Congress, a “National Preparedness Day” was planned for June 3, 1916, with “Preparedness Parades” all across the country.

Dallas jumped the gun, holding its parade, the first in Texas, on May 30. Fort Worth also missed the big date, staging its event two days late. A parade committee scheduled it for Monday, June 5, to begin at 7 p.m. The route would start on Houston Street at First and go south with new contingents joining at Second through Fifth streets. They would proceed south to Eleventh then cut over to Main and back up to Weatherford Street, where they would turn west to return to the starting point.

Fort Worthers were nothing if not patriotic, and this would give them a chance to demonstrate that patriotism. This would be the biggest parade in Fort Worth history: 2,500 marchers and upward of 25,000 spectators. The whole thing was put together in less than a week. Businesses and schools let out early on that Monday, and people started showing up three hours in advance. They packed the sidewalks on Main and Houston and hung out windows along the parade route. Nearly every major business, fraternal organization, and ethnic group was represented.

Participating groups carried multiple flags, representing their country and their organization. They also carried banners expressing nationalist sentiments. The patriotic spirit had never run higher in Fort Worth.

The theme was “America First and Last.” The Star-Telegram described the crowd as “earnest” to distinguish it from the festive crowds that turned out for the annual Fourth of July parades.

Grand Marshal was a Rough Rider

The grand marshal leading the parade was George Vinnedge, a Spanish-American War veteran who had been one of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. The order of the marchers behind him was carefully set to give honor of position to participants according to their perceived status in the community. There was a strong feeling of competition among the various organizations to put on the best show.

Behind the grand marshal marched a contingent of mounted Fort Worth police. Then came the elderly Civil War veterans of both sides, marching together in their old uniforms under Old Glory. They kept up the pace with difficulty because not one of them was younger than 70.

A U.S. Navy contingent marched behind the Civil War veterans. They were followed by city and county officials and employees. Next came the Swift and Armour packing house contingents, each seeking to outdo the other. The Armour contingent brought a fife and drum corps that played “Dixie.” The Swift bunch brought a U.S. flag that they carried horizontally, stretching almost from curb to curb.

Greek marchers received loud applause

The Woodmen of the World, Rotarians, and Ad Club followed. Following the Ad Club was a contingent from the city’s Greek community, residents of the North Side. Many were veterans of the Balkan wars of 1912-13 who had fled their homeland for the safety and opportunity of America. They carried a banner that said, “Born in Greece. But We Are Americans.” The Star-Telegram reported that no section of the parade “was applauded more.”

The Greeks were followed by federal officials. Next came cadets of Central High School’s Reserve Officer Training Corps led by George C. Clarke, president of the school board. They wore their khaki uniforms and marched in “perfect military order.” Some of them would soon be enlisting to join the national war effort.

The Boy Scouts came next, followed by a contingent of men and boys from the YMCA. A “musical contingent” came next, led by Samuel S. Losh, head of TCU’s music department. They included a chorus and marching band that performed “America” and the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Next came the Camp Fire Girls in their homemade “woodland uniforms.”

The first business in line was the Monnig Dry Goods Co. contingent carrying not a flag but a “huge golden eagle with wings spread.” They were followed by members of Fort Worth’s Texas A&M club, former cadets wearing their old uniforms and carrying rifles. Their band marched behind them playing “Maryland, My Maryland” for some reason, probably because it was a favorite of Southerners dating back to the Civil War.

Next came an All Saints Catholic Church contingent from North Fort Worth led by Father J.E. Malone. The church was represented by 50 children of the Mount Carmel School who proved a challenge to keep in order for the duration of the parade. The presence of this church in the parade was especially significant because it was home to more different nationalities than any other in the city: Bohemians, Mexicans, Poles, and Greeks all worshiped under one roof.

The Elks Club came next followed by marching bands from Granbury and Cleburne. A procession of business groups came next, including employees of Veihl-Crawford Hardware Co., Striplings, Turner & Dingee, Vinnedge Coffee, King Candy, Western Union, Bell Telephone, J.J. Langever, and Hub Furniture.

A spirit of unity

Three hundred railroad “officials” marched together under one banner, with nothing to distinguish one railroad from another. For perhaps the first time ever, they all marched together as one entity. They were followed by the Red Men, a fraternal order claiming to be direct descendants of the colonial Sons of Liberty with no connection to actual Native Americans except their rituals.

The African-American contingent was at the end of the parade. They carried banners saying, “Negroes Are Not Hyphenates,” “Negroes Saved the Colonel [Theodore Roosevelt] at San Juan Hill,” and “Negroes Fought in 1812.” Feelings were still too sensitive about the Civil War to point out that they had fought in that war too — on the Northern side. They brought along two marching bands that played sprightly tunes to the delight of those on the parade route.

The Star-Telegram reported that the Black marchers were “cheered along the way” by the (white) crowd. Fort Worth had turned out for many parades in the past, but this was the first time that white people and Black people had marched together.

The spirit of racial unity would be severely tested in the next two years when more than 2,000 Black men came to Camp Bowie to train.

There was no Latino contingent in the parade because the American army was still chasing the Pancho Villa across Mexico following his raid on Columbus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916, that killed 17 Americans.

It took 45 minutes for the full parade to pass a single spot on the route. By the time the head of the parade returned to its starting point, darkness had fallen, broken only by streetlights. It is a mystery why the parade started so late.

The Preparedness Parade was a memorable event that represented a coming together of Fort Worth, not counting the German-heritage community, which was not represented in the parade, though it was a sizable demographic previously prominent in civic affairs.

The following April we were at war.

Author-historian Richard Selcer is a Fort Worth native and proud graduate of Paschal High and TCU.