September 25, 1927
Flowers Also Are Tossed At Car, and Throngs Shout Greetings. __ Pelted
with flower, recipient of honeyed phrases and adoring feminine glances,
Col. Charles Lindbergh made a triumphal entry into El Paso yesterday afternoon.
For real down-right effusiveness, it is doubtful if any other place the
colonel has visited surpassed El Paso’s demonstration in his honor. Young,
lovely matrons, noted for their spirit of reserve, melted to the extent
of enthusiastically exclaiming; “Isn’t he a darling? Isn’t he adorable?
I do not blame other girls for wishing to kiss him. I would like to
kiss him myself. He is wonderful!” If the expression, “he looks exactly like his picture,” was heard once, it was heard thousands of times. One
man, standing along the route, perhaps voiced the most original
sentiment. “He is more ‘extraordinarier’ than I am,” he said, but just
exactly what he meant was not figured out by a member of the reception
committee who overheard the remark. “Oh, he saw me,” cried an
excited, pleased woman, who was holding up a small son so that he could
see the colonel, “and he saluted Billy.” That must have been the name
of the boy. El Paso was tensely excited over the colonel’s visit,
excited and somewhat awed. The latter, perhaps, explained the reason
why there was not more cheering and applause. It was overwhelmed by the
boy who is a world idol. This is the way one man accounted for what he
thought was a lack of a noisier demonstration. There were some
men who apparently were so excited by seeing the colonel that they
forgot the ordinary way of clapping the hands together to make
applause. These stood transfixed, pounding one fist into the palm of
the other hand. There wasn’t a sound. An impressive touch to the
occasion were the orderlies stationed at specific intervals on the
grounds of the William Beaumont hospital. These stood at attention as
the car, Bearing Col. Lindbergh, approached and when it was opposite,
the orderly executed a proper and smart military salute. Riding in the
parade, the Colonel did not return the salute. However, he has a salute
all his own, which he applied in response to the cheers and applause of
those along the route. It seemed somewhat mechanical, a methodical
raising of the right hand to the forehead. He looked straight ahead
while doing this. “He doesn’t pay any attention to anybody,” were the complaints of a number. While the sight of the colonel brought joy to many, entirely missing him was the source of many plaintive mournings. “I didn’t see him at all,” wailed more than one young miss. “Bless his heart,” said a woman, “he sits up so everybody can see him.” This was when Col. Lindbergh moved from between Mayor Thomason and Capt. Emilio Carranza, and sat on the top of the rear seat. One
little girl on Montana wasn’t going to be disappointed by not seeing
the colonel. She came out on a pair of high stilts. A boy, in a home
made airplane, sat gazing adoringly at the greatest aviator of them all. Three
boys on bicycles sped along Montana street near the colonel’s car and
their joy was complete. A motorcycle cop turned back and spoiled things
for them by making them get out of the line. “Hello, Slim,” “hey, Charles,” were frequent salutations on the part of boys. There
was only one place along the parade route where there was a shower of
confetti. This occurred shortly after the turn was made on South
Stanton street on the way to Seventh.
Comments