From Oxcart to Airplane

From Oxcart to Airplane (also called the Elyton Pageant of Progress) was a massive pageant staged at Legion Field on June 5, 1936 to celebrate the 124th anniversary of the founding of Elyton and the growth of Birmingham, the "Magic City", from that foundation.

The pageant was sponsored by the Elyton Civic Club along with the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and the Birmingham Department of Parks and Recreation. The script was written by Olive Patton Zeigler.

Forty-eight towns across Alabama were invited to send their "fairest daughters" as participants in the pageant, and to be hosted as "queens" in Birmingham. They joined a cast of as many as 1,000 on stage portraying lively scenes accompanies by music, including "sprites, elves, fairies" of ancient prehistory, warring Indian tribes, pioneer settlers and their country dances, soldiers of three wars (The Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War I), the rise of industry, and contemporary dance numbers. Specific historical events were also re-enacted, including the maneuvering to establish the railroad crossing, the rivalry between Elyton and its upstart neighbor, the referendum to move the county seat, the Calico Ball, and the establishment of Birmingham's first bank and its first skyscraper.

The pageant committee was made up of A. W. Mangrum of the Elyton Civic Club, park superintendent R. S. Marshall, L. E. Marshall of the chamber of commerce and Agnes Coughlin, general supervisor. Mildred Weldon directed the dramatic segments and Ruth Mims directed the dance sequences. Kenneth Adams served as technical director, Fred Wiegand was music director, Juanita Roe headed the costume department, F. G. Swaim was business manager, Alberta Campis and Carolyn Colbert handled correspondence and publicity, F. E. Butler managed finances and Fred Melof took care of transportation.

References

• "Pageant to portray history of Elyton" (May 17, 1936) The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections