Can you believe that the All States Picnic got its start during December? It was December 7, 1916 to be exact, when the Chamber of Commerce held its first annual Dinner of the States banquet. The banquet, held at the First Methodist Episcopal church, was considered the Chamber’s best affair held to date with 400 people in attendance. The attendees were seated... in areas which designated their state or country of origin and were entertained by various speakers including E. H. Richardson, inventor of the Hotpoint iron. Mayor Crowell was the last to speak, and unfortunately it was his last time to speak ever, as he collapsed and died a few minutes after his speech! The dinner was also plagued by a case of appendicitis and a small fire in the parsonage next door to the event, but Chamber president William Ball was hailed for being able to handle the unfortunate incidents with calm and reserve, and the Daily Report reported the dinner a great success. The Dinner of the States continued as an annual Chamber event until 1931, when in June of that year a two-day California fiesta pageant with a picnic of the states was held on the Euclid Avenue median. For the next several years, the picnic was held at 4th Street Park (now John Galvin Park) until city manager Carl Holmer suggested in 1939 that the picnic be moved permanently to the Euclid Avenue median. In these early days, the picnic and parade were held on various days during the summer--it wasn’t until 1954 that the All States Picnic became an annual July 4th event.
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