14th Annual Veterans Day Parade and Car Show Honors Veterans

San Bernardino was draped in shades of red, white and blue over the weekend. The 14th annual Cruizin' "E" St. Car Show and Veterans Day Parade rolled into town Saturday, Nov. 9, and residents gathered to wave their broad stripes and bright stars, cheering on veterans marching through San Bernardino's downtown streets as they made their way from San Bernardino High School to the site of the original McDonalds on North E street, where a car show and various vendors were set up. The event commemorated the service of those men and women who have served in the United States armed forces: in the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy and Marine Corps. This year’s special guest was Maria Vidargar Bolding, who at 90 years old is one of the last remaining original carhops at the historic McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino. She came to the Inland Empire in 1925 and worked for the two McDonald brothers in 1941. The yearly parade is presented by Juan Pollo Restaurants and hosted by the E St. Cruizers Car Club and the Inland Empire Military Museum. Veterans received recognition and honors from San Bernardino City officials. Newly re-elected 1st Ward Council Member Virginia Marquez asked the veterans to stand. "Thank you very much for serving our country; without your service and your sacrifice, we would not be here having the freedoms we all enjoy everyday.We take it for granted (our freedom in America), but I remind myself every single day that because of you, we have these wonderful freedoms." Cheryl Brown, Assembly Member of District 47, said, "Many of you had answered the call to duty more than once, and you have served your country and continued to serve. We want to recognize your extraordinary commitment and the commitments that you have made to us. We appreciate you." Singing a military medley which consisted of all of the military branches songs which represents them, Desiah, a teen singing group, asked that each veteran stand for recognition upon hearing their military branch announced. Desiah sang "God Bless America" while attendees faced the flying American flag, right hands over their hearts. There are two museums on the historic McDonald's property: The Inland Empire Military Museum and the unofficial McDonald’s /Route 66 Museum. Phil Yeh, a local artist, has painted a new mural celebrating San Bernardino County on the north wall of the Route 66 museum. Since 1985, Yeh and Cartoonists Across America & The World have painted more than 1,800 colorful cartoon murals promoting literacy, creativity and the arts in 49 U.S. states and 15 foreign countries. These murals have covered school, library, and community walls as well as being painted on portable lightweight form core board, city buses, bookmobiles, and billboards all around the world. Yeh continues to speak in schools, libraries and communities about creativity and the arts. “The whole project started when I painted a MIA-POW logo on the Inland Empire Military Museum a couple of years ago sponsored by my friend Jim Valdez, a veteran himself. Since both this museum and the McDonald's Museum are owned by Albert Okura, we got to talking about painting a more detailed work of art on the side of his building. Something that truly celebrates the many accomplishments that took place in this city,” said Yeh. Following the recognition ceremonies, visitors were encouraged to view the many classic cars on display and personally thank the veterans in attendance. [END] Veterans Day Parade/Car Show Date: Saturday, November 09, 2013 Time: 10:00 a.m. Google Map Event Location: San Bernardino High School Address: 1850 N E St. San Bernardino CA 92405 Description: Parade starts SBHS, moves to McDonalds, 1398 N. E. St. Car show & vendors. Thru 4 p.m., free, open to public. PRESS RELEASE; FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 4, 2013 Contact Linda Adams: 909-925-7337 VETERANS DAY PARADE & CAR SHOW HIGHLIGHTS A NEW MURAL CELEBRATING THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO AT HISTORIC SITE OF THE FIRST MCDONALDS RESTAURANT The 14th annual Cruizin E Street Veterans Day Parade and Car Show will be held Saturday, November 9, 2013. This year’s special guest is Maria Vidargar Bolding; who at 90 years old is one of the last remaining original carhops at the historic McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino. She came to the Inland Empire in 1925 and worked for the two McDonald brothers in 1941. The yearly parade is presented by Juan Pollo Restaurants and hosted by the E St. Cruizers Car Club and the Inland Empire Military Museum. It starts at 10 am at San Bernardino High School and ends up at the site of the original McDonald’s located at 1398 N. E. Street in San Bernardino, where there will be a car show and various vendors. There are two museums on the property: The Inland Empire Military Museum and the unofficial McDonald’s /Route 66 Museum. Veterans from all branches will be honored that day. Classic cars will participate in the parade and also be on display. Activities take place from 8 am to 4 pm and are free to the public. Phil Yeh, often called the Godfather of the modern American Graphic Novel, has painted a new mural celebrating San Bernardino County on the north wall of the Route 66 museum. Since 1985, Yeh and Cartoonists Across America & The World have painted more than 1800 colorful cartoon murals promoting literacy, creativity and the arts in 49 U.S. states and 15 foreign countries. These murals have covered school, library, and community walls as well as being painted on portable lightweight form core board, city buses, bookmobiles, and billboards all around the world. Yeh continues to speak in schools, libraries and communities about creativity and the arts. His talks are for all ages. To see a bit more of his tour and books go to www.wingedtiger.com. “Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, was the very first cartoonist to endorse our tour in 1985. He believed that the power of humor could really increase our literacy rate. Just a few days ago, we got permission from his widow Jeannie to paint Spike, Snoopy’s brother, on the right side of the north wall in Needles. Schulz lived in this Route 66 town as a child briefly and paid tribute to it in his comic strip. I have painted Spike in front of the mountains in a Chinese brush style. Rory Murray added the Needles covered wagon sign,” said Yeh from his Running Springs studio. “The whole project started when I painted a MIA-POW logo on the Inland Empire Military Museum a couple of years ago sponsored by my friend Jim Valdez, a veteran himself. Since both this museum and the McDonalds Museum are owned by Albert Okura, we got to talking about painting a more detailed work of art on the side of his building. Something that truly celebrates the many accomplishments that took place in this city,” said Yeh. “The south wall highlighted the magnificent California Theater and the Norton Air Force Base which was directed by Colonel Paul Green, (USAF ret.), one of the Tuskegee Airmen. In addition, many local people including actor Gene Hackman, who attended San Bernardino High, Dorothy Inghram, local educator and the first African American District Superintendent in the State of California, Chester Carlson, who invented the Xerox machine, Will Rogers, who had his very last appearance at the California Theater, and many more. The portraits on the south wall were done by artist Sandy Fischer Cvar. We also have an original Dan Romero metal sculpture of palm tree leaves on the roof,” continued Yeh. “For the north side, I wanted to create a fun visual image of the entire county, the largest county in the United States. We feature cars, a train, and trucks on this side but the real highlight will be motorcycles on Route 66. I wanted to pay tribute to my friend, the late Hal Robinson, who was a cartoonist for Easyriders magazine in the 1970s & 80s. Hal inspired my cartoon career and also is the reason I started riding bikes back in college.” These two detailed 100 feet murals were painted in almost two years. Local San Bernardino artists Rory Murray, Jan Windhausen, and Beth Winokur have been hard at work on the north wall which highlights some of San Bernardino County’s important landmarks. Winokur has been creating fantasy fruit labels for the railroad cars. Murray has painted the original McDonald’s restaurant that once stood on the very site. Sponsors for the San Bernardino County side include Loma Linda University & Hospital, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Redlands Paint Company, San Bernardino Paint Company, Sherwin Williams Paint Company, Mattel Toys, The Ontario Airport and Country Inn & Suites in Redlands. For more information Veterans call 909-888-0477; Car Show call 909-838-4071; Parade & Vendors call 909-885-6324. # # KIMBERLY'S ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Bravery and courage had been witnessed by men, women, and children while waving their American flags of "bright stripes and bright stars", as they cheered on the marching veterans at the 14th Annual Cruizin' "E" St. Car Show and Veterans Day Parade. November 9th, all veterans who were in the branches of the Army, Airforce, Coast Guard, Navy, or marines were being recognized for their services for the United States. With the ceremony being held in front of the historic site of McDonald's, veterans, as well as other honorees were being gathered to receive awards and thanks from councilmen of the city San Bernardino. Virginia Marquez, 1st Ward City Councilman had requested that all of the veterans stand, which she then shared, "Thank you very much for serving our country because without your service and your sacrifice, we would not be here having the freedoms we all enjoy everyday." As the crowd gives a round of applause, Virginia Marquez adds, "We take [it] for granted [our freedom in America], but I remind myself every single day that because of you, we have these wonderful freedoms." Cheryl Brown, Assembly Member of District 47 San Bernardino said, "Many of you had answered the call to duty more than once, and you have served your country and continued to serve them. We want to recognize your extraordinary commitment and the commitments that you have made to us. We appreciate you." Singing a military medley which consisted of all of the military branches songs which represents them, Desiah, a singing teenager group, had asked that each veteran that hears their branch being called, to stand to their feet so that they may be acknowledged by all. Also, the teenage singing Desiah, sang a beautifully, and in unison and melody the song 'God Bless America' while everyone had stood up facing the American Flag.