This is a short 8-millimeter video of the Halloween parade in Eskridge, Kansas taken in the very early 1950s. It’s a great little video of an iconic parade in small town America. You will notice a few changes in the streetscape of Eskridge. The video cameraperson was positioned in front of the Waugh Building, 123 Main Street in Eskridge, looking at the east side of the street.
Notice that the Sinclair Oil station was located at 122 Main where the Eskridge Post Office sits today. The south end of the Dunn Home Supply building was a garage, and notice the large window located above Dunn’s front door. To the north of Dunn’s one sees an extremely rare view of Rissler’s Dodge and Plymouth dealership.
There is a little ten second or so portion of the video about a minute and a half into the film which is blank. That’s where the person operating the camera had to reload the film in the camera. 8-millimeter film was actually 16-millimeter film that was split down the middle and spliced in the processing stage to create the 8-millimeter format. This required the operator to open the camera, flip the film cartridge 180-degrees and replace it in the camera to continue filming.
Today’s video comes to us courtesy Bruce Waugh.
Categories: Museum Blog, Photo Friday, Video
Wabaunsee County Historical Society and Museum 
This film was shot in either 1953 or 1954. I was riding in the children’s wagon with the Standard Oil sign fixed on it. It’s being pulled by Connie Conrad (later to be the wife of Kenny Evans). At that time, my father, Pat Bowers, operated the Standard Oil farm delivery truck. Connie’s father, “Red” Conrad, had recently sold the tank business to my dad. Connie’s mother, Nola, operated the Eskridge telephone exchange switchboard with the assistance of Connie and her sister, Colleen – 24 hours a day.
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