Thanks to the donation a scrapbook by a relative of Class of 1924 graduate Abigail Francis “Frankie” Reed, the AHS Alumni Association has learned about an important Colonist connection to the famous California Rose Parade.
Back in the late 1880s, Frankie’s mother, Grace (Monroe) Reed, who grew up in Pasadena, started the New Year’s tradition of a carriage parade and picnic on New Year’s Day with her friends and family.
This group became the Valley Hunt Club and the parade became the famous Rose Parade. Grace made sure her family followed the tradition and Frankie became a eager participant of the parade throughout her life.
Here is Frankie’s biography as provided by her granddaughter, Melody Lavrakas, daughter of “Frankie’s daughter, Dorothy Suzanne Ballantyne.
Abigail Francis Reed – Class of 1924
Abigail Francis Reed attended Anaheim Union High School between 1920 and 1924. She was never called Abigail and went by her middle name of Francis. By age 1 year, family members shortened it to Frankie.
Her sister Ruth Reed was the academic of the family and a member of the school’s award winning debate team. Francis found it hard to keep up with sister, as she was more of an athlete and adventurer. She took drama classes throughout high school. In her freshman year she acted in “The Thirteenth Chair” and in a vaudeville production in her senior year.
She was a member of the swim team her junior and senior years and competed in the 20- and 40-yard meets. She was a strong swimmer and loved the ocean and swimming in it.
She loved parties and attended all the dances and plays. Her scrapbook is filled with mementoes from all her school activities.
Frankie grew up “very much a tomboy,” according to a letter written to the AHS Alumni Association by her granddaughter, who related that Frankie’s mother wrote that she was “born in a hurry and has been rushing ahead ever since.”
A. Francis Reed was born January 1905 in Los Alamitos to John Oren Reed and Grace Monroe Reed. They met in Pasadena, where Grace lived and attended Throup Polytechnic Institute, later known as Cal Tech.
John worked for J. Ross Clark Sugar Co. in Los Alamitos as a sugar boiler. Their first child Ruth was born in 1902. A second child, Dorothy, was born in 1903, but only lived 12 days. Frankie was born in January 1905, and Marjory was born in August 1906. The family moved to Portland, Oregon in 1907 to be near his parents.
Working on his father’s apple orchard didn’t suit John, nor did the primitive living conditions. In 1908 they moved back to California and bought a 20-acre ranch in Anaheim on Lincoln Avenue. This is where Frankie grew up and attended local schools. Her only brother, Donald Monroe Reed, was born on the ranch in 1908.
The Reeds were a close-knit family and did everything together. On weekends, they traveled to Orange County Park (now Irvine Park) for picnics. Balboa Island and Laguna Beach were their favorite swim spots. Another family activity was attending band concerts in Long Beach.
On New Year’s they took their carriage to Pasadena to join friends and family for the annual carriage parade and picnic. Grace and friends started this tradition back in the late 1880s. This group became the Valley Hunt Club and the parade became the famous Rose Parade.
The family was prospering and the original ranch house on Lincoln was torn down and a new house with “nine large rooms and two bathrooms” was built in 1909. In 1913, they bought their first car, a Studebaker, and Grace was one of the few women who drove. Frankie learned to drive while she was still in school.
As a teenager, Frankie helped the Knott’s children sell jam from the family fruit stand. Frankie was a Jobs Daughter debutant at age 16.
When she graduated from Anaheim High, she was accepted at California Berkley, where her sister Ruth was attending. She attended for two years and then was asked to leave as her interest in learning was lacking. Her interest in boys was intact, and she met her husband, Thomas Scott Ballantyne from San Diego, while at Cal Berkley. Her father insisted that they wait until she was 21 to marry.
In 1926, John and Grace sold their ranch and built a large house at 2467 N. Riverside Drive in Anaheim. Frankie and Tom’s wedding was held in the backyard.
The young couple moved to El Cajon, where he managed various ranches and worked for the state as an agricultural inspector. They had three children: Thomas Reed, Robert Monroe, and Dorothy Suzanne. Tom died in September 1950. Frankie remarried to Walter A. Lucas in 1953 and moved to Winnemucca, Nevada. They returned to California and lived in Long Beach until divorcing in 1967.
Frankie lived in Long Beach for the rest of her life. She worked for AARP and P.O.E. as a secretary until she retired. Frankie passed away in 1971.
All her life, Frankie was adventurous and loved going places and doing things. After she left college, she toured the United States with her mother for four months. After her divorce, she traveled to Europe for four months. But she always came back home to California and the ocean she loved.
