“PORTUGUESE CELEBRATE – 2,000 JOIN IN FETE TO LAUD QUEEN – Nearly 2,000 San Diegans of Portuguese ancestry gathered at OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY CHURCH yesterday morning to pay homage to QUEEN SAINT ISABEL in the 600-year-old Feast of the Holy Ghost. The Mass was celebrated in the church by Fr. Alves of San Jose, who delivered the sermon in Portuguese. After the Mass, Miss GERALDINE OLIVER was crowned Queen of the celebration, and MARY ANN OLIVER was crowned Little Queen. After the coronation, 400 of the worshipers gathered outside the church to form a 3-block-long Procession that wound through the neighborhood to come back to the Italian Hall, which adjoins the church at State & Date Sts.
FEASTING BEGINS
The feasting – on nearly a ton of barbecued beef, sweet bread, potatoes, sopa, and ice cream – began immediately. Nearly 1,500 persons were served in the basement of the hall, which was lined with tables to seat more than 250 at a time. Upstairs in the hall, dancing was held from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. and last night in the Eagles’ Hall a second dance was held. Leading yesterday’s Procession from the church were the delegations from the Portuguese Lodges. They were followed by a band and 102 richly costumed small girls, escorting the Little Queen of the fiesta.
QUEEN IN MARCH
Marching with that group was Miss LORRAINE SILVA, who reigned as Queen at the Feast of the Holy Ghost celebrated last Sunday at the S.E.S. HALL and St. AGNES CHURCH on Point Loma. At the end of the Procession was the Queen of yesterday’s celebration, Miss GERALDINE OLIVER, attended by her ladies in waiting, and the Moose Band. The celebration was sponsored by a group of 20 members of the Portuguese colony, with DENNIS L. OLIVER (aka Denis Lourenco Oliveira – ed.) acting as President of the fiesta. The sponsors were: VIRGIL PAIXAO, JOE F. ROSA, GEORGE ALAMEDA, HERMAN CARDOSO, JOAQUIN THEODORE, TONY MANIZ (aka Moniz? – ed.), MANUEL HOMEM, MANUEL MATTOS, MANUEL BALELO, LAWRENCE OLIVER, FRANK LAWRENCE, JOE LAWRENCE, FRANK G. FRANCIS, MANUEL PERRY, MANUEL COELHO, JOHN AMARAL, MANUEL SILVA, and VICTOR GOULARTE.”
(*Source: San Diego UNION & Daily Beenewspaper – Monday, June 13, 1949 – Pg. 24)