Frank Miller's Christmas Pageant Brought Mission Inn Family Together

Frank Miller of the Mission Inn started a Christmas tradition in 1915. In the Cloister Music Room, Miller, his family, and staff from the Inn performed a Christmas Pageant. With Miller's love of the romanticized stories of the California Missions (upon which the very architecture of the Mission Inn was based), he developed a play in which Nativity scenes from the life of St. Francis, and as he perceived Father Serra, were performed to tell the Christmas story to the Native Americans at the California Missions.

On Christmas Eve in 1915, the curtain went up at 8:30 p.m. for the Miller family, employees and guests of the Inn, and special guests who held song service cards. Frank Miller, who often wore the brown robe of a Franciscan monk, played Father Serra. Miller performed as Father Serra every year from 1915 through 1934. He died on June 17, 1935. The last performance seems to have been in 1935, several months after Miller's death.

Two other priests, Padre Pedro and Padre Juan, were played by DeWitt Hutchings (Miller's son-in-law) and Francis Borton (Curator of the Mission Inn and author), respectively. Among his works, Borton wrote early Handbooks of the Mission Inn and The Call of California, a Collection of poems about California. The two padres arrange the Nativity Scene on the stage, and Padre Pedro explains to the children sitting on the stage the story of the birth of the Christ Child and the life of St. Francis. Some sources credit St. Francis with creating the first nativity scene in 1223 in Greccio, Italy. Padre Juan then explains Father Serra's life in California. Hutchings portrayed Padre Pedro throughout the pageant's run, while Borton played Padre Juan through 1928, as he died in June 1929.

Another familiar name who performed that first year was Ernest Yeager, who played Gaspar, one of the Three Wise Men. Yeager arrived in Riverside in November 1912 from Miller's hometown of Tomah, Wisconsin. He started as a bellboy and worked his way up to Miller's private secretary. Ernest Yeager was one of the First World War veterans who appeared on the Mission in Heroes Banner of those who worked at the Inn and served during the war. After eleven years working at the Inn, Yeager, with Miller's encouragement, branched out and formed his own construction company, E. L. Yeager Construction Company.

In 1916, the pageant was described as "staged on the platform near the organ in the cloister, with softly played music, and well-managed lighting, adding to the beauty of the production. In a mission setting, the large cast of characters was shown, and the story in words and song was clearly told." Miller, as he so often did, went all out in his production. Miller, as he would every year, played the part of Father Serra. Hutchings and Borton revived the characters of Padre Pedro and Padre Juan. Ernest Yeager appeared again, this year as Portola. Gaspar de Portolá was a Spanish military officer, the first governor of Upper California, and the founder of Monterey and San Diego. A new participant in 1916 was Miller's grandson, Frank Miller Hutchings. As a six-year-old, he played the part of an Indian child. Frank's sister, Alice Richardson, acted as Ramona, demonstrating Miller's tendency to mix up stories to fit the occasion.

Throughout the years, various members of Miller's family played different roles. As already mentioned, Miller played Father Serra, and DeWitte Hutchings performed as Padre Pedro every year of the pageant. Sister Alice Richardson acted as an Indian mother most years, leading the children to the places they needed to be. Grandson Frank Miler Hutchings first portrayed an Indian child and later portrayed the Spanish Captain Portola. Nephews Donald and Albert Miller, sons of brother Edward, had various roles over the years. In 1930, granddaughter Isabella Hutchins played Mary. The following year and again in 1934, her sister Helen Hutchings was Mary, and Cousin Frank Richardson was Joseph. In 1935, Helen Hutchings was again Mary, while a different cousin, Frank Richardson, was Joseph. Frank's wife, Marion, often dressed in Spanish garb and was an usher.

Regular musicians from the Inn also performed. For many years, Elsie Younggren Carlstrom sang while Newell Parker played the organ and Guillermina Lozano Furlong played the harp.

A longtime employee at the Inn who held a recurring role was Leonard Swets. Starting to work at the Mission Inn in 1917 as a carpenter, he remained employed there through the mid-1940s, except for a stint in the army during the First World War. Swets was one of the employees whose photos appeared on the Mission Inn workers' Heroes Banner during that war. For the second annual performance in 1916, Swets appeared as Joseph. The following year, he took on the role of St. Francis, a character he kept through the years.

In 1928 and 1929, John S. McGroarty was a guest. McGroarty had been asked by Miller to write a play about California history, and in 1911, he was invited to be a guest at the Mission Inn to write this play. The pageant that he wrote was The Mission Play, the cost of which was underwritten by Henry Huntington. Both years that McGroarty attended the Christmas Pageant, he spoke about California history, having researched it for his own pageant.

Another famous guest was Eddie Peabody, the renowned banjo player. In 1930, Peabody was introduced after the performance as a special guest that evening. The following year, he returned to spend the holidays in Riverside, where he had a home from 1928 to 1939. For the 1930 pageant, Peabody consented to perform at the annual Christmas pageant. He first appeared as a Sioux Indian Chief and played the song "Indian Love Call. "Following a costume change, Peabody appeared as a strolling Mexican musician who performed several Spanish Mexican songs.

For twenty-some years, Frank Miller staged an annual Nativity Pageant in his Cloister Music Room of his Mission Inn. The play centered around the Nativity account of Christ's birth, with the visits of the Shepherds and the Wise Men. However, completing the scenario was Miller's romanticized version of California history, focusing on the California Missions. His Mission Inn was focused on the concepts and architecture of the Missions. And not just the building, but much of the Inn's artwork and lore also went back to that early California period.

The production, involving his extended family, including siblings, grandchildren, nephews, and nieces, and his Mission Inn "family" of employees, Miller showed his close personal regard for both family and his employees. They were both participants and guests at the performances. The remaining seats were issued to select people. In many ways, this was Miller's Christmas celebration for and with his extended family.

Exploring Riverside's Past is a compilation of the author's first 50 local history articles, written for the Raincross Gazette, from November 2021 through December 2025. The book is available from the author (gewnlw@outlook.com), at Muse Market in the Canyon Crest Shopping Center, or at the Mission Inn Foundation Gift Store at Sixth and Main.