When Peace Flags Flew: How Mount Rubidoux Honored U.S.-Canada Friendship in 1927

This past week on Tuesday, we observed another Veterans Day with not as much fanfare as in the past. Originally called Armistice Day to commemorate the armistice or agreement to cease fighting between the Allied nations and Germany, and to honor the World War I veterans, in 1954 the day was renamed Veterans Day to honor all veterans. In Canada, it is called Remembrance Day.

For Frank A. Miller, the promoter of world peace and friendship, Armistice Day was special. Starting in 1919 and for 17 years, he sponsored an Armistice Day Sunset Service on top of his beloved Mount Rubidoux. The service was simple, similar to the early Easter Sunrise Services. Flags of various nations were raised at different points on the mountain. Each year, a particular country or group was chosen to be honored.

When the Easter Committee met on Oct. 10, 1927, they heard a report from DeWitt Hutchings, the son-in-law of Frank Miller, that the Program Committee had selected Canada for special tribute that year. Letters had already been sent to the Canadian prime minister, the Canadian minister in Washington, and to the British, Italian, French and Japanese consuls in Los Angeles. The guest speaker was Capt. Paul Perigord. Paul Perigord had come to the United States in 1902 to study but returned to France in 1914 to enlist as a private in the French infantry. He rose to the rank of captain, was wounded twice and received the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'Honneur. After the war, he completed his studies and, in 1924, joined the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles, as a professor of French Civilization.

Letters of regret soon came from many of those invited, including from Prime Minister Mackenzie King of Canada and from the Canadian minister at Washington. The Canadian minister informed Mr. Miller that he was required to be present that year at Arlington Cemetery, where the Cross of Sacrifice was to be presented to the United States in honor of those who fought alongside Canadian forces during the war. Present would be the Scotch-Canadian Bagpipe Band of the British Overseas Society of Los Angeles. A letter also came from the White House, written by the secretary to the president. He explained that the president could not write a special message for the Mount Rubidoux service as a vast number of such requests came in each year, and it would not be fair to answer some and not others.

After the normal beginning with the bugle call and the raising of the flags, many doves were released, symbolizing messengers of peace. The Bagpipe Band played before the speech given by Capt. Perigord. Following his talk, Miss Elsie Younggren sang "O Canada." At the end of the service, Garnet Holme arranged a pageant commemorating the years of friendship of the United States and Canada, together with his allegory, the Prince of Peace. The pageants concluded with Harry Robertson singing "The Recessional" with "the forms of two soldiers in overseas uniform and bearing the flags of Canada and the United States silhouetted against the evening sky."

From left: 1927 Armistice Day Sunset Service Program, Hand-drawn Map by Dewitt Hutchings for the 1927 Armistice Day Service. (Courtesy of the Museum of Riverside)

An interesting object in the Museum of Riverside's collections on Armistice Day observances is a hand-drawn map sent to Mr. C.B. Cantrell, the Boy Scout commander, by DeWitt Hutchings, showing the placement of the various flags for this 1927 service. There were 15 large flags listed with their specific locations, and then an additional 13 small flags whose locations were not specified.

The revised list was as follows:

#1 U.S.A. HONOR FLAG Behind the chime stand

#2 English (Union)

#3 France Above Peace Tower

#4 Canadian

#5 U.S.A. (Largest) Near the Bell Stand

#6 Japan

#7 Belgium Reservoir

#8 Australia By the Spotlight

#9 Italy

#10 Panama

#11 Red Cross Above Ft. Chittenden

#12 Germany

#13 Cuba

#14 Mexico

#15 Peace Flag On Peace Tower

From left: Postcard of the Peace Flag, Postcard of the Peace Flag Flying from the Peace Tower. (Author's Collection)

If you search the mountain, you can still come across several of the places where the flags were flown on Armistice Day. Look for a pile of rocks with a metal pipe in the middle. Those are locations where flags flew. Here are a few:

From top left: With the Peace Tower in the background, this is Location #6, where in 1927 the Flag of Japan flew. The path leading down from the Peace Tower leads to this location, Location #6 again as the path leads up the first area. The path then dips down and rises again to the peak, passing near the bush. That is location #5 and near where the bell hung, which Ike Logan rang, On the rise in the middle of this photo is the location #14. The palm trees on the left are by the Loring Monument. This is the up road, right before it makes a final curve near the Huntington Shrine, Location #8 can be seen with the pipe sticking up near the dry bush to the left. In the background is the up road before it arrives at the Huntington Rock. (All photos by Author)

The Canadian flag flew at Location #4, located above the area near the Peace Tower. Canada has been a good friend to the United States, sharing the longest border in the world, which spans 5,525 miles and borders 13 states and eight provinces. The friendship expressed back in 1927 needs to be voiced yet today.