The Decatur Daily Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 23

oung readers T3 co 01 Distinguished Achievement Awards Winner QO for Minnbir o(J By BETTY DEBNAM The Star of Macy's Thanksgiving Parade rmit WWW if mmm Last year, the new balloon in the famous Macy's Thanksgiving parade was Kermit the Frog. He will be up in the air again this Thanksgiving as the big, blown-up star, along with such favorites as Snoopy, Mickey Mouse, Smokey the Bear and Bullwinkle Moose. This is Kermit's story. The project engineer from Workers cement the seams together. Kermit is made up of 14 compartments.

Each one is blown up separately. Using a huge cardboard pattern, workers cut out the inside of Kermit's mouth. Kermit is made up of 72 pattern pieces. the Goodyear Company inspects a wax model of Kermit. The model will be used to make the pattern.

The balloons are made in Rockmart, Georgia. III i' Oil 4 vv 30' JOT A ft, The paper-thin rubberized Helium is used to inflate fabric is black. It gets a coat of white paint. Then it will be painted green. Men unload Kermit for a test flight in Rockmart in October.

He can be stored in a big box. He weighs 200 pounds when empty. Kermit. It takes from $600 to $900 worth of helium to blow up each balloon in the parade. 1 Jli "7,.

ff A f5r iritis 4- 4 Here comes Kermit. He is 63 feet tall and 24 feet wide. He is guided by wires held by marching Macy employees. All of the The Rockmart High School band leads the way at the test flight on a golf course. Just before the parade, Kermit is taken to New York City, unpacked and inflated the night before the parade.

He is held down by a net. balloons stay inflated for about three hours, lhey cost thousands of dollars. TV.