With Jan. 1 on horizon, volunteers ramp up decorating Rose Parade floats

Frank Rounds, 79, of La Verne remembers watching a long-ago Rose Parade sitting on his Dad’s shoulders.

“We had an aunt who lived on Berkeley (Avenue) and Colorado (Boulevard) in Pasadena, so we’d walk a block down to the parade,” he said. “We made friends with the owner of the gas station at that corner, and my Dad would park his truck, set some wood planks across the bed, and we’d have our own grandstand.”

For the 136th time, the Rose Parade steps off Orange Grove Boulevard with floats...