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May Kelso and the Battle of Flowers, 1918

On Sunday, April 21, 1918, San Antonio held a parade in the place of its Battle of Flowers. The Battle of Flowers Association, whose president was Mrs. Winchester Kelso, had given up the flowers that year for a military and Red Cross parade and a service before the Alamo. The San Antonio Light credited her association with planning and staging it, and reported that the Red Cross flags carried along the line of march took in $802.23. The president was probably May Joyce Kelso, though the papers print no first name.

The San Antonio Light, 22 April 1918, p. 6 as printed (viewer page 3): the Battle of Flowers Association, Mrs. Winchester Kelso, president, "planned and staged the parade and the services before the Alamo"; the Red Cross flags collected $802.23.
The San Antonio Light, 22 April 1918, p. 6 as printed (viewer page 3): the Battle of Flowers Association, Mrs. Winchester Kelso, president, "planned and staged the parade and the services before the Alamo"; the Red Cross flags collected $802.23. 22 April 1918 · p. 3
Source: The San Antonio Light, 22 April 1918 (page image via NewspaperArchive).
How it is shown: Complete page as supplied; no crop, no retouch, no search highlight.
Keep in mind: Confirmed as printed. No 1918 item read says the money bought hospital beds, so the Handbook of Texas hospital-beds sentence is not confirmed as worded. The identification of "Mrs. Winchester Kelso" with May Joyce Kelso is Likely: the papers print no first name or Sr. here. Page number corrected 5 Oct 2026: the printed page heading reads p. 6; the viewer page was p. 3.
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The president

The Battle of Flowers is San Antonio's spring flower parade, held around the anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto on April 21. On May 10, 1916, the association elected Mrs. Winchester Kelso its president, succeeding Mrs. Atlee B. Ayres. The San Antonio Light reported the election on May 11, 1916. A year later the Light of May 12, 1917 reported that she was unanimously re-elected.

The San Antonio Light, 11 May 1916, p. 14: "Mrs. Winchester Kelso was elected president of the Battle of Flowers Association at the annual meeting of the organization Wednesday afternoon" (10 May 1916), succeeding Mrs. Atlee B. Ayres.
The San Antonio Light, 11 May 1916, p. 14: "Mrs. Winchester Kelso was elected president of the Battle of Flowers Association at the annual meeting of the organization Wednesday afternoon" (10 May 1916), succeeding Mrs. Atlee B. Ayres. 11 May 1916 · p. 14
Source: The San Antonio Light, 11 May 1916 (page image via NewspaperArchive).
How it is shown: Complete page as supplied; no crop, no retouch, no search highlight.
Keep in mind: Confirmed as printed. The identification of "Mrs. Winchester Kelso" with May Joyce Kelso is Likely: the papers print no first name or Sr. here.
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The San Antonio Light, 12 May 1917, p. 8: "Mrs. Winchester Kelso was unanimously re-elected president of the Battle of Flowers' Association."
The San Antonio Light, 12 May 1917, p. 8: "Mrs. Winchester Kelso was unanimously re-elected president of the Battle of Flowers' Association." 12 May 1917 · p. 8
Source: The San Antonio Light, 12 May 1917 (page image via NewspaperArchive).
How it is shown: Complete page as supplied; no crop, no retouch, no search highlight.
Keep in mind: Confirmed as printed. The identification of "Mrs. Winchester Kelso" with May Joyce Kelso is Likely: the papers print no first name or Sr. here.
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The papers print her under her husband's name. May was the wife of the lawyer and former judge Winchester Kelso, and the same page of April 22, 1918 names "Judge and Mrs. Winchester Kelso" as the hosts of a dinner that evening for Governor and Mrs. Hobby.

April 1918: no flowers

On April 14 the Light announced the change. Instead of the Battle of Flowers, "which has for years been the method of celebration in San Antonio," the association had planned a military and Red Cross parade followed by a religious service before the Alamo, with the Texas Brigade, city and Red Cross officials and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas marching.

The San Antonio Light, 14 April 1918, p. 8 as printed (viewer page 5): the Battle of Flowers Association, Mrs. Winchester Kelso, president, plans a military and Red Cross parade followed by a religious service before the Alamo instead of the Battle of Flowers.
The San Antonio Light, 14 April 1918, p. 8 as printed (viewer page 5): the Battle of Flowers Association, Mrs. Winchester Kelso, president, plans a military and Red Cross parade followed by a religious service before the Alamo instead of the Battle of Flowers. 14 April 1918 · p. 5
Source: The San Antonio Light, 14 April 1918 (page image via NewspaperArchive).
How it is shown: Complete page as supplied; no crop, no retouch, no search highlight.
Keep in mind: Confirmed as printed. The identification of "Mrs. Winchester Kelso" with May Joyce Kelso is Likely: the papers print no first name or Sr. here. Page number corrected 5 Oct 2026: the printed page heading reads p. 8; the viewer page was p. 5.
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Four days later the paper said Mrs. Kelso, president of the association "under whose auspices the parade is being given," had charge of the section in which Army officers and city officials would march.

The San Antonio Light, 18 April 1918, p. 7 as printed (viewer page 11): "Mrs. Kelso, president of the Battle of Flowers Association, under whose auspices the parade is being given, has charge of the section of the parade in which Army officers and city officials will march."
The San Antonio Light, 18 April 1918, p. 7 as printed (viewer page 11): "Mrs. Kelso, president of the Battle of Flowers Association, under whose auspices the parade is being given, has charge of the section of the parade in which Army officers and city officials will march." 18 April 1918 · p. 11
Source: The San Antonio Light, 18 April 1918 (page image via NewspaperArchive).
How it is shown: Complete page as supplied; no crop, no retouch, no search highlight.
Keep in mind: Confirmed as printed. The identification of "Mrs. Winchester Kelso" with May Joyce Kelso is Likely: the papers print no first name or Sr. here. Page number corrected 5 Oct 2026: the printed page heading reads p. 7; the viewer page was p. 11.
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Sunday, April 21

The Light of Monday, April 22 reported on the parade as one of the best ever held on San Jacinto Day. It said the parade had two divisions, the Battle of Flowers Division, led by the Texas Brigade, and the Red Cross Division, and that the speakers at the Alamo included Governor W. P. Hobby and Major General John W. Ruckman. Mrs. Kelso, it said, was in charge of the program, which ended with a laurel wreath on a "flower pyre" before the Alamo. Four airplanes circled overhead and dropped flowers, and mothers of soldiers marched in white with service flags.

The money came from flags held out along the route. The report puts the Red Cross flags' collection at $802.23, weighing 85 pounds, in 7,318 contributions, from three five-dollar bills and nineteen one-dollar bills to 3,912 nickels. One flag, carried by Boy Scouts, asked for hospital beds in France and took in more than $500.

Evidence note: The page does not say how the whole sum was spent, or that any beds were bought. The Handbook of Texas says the association raised money for hospital beds in France; the 1918 reports say that only of the Scouts' flag.

October 1918: with the volunteers

On October 12, 1918, the San Antonio Evening News ran a column about the women volunteering as nurses at the army camps. It quotes a Mrs. Winchester Kelso, "who has been with the volunteers," as saying she never in her life felt she was doing such real work. The identification in this item is less secure than in the others: the column does not say which Mrs. Winchester Kelso is meant, and nothing in it distinguishes May from the wife of Winchester Kelso Jr., so May remains a probable identification rather than an established one. The photographs on the same page show other women.

The San Antonio Evening News, 12 October 1918, p. 6, "Just Among Ourselves": Mrs. Winchester Kelso, who has been with the volunteers, says she never in her life felt as if she was doing such real work.
The San Antonio Evening News, 12 October 1918, p. 6, "Just Among Ourselves": Mrs. Winchester Kelso, who has been with the volunteers, says she never in her life felt as if she was doing such real work. 12 October 1918 · p. 6
Source: The San Antonio Evening News, 12 October 1918 (page image via NewspaperArchive).
How it is shown: Complete page as supplied; no crop, no retouch, no search highlight.
Keep in mind: Confirmed as printed; her own words as reported by a columnist. The identification of "Mrs. Winchester Kelso" with May Joyce Kelso is Likely: the papers print no first name or Sr. here.
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