Deep in a New York Times story today about financial troubles facing the Tournament of Roses Parade was this tidbit:

Even some of the most longstanding companies that sponsored floats have bowed out. For the first time in anyone's memory, there will be no team of Clydesdales representing Budweiser and St. Louis. The company, now a subsidiary of a multinational corporation, decided to drop out of the parade to focus on sponsorships that "reach a higher concentration of beer drinkers" and "more directly discuss the Budweiser brand."

It seems A-B is moving on. The brewer is working to revive the Budweiser brand by appealing to younger drinkers. And so perhaps sponsoring a flower-covered float in a parade most likely to be seen by senior citizens and children does not connote, "This is not your father's beer."

But that's not the only tie that was severed with A-B's decision to pull out.

A-B had a long history with the New Year's Day parade in Pasadena, Calif.

The history is a bit fuzzy, but it seems that the Busch family got involved with the parade in the 1910s. That followed with the brewery's participation every year beginning in 1953.

The family's connection dates back to Adolphus Busch, one of the co-founders of the original A-B brewery, who wintered at his estate in Pasadena.

And it was next to his estate that he opened his first Busch Gardens -- a venture that evolved into a massive amusement park company by the same name.

A 1918 photo from the Los Angeles Times shows the prize-winning Adolphus Busch Estate float. His granddaughter Carlota "Lottsie" Busch Webster was the parade's grand dame for many years.

And it's not just Budweiser and Clydesdales that disappear from the parade.

St. Louis and its institutions will fade out, too. 

The brewery's float was always named The City of St. Louis. In 2009, the float feature a theme celebrating the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Former Gardens President Dr. Peter Raven rode on the float. 

Last year, A-B's float honored the military and its veterans. 

In a press release, A-B touted its float's appearance, noting the flowers and handiwork, and how it would be pulled by the Clydesdales "whose appearance is always one of the most eagerly anticipated entries in the parade."

And now it is gone.