One interesting addition in the 1943 program was the inclusion of the Sherman Institute (now Sherman Indian High School) Band from Riverside.  From the end of the war through 1948, numbers remained stable.  Programs included local dignitaries, clergy, and even President of the University of Redlands George Armacost.  However, a striking change to the annual Pilgrimage came in 1949, the year of the 10^th Pilgrimage.
               2000 Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Sea Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Brownies attended the Pilgrimage.  For the first time in the history of the Pilgrimage to the Lincoln Shrine, Girl Scouts and Brownies were included, an integration that the Fort Wayne Pilgrimage did not introduce until 1981.  Interestingly, Girl Scouts and Brownies far outnumbered Boy Scouts and Cubs at the pilgrimage.

The 1949 parade began at Orange St. and Colton Ave., and again featured the Redlands High School marching band.  Oscar Kirkham, Deputy Scout executive for Region 12 and a national figure in scouting circles, was the main speaker.  He was from Salt Lake City.  This marked the first time that a speaker was invited from outside the greater Los Angeles area.  Also featured at the program was the ceremony to inaugurate the crusade to "Strengthen the Arm of Liberty," which began during the 39^th Anniversary Week of Scouting.  Polly Shriefer, a Redlands High School junior, was chosen to portray Miss Liberty in the program. The Redlands area council also sent a memento to each scout who attended the pilgrimage, to be sewn on the uniform.  It was a white silk patch with the profile of Lincoln and the words "B.S.A. Pilgrimage - 1949."
In terms of numbers of participants, this Pilgrimage proved to be the highlight of the first twenty years.  It would not attract the same numbers again until 1961.  Smaller numbers and rain some years did not deter the Scouts, however, and strong programs helped to keep enthusiasm high.  Different bands marched in the parade portion through the 1950's, including the Redlands Junior High School Marching Band (1955), the Redlands High School Marching Band, and the Yucaipa Junior-Senior High School Marching Band (1959). 

Speakers during this period included ministers (1952, 1956), school officials (1953-1955), scout executives (1950, 1958), the San Bernardino Postmaster (1951), Jack McElroy, NBC Radio and Television star (1957), and the only woman to be the main speaker, Mrs. V.W. Grubbs, fourth Vice-President of the Girl Scouts of America (1959).
               By the early 1960's, the Pilgrimage had taken on a greater community feel.  Instead of just Scouts and public officials, other groups - drum and bugle corps, military units, the Post Office, YWCA, and more - began to get involved.  Moreover, the number of participants had increased so much that the program portion of the Pilgrimage had to be moved from the front of the Lincoln Shrine across the street to the Redlands Bowl, an outdoor amphitheater and home of the Redlands Community Music Association's Summer Festival.  Even with the change in venue, an integral portion of the Pilgrimage still involved the placing of a wreath at the Barnard bust of Lincoln, inside the Lincoln Shrine, at the end of the program.
The 1961 Pilgrimage, thought at the time to be "the biggest and best yet," included a fire truck, the council's bell, the 523^rd Air Force Band from March Air Force Base, the Redlands High School and Yucaipa High School bands, and floats depicting the history of Girl Scouts.  The floats showed the girls in a range of costumes exhibiting the changes over fifty years.

In his 1962 address at the Pilgrimage program, Lieutenant Governor for the State of California Glenn M. Anderson said, "Such a gathering is one of the sacred rites of American democracy and Lincoln is the saint of that democracy."  This Pilgrimage also was the first year to include an individual dressed as Lincoln presenting the Gettysburg Address.  Guy Koon, a barber in Redlands, inaugurated the appearance of Lincoln at the pilgrimage, which has been included off an on to the present.  Also that year, two groups from outside the local area, the Brown Military Academy Band of Glendora and the Monterey Park Girls Drum and Bugle Corps, participated in the parade. 

        1964 marked the 25^th Pilgrimage, which drew more than 2,000 participants.   By this point, all community and youth-oriented groups who were interested were invited to participate in the festivities. The Humphrey Harmonettes of Downey, the Redlands Jobs Daughters, the Tawnettes Majorette Corps from San Bernardino, the Legionettes Drill Team of American Legion Post 650, the Monterey Park Girls Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Redlands Post Office were all represented.  Publicity was also increased when the president of the Grayback Council of the Boy Scouts (the council for the Redlands area), related the tradition and history of the Lincoln Shrine Pilgrimage on radio station KFI.
         The next year, the Redlands Bowl was filled with 3,000 participants, a record in attendance up to that point.  New additions to the parade in the late 1960's included "beauty and charm" from appearances by Miss Redlands, Miss Yucaipa, and Miss Mentone.  Even the University of Redlands chapter of Alpha Phi Omega, a national service fraternity, got involved, and in 1967 they organized the parade.
            1970 was a pivotal year for the Lincoln Shrine Pilgrimage. Dr. E.T. Dombrowski, a scouting executive for the Grayback Council, said, "Although many young people and adults representing various groups will participate in the Lincoln Day event, it is the opinion of the council that participation alone is not enough.  The words of Lincoln were too prophetic and too practical to go unknown to any young person.  His life and principles of conduct were too exemplary to go unemulated.  Thus, the Lincoln pilgrimage will indeed be a pilgrimage and not a parade.  The great men of history deserve to be revered because of an awareness of their contributions and not because of habit."  Thus what had been a very popular parade was transformed into a march, with no reviewing stand, and less fanfare. 

The tone of the celebration for the ensuing two decades followed this idea, except in 1976 when a Bicentennial parade was combined with the Pilgrimage.  That year the parade grew to include seventeen floats from Redlands schools and more than 2,500 youth.  The parade lineup was as follows:
Police escort; color guard-Grayback district and YMCA; all American flags; Lugonia school float, "Betsy Ross and Parade of Flags"; community organizations (drill teams); Cope Junior High School band and float, "Documentary to Freedom"; McKinley School float, "Washington crossing the Delaware"; Mayor Jack B. Cummings, city officials, Bicentennial Committee, Dr. Donald R. Wheeler, Superintendent of Schools; Kingsbury School float, a tribute to former teacher Mary Fackler and her popularization of the Pledge of Allegiance; Cram School float, California theme; Brownie troops; Clement Junior High School band, "Spirit of '76"; Girl Scout troops; Mission School float, "Missions of California"; Bluebirds, Victoria School float, four units with various themes; Camp Fire Girls; Smiley School float, "Statue of Liberty"; Moore Junior High School band and float, 'Shot Heard Round the World"; Cub Scouts; Kimberly School float, "Pages from History"; Boy Scouts; Mentone School float, "American Heroes"; Redlands High School float, "The Roaring 20's"; Crafton School float, "Covered Wagons, Oregon or Bust"; Cypress Avenue Christian School float; animal drawn vehicles.