Spinsters
Description:
Founded in 1911, the Spinsters were made up of unmarried women of Mobile, Alabama, although they changed that rule later so that married ladies could remain a part of the group. Their emblem is a parr…
Creator:
S. Blake McNeely
Santa Claus Society
Description:
The Santa Claus mystic society of Mobile, Alabama, was founded in 1886. The society started life as the S.C.S. society. The meaning behind the initials is believed to be secret to this day. The local …
Creator:
S. Blake McNeely
Order of Myths
Description:
The OOM's emblem is a broken column with Folly chasing Death around it. The broken column may have been meant as a symbol for the fallen Confederacy. Others claim it is a broken pillar of life. Using …
Creator:
Thigpen Studio
Albright and Wood
Description:
Roy J. Albright owned a string of drug stores in Mobile, Alabama, in the 20th century. Here one of the locations uses its storefront to advertise Gillette razors.
Creator:
Erik Overbey
Order of Myths
Description:
Dancing during the Order of Myths' ball in 1955. Established in 1867, the Order of Myths is among the oldest continuously-parading societies in America, and the oldest in Mobile, Alabama. Because of t…
Creator:
Thigpen Studio
Order of Myths
Description:
A couple poses in front of the Order of Myths' emblem, the broken column. The young woman is Sally Tonsmeire, who led the tableaux that year, which was entitled "Pandora's Box."
Creator:
unknown
Bal Masque
Description:
An unidentified group of women perform a tableaux, which is an elaborate production linked by a theme. It is often performed by krewe members at their costumed Mardi Gras balls.
Creator:
Erik Overbey
Thalians
Description:
The Thalians were founded in 1937. Here members of the women's mystic society pose in their costumes. The theme for the ball that year was "The Sugar Plum Tree and the Fairy Queen."
Creator:
Thigpen Studio
Bush, Curtis
Description:
Curtis Bush was King Felix III for Mardi Gras 1935. Here is seen leaving his yacht, which brings him every year from the Isle of Joy to the foot of the Mobile River so that he may reign over Mardi Gra…
Creator:
S. Blake McNeely
Fort Whiting
Description:
The exterior of Fort Whiting Armory, located at Brookley Field in Mobile, Alabama. Construction of the armory was paid for by the federal government during the Great Depression. Completed in 1938, the…
Creator:
Erik Overbey
Nereidy Society
Description:
The tableaux performed by members of the Nereidy Mardi Gras society. The group was founded in 1940 and may have named themselves after Nereid, Neptune's third largest moon.
Creator:
Thigpen Studio
Honor System
Description:
A Mobile Register newspaper stand relies on the honesty of its customers. The "Dayton Court" headline refers to the Monkey Trial, or the case of the State of Tennessee v. John Scopes.
Creator:
Erik Overbey
Dauphin Island Beauty Pageant
Description:
A group looks on as two women are participating in a beauty pagents held at Dauphin Island, Alabama, arund 1950. Do you recognize these women? If so, please email mccalllib@usouthal.edu and let us kn…
Creator:
unknown
School Girls
Description:
Four classmates of Miss Nannie Baker's school pose in front of the Yacht Club at Monroe Park in Mobile, Alabama.
Creator:
Ann Randolf Crichton
McGill Institute
Description:
Members of the 1912 graduating class of the McGill Institute in Mobile, Alabama. Among the graduates are: J. N Doody, G. S. Matthews, F. Touart, and H. Finkbohner.
Creator:
unknown
Bankhead Tunnel
Description:
Construction of the Bankhead Tunnel, which was a New Deal project financed by the federal government. Construction began in 1938 and finished in 1940. It cost more than four million dollars to build a…
Creator:
Erik Overbey
Van Antwerp, Sidney
Description:
The coronation of Mardi Gras king Sidney Van Antwerp and Emily Hearin Staples (Mrs. Sidney Van Antwerp) inside the cotton warehouse in Mobile, Alabama. As you can see, the events surrounding Mardi Gra…
Creator:
Erik Overbey
Lucy, Winifred
Description:
Mobile, Alabama, has two Mardi Gras associations. One is the Mobile Carnival Association, which is made up of white mystic societies. The other is the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association, made up of th…
Creator:
unknown
Improved Order of Red Men
Description:
Members of the Brewton, Alabama, chapter of the Improved Order of Red Men. The organization dates back to before the American Revolution. They originally fought to end what they saw as the tyranny of …
Creator:
unknown
University Military School
Description:
Detail of a smaller image featuring one of the members of the University Military School (UMS) band of Mobile, Alabama.
Creator:
William Reed