By Miss Adelaide Pearson Caldwell, Social Editor
Friday evening at the City Auditorium was held the Mardi Gras ball which surpassed in elaborateness and brilliance any ball given in Charlotte in recent years. Under the management of the members of the Stonewall Jackson Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy, every detail was carried out to perfection, and the affair was the great success it deserved to be. Throngs of dancers, from all sets, were in attendance, and many prominent society folks occupied spectators’ seats in the gallery, watching with interest the gorgeous spectacle.
The crowning of the king and queen, at 8:30 o’clock, formally opened the ball. The floor was cleared, and roped off with garlands of white flowers. First entered a number of court ladies and gentlemen in lovely Colonial costumes, the ladies with powdered hair and beauty spots and hoop-skirts, the gentlemen wearing velvet knee-breeches with capes hanging from the shoulders. The courtiers formed two lines down the hall. A bright spot-light was thrown on each couple as they took their place, and an inspiring march played. Next entered the king, Sidney Dowd, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. Frank Dowd. He wore a suit of royal purple velvet, heavily jeweled, and a gold crown. Two small pages and two knights followed him. The king passed between the ranks of attendants, who bowed low as he passed, and ascended the steps to the stage at one end of the hall. The thrones, covered with royal purple velvet, and surrounded by potted palms, ferns and myriads of flowers, were placed there. The courtiers followed the king, two by two, until the whole court stood surrounding the throne, awaiting the queen. Miss Rogers Gibbon, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Gibbon, was queen of the Mardi Gras. A lovely brunette, charming and attractive, she was never lovelier than when she passed onto the stage wearing a gown of stiff yellow satin, heavily jeweled with rubies and pearls. Her long court train was of red velvet, bordered with ermine. Two little flower girls walked before her, strewing rose petals in her path. She ascended the steps, and in the spotlight, walked the length of the ball-room, receiving hearty applause from the spectators. Standing at the end of the room, they watched the descent of their attendants from the stage, each couple passing before them. When the procession was ended, dance music was begun, and the king and queen and their attendants opened the ball. A fox-trot and a waltz were danced by the royal party, after which the flower ropes were removed and everyone joined in.
The dance was a delightful affair, attended by hundreds. Out-of-town guests and a number of Davidson students were present. Inspiring music was furnished by the Serenaders, and dancing continued merrily till 1:30 o’clock. Punch, ice-cream cones and other refreshments were sold by Children of the Confederacy, and confetti and serpentine streamers were thrown from the balconies. Several times, the lights were extinguished, and the moonlight waltzes danced, with the spotlight playing here and there.
A splendid sum was realized, to go toward the erection of a monument at Gettysburg in memory of the men from North Carolina who gave their lives in that battle. Credit for the success of the ball is due to the untiring efforts of Mrs. Henry E. Thomas, president of the Charlotte United Daughters of the Confederacy, Mrs. A.B. Yandle, Mrs. L.B. Newell, chairman of the entertainment committee, and the ladies of that committee. The refreshments served were donations from the Lincoln Ice Cream Company, the Chero-Cola Bottling Company, and the Coca-Cola Company.
The courtiers were Misses Bennie Withers, Alethia Bland, Lucy Holmes Carson, Elizabeth Colyer, Lilllian Floyd, Faith Price, Mary Edwards, Adelaide Caldwell, Virginia Staten, Nancy Shelton, Sara Mellon, Sidney Caldwell, Catherine Hargrave and Messrs. John Huske, Bob Masterman, George E. Lowe, Herndon Alexander, Wilson Cosby, Randolph Scott, Wayte Thomas, Frank Dowd, Norman Lynch, John G. Nichols, Hampton Brown, Thomas Henderson, George Crouch.
Younger Colonial ladies, members of the Julia Jackson Chapter, Children of the Confederacy, senior division, in attendance, charming in full costume with white hair and hoop skirts, were Misses Ruth Matthews, Lillian Johnson, Blanche Manning, Kathleen Hall, Dorothy Austin, Edith Ezelle, Julia Wilkes, Mary Mills Hanf, Frances Henley, Mary Henley, Mildred Gillis, Mary Edwards, Sarah Link, Mildred Crayton, Adelaide Jones, Mildred Thompson, Charlotte Milstead, Minerva McClung, Mary Lee Nuchols, Laura Wilkinson.
The queen’s lovely little flower girls were Miss Frances Earle Henderson and Miss Sarah Louise Fisher.
The king’s two handsome young pages were Maurice Daniel Manning Jr. and Royde Caudle.
Selling ice cream in the booths were Misses May Orr, Lelia Alexander, Dorothy Ball, Nancy Donelly, Ruth Roark, members of the Children of the Confederacy, junior division.
Selling confetti, horns, whistles, peanuts and candy, Misses Elizabeth Wardlaw Henderson, Dorothy Donnelly, Dorothy Gardner, Nellie Irene Presson, Sam Lee Presson, Adam Fisher, Carey Link.
From The Charlotte News, Sunday morning, May 8, 1921. Wouldn't ou love to see photos from this ball?
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