Mobile Bay THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES
HOTSTEPPING WITH THE BAND OF CATHOLIC BOYS HOME KREWE OF KINDNESS THROWS A BALL FOR ALL HISTORIC HOMES BACK FROM THE BRINK
February 2022
LET THE GOOD TIMES
ROLL KICK OFF THE MARDI GRAS SEASON WITH TIPS AND TRADITIONS FROM LOCAL INSIDERS
+ WHY YOU SHOULD GIVE THE OYSTER ROAST A TRY
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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXVIII / ISSUE 2
FEBRUARY 2022 40
The Lost Boys of Mardi Gras For decades, the Catholic Boys Home in Mobile fielded the most entertaining marching band in Mardi Gras
50
The Weird, the Wonderful and Sometimes Both Hop in the car and hunt down some of our favorite odd and amusing roadside attractions
56 A MEMBER OF THE EXCELSIOR BAND. PHOTO BY KEYHOLE PHOTO
Restore Mobile Executive director Sydney Betbeze reflects on her path to Restore Mobile and her mission to preserve the city’s architectural heritage
Since its founding, Restore Mobile has worked to save, often from demolition, over 30 buildings through its historic properties redevelopment program. Learn more about the nonprofit and its executive director, Sydney Betbeze, on page 56.
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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXVIII / ISSUE 2
FEBRUARY 2022 16
19 22
ON OUR COVER The littlest parade-goers love moonpies and beads as much as the rest of us. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
REVELRY AT THE KREWE OF KINDESS BALL / PHOTO BY MIKE DUMAS PLAYER’S CHOICE BURGER AT BAY TOWN BURGER / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU MURDER POINT OYSTERS ARE IDEAL FOR A ROAST / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
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EDITOR’S NOTE
10 REACTION 12 ODDS & ENDS 15 THE DISH 16 TASTINGS West Mobile’s Bay Town Burger Co. is the savory sibling of Mo’Bay Beignet 18 AWARENESS Krewe of Kindness undertakes another year of revelry with a cause
22 BAY TABLES Fire up the grill and host the ultimate oyster roast using this handy guide 28 INSPIRATIONS Six Mardi Gras superfans share their tips for enjoying the season
70 LEGENDS Exactly 150 years ago, the city of Mobile buzzed ahead of a visit from Russian royalty
62 FEBRUARY CALENDAR
74 ARCHIVES A 1942 photo of the SS Azalea City shows its crew months before the vessel met its tragic fate
66 MARITIME The true story of the steamer that nearly sparked war with Spain
76 LITERATURE Writer Audrey McDonald Atkins discovers a trove of love letters
78 PARADE SCHEDULE Don’t miss a single parade with this ultimate 2022 Carnival calendar 80 ASK MCGEHEE Was Mobile’s Stocking Street named to identify it as part of the red light district? 82 BACK STORY A blossoming 1905 photograph offers a glimpse into the history of the Floral Parade
Shhh. There’s a secret menu item at Bay Town Burger Co. called a beignet burger, and it’s exactly what you suspect it is. Read more about West Mobile’s new burger joint on page 16. You didn’t hear it from us.
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Mobile Bay VOLUME XXXVIII
No2
PUBLISHER ASSISTANT PUBLISHER EDITORIAL CONSULTANT EXECUTIVE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR/WEB EDITORIAL ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR
FEBRUARY 2022
T. J. Potts Stephen Potts Judy Culbreth Maggie Lacey Abby Parrott Amanda Hartin Laurie Kilpatrick
ADVERTISING SR. ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE SALES AND MARKETING
Joseph A. Hyland Jennifer Ray Carolina Groom
ADMINISTRATION CIRCULATION
Anita Miller
ACCOUNTING
Keith Crabtree
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Audrey McDonald Atkins, Emmett Burnett, Lee Farrow, Jill Clair Gentry, Hallie King, Jaimie Mans, Tom McGehee, Breck Pappas, John Sledge CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Summer Ennis Ansley, Fernando Decillis, Mike Dumas, Elizabeth Gelineau, Meggan and Jeff Haller / Keyhole Photo, Brock Larsen, Chad Riley, L. Schaerer ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES
3729 Cottage Hill Road, Suite H Mobile, AL 36609-6500 251-473-6269 Subscription inquiries and all remittances should be sent to: Mobile Bay P.O. Box 43 Congers, NY 10920-9922 1-833-454-5060 MOVING? Please note: U.S. Postal Service will not forward magazines mailed through their bulk mail unit. Please send old label along with your new address four to six weeks prior to moving. Mobile Bay is published 12 times per year for the Gulf Coast area. All contents © 2022 by PMT Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Comments written in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the ownership or the management of Mobile Bay. This magazine accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. All submissions will be edited for length, clarity and style. PUBLISHED BY PMT PUBLISHING INC .
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EXTRAS | EDITOR’S NOTE IT WILL BE SO SWEET TO HAVE MOONPIES BACK IN MY LIFE! JUST FIVE SECONDS IN THE MICROWAVE, PLEASE. WHO’S READY FOR MARDI GRAS?
Bon Temps
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
M
ardi Gras is upon us! Never has a holiday been so hotly anticipated as this year’s Carnival season, and it is no wonder after the sad demise of 2021’s festivities. And yet, I have to say I am really impressed with the way the Port City and all areas beyond adapted and found joy during last year’s difficult time. As cliche as it sounds, we proved to the world that Mardi Gras lives as much in our spirit — even in our DNA — as it does in the streets and ballrooms. We brought the boom as best we could and made Joe Cain proud. Last year, my family tried to keep Mardi Gras alive by doing small stuff. We hauled our bikes to Oakleigh so the kids could pedal around and admire the over-the-top decorations for Yardi Gras. Massive papier-mache animal heads, normally reserved for floats, held court with Jerry Garcia, Big Bird and Poseidon behind the picket fences of historic homes. The time and energy these residents put into spreading joy and Carnival cheer was a gift to the whole city. On the Saturday before Mardi Gras, my dad drove down to Bon Secour and bought a big sack of local oysters. We came home, poured cocktails, turned on some Trombone Shorty and fired up the grill. Of course, we missed our dear friends and our traditional gatherings, but I have to tell you, I felt the spirit of the first mystics with us as we celebrated in the backyard. And for my daughter’s fifth birthday, we built our very own float out of cardboard, spray paint and streamers so she could be the queen of her very own Krewe. She had a purple and gold costume and mask and threw beads and doubloons to the screaming crowds (her classmates driving by in their parents’ cars, of course) for her Mardi Gras drive-by birthday party. It wasn’t the same, but we still had a whole lot of fun. This year we are, of course, hoping for more. More hugs, more beads, more balls and masked paraders on horseback. Whatever this season ends up looking like, however, I will be grateful. I will make it fun. And I will have a bloody mary in hand, come what may. Happy Mardi Gras, everybody!
Maggie Lacey EXECUTIVE EDITOR
maggie@pmtpublishing.com
LOVE THIS ISSUE
LES BON TEMPS PURPLE, GREEN AND GOLD SILK TIES WILL BE THE PERFECT ADDITION TO HIS FAT TUESDAY ATTIRE. MOBILEBAYSHOP.COM I FOUND THE BABY! THE ONLY THING BETTER THAN KING CAKE IN MY BELLY IS KING CAKE ON MY CLOTHES. THESE SOCKS ARE A SPIRITED TOUCH TO YOUR PARADE GEAR. MOBILEBAYSHOP.COM
GET LOW THE MARCHING BANDS GET ME IN THE BOOM-BOOM SPIRIT! I GO CRAZY WHEN THEY BREAK IT DOWN. READ ABOUT A GROUP OF ORPHANS WHO PERFECTED THE ART MORE THAN 75 YEARS AGO. PAGE 40 WHAT IN THE WORLD? A TRIP TO ELBERTA’S BAMAHENGE FIRST PROMPTED THE QUESTION — WHAT ELSE WEIRD AND WILD IS IN OUR BACKYARD? GET THE ANSWER ON PAGE 50
BRINGING IT BACK TO LIFE I’M BLOWN AWAY BY THE WORK OF RESTORE MOBILE. THEY ARE BRINGING BACK NEIGHBORHOODS AND SAVING OUR LOCAL ARCHITECTURE, ONE DILAPIDATED STRUCTURE AT A TIME. THEY ARE INSPIRING ME AS I TACKLE MY OWN HISTORIC RENOVATION! ANYBODY HAVE A CLAWFOOT TUB I CAN HAVE? PAGE 56
MB’s newest Inspiration Home is now open on the bluffs overlooking Mobile Bay in downtown Fairhope! The builders are done, the rooms are stunning and tickets are now on sale. Gather your friends and make plans to tour today! Visit mobilebaymag.com/inspiration-home. february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 9
EXTRAS | REACTION
Tell us how you really feel ... LADY IN RED On MB’s December cover, featuring Carolina Groom at Harrison Farms This is probably my favorite shoot you’ve ever done. In love. - Courtney Hilley I’m not easily impressed, but THIS is stunning. - Donna Nettles Jackson Remarkable cover. She is so elegantly striking, especially in red. - Christian Harris Flynn Gorgeous. One of the prettiest covers ever! - Kim Howard Campbell
LET’S TACO ‘BOUT IT On December’s Tastings of Downtown’s Mexican-Asian food truck, Front Yard Tacos The place is great, seriously impressive. - Will Israel Our favorite spot in town. - Michael Damrich Ain’t nothin’ like ‘em no where. - Ollie Etheredge
WELL-DESERVED PEACE On December’s Spotlight, “Wrapped in Comfort,” about the international nonprofit organization Quilts of Valor
LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
MERRY AND BRIGHT
On November’s Spotlight, “Pro Football’s Silver Kings,” by Mark Newell
On December’s holiday house feature, “Deck the Halls,” showcasing the historic Midtown home of Julianne & Ronnie McBay
I thoroughly enjoyed your story on the Mobile Tarpons. My dad was Fred Collins. He was friends with Dr. Bodet and Bill Menton when I was young, but I was not aware of the extent of their relationship. I remember stories of us going to the Tarpon games no matter what the weather was like (some of the sisters were probably whining about the weather), but I was too young to remember actually going. I was about 3 or 4, based on the years you mentioned in the article. My older siblings and our mother remember going to the games at Ladd Stadium. Your story will motivate me to get them to tell the stories, but this time I will pay more attention. Dad passed away in 2003. Thanks again for your work and thoroughness. I am sure it took you a good bit of time gathering the facts. - Patrick Collins
RECOUNTING THE RACONTEUR On “When Eugene Wrote for Us: Memories from the ’80s,” posted on MB’s social media in honor of Eugene Walter’s 100th birthday I was fortunate, as a young newlywed, recent graduate of Spring Hill College, to dine with Eugene Walter at the home of Sam and Lilly Betty. This was around 1965. I felt a little like Alice in Wonderland, even without knowing much about the man. The more I heard and read and learned, the more I knew what a gift that evening, that memory would continue to be. It all came back when I read this post. - Eusebia Logue Fink
Such a wonderful group. My dad was blessed with one of these quilts. They are exquisite.
He was one of my Mom’s best friends in high school.
- Lindsey Mulliki
- Nate McClure Want to share your thoughts and reactions to this issue? Email maggie@pmtpublishing.com.
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It’s so beautiful. Definitely decked the halls. - Suzanne Roberts Your green dress and sweet pup Mac steal the show! - Julie Karcher Williams You certainly have an extraordinary talent for decorating. - Debbie Royals Akridge Julianne, you are the epitome of beauty, charm and Southern grace. - Melissa Goebelbecker Cason Everything is beautiful! All those days in junior high school, high school and college have paid off. Walking neighborhoods, South Main, and talking about houses and what you would do. Seems like yesterday. - Angel Roberts Saunders
HOW DO YOU ROUX? On MB’s Instagram post, a photo and tips for making the perfect pot of gumbo My friend Staci’s gumbo recipe says “stir forever” when it gets to the roux stage. - Cheryl Kittrell
EXTRAS | ON THE WEB
More Ways to Connect We’re not just in print. Find us online, on social media and in your inbox. text by ABBY PARROTT
mobilebaymag.com
MARDI GRAS 2022 Laissez les bons temps rouler! After a break in 2021, Mardi Gras is back and bigger than ever for 2022. We have all the recipes you need to let the good times roll, the complete parade schedule, interesting Mardi Gras history, a quiz to test your Carnival knowledge, stories reminiscing on the celebrations of the past and much more.
WHO STARTED IT? Does Mobile really have “the original Mardi Gras” or not? We dive into the history to see if the answer is true, false or somewhere in between. SHARE THE LOVE Share your proposal story with us, and we’ll feature your engagement announcement online.
GET INSPIRED! Our first-ever green Inspiration Home is now open for tours in Fairhope! Tickets are just $10 and are available for purchase in advance online. Follow us on social media for design details and resources, behind-the-scenes footage and fun facts about this incredible project by WATERSHED.
COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH Gimme S’more Cocktail: Treat your sweet to this decadent sip by POST bar manager and bartender Tyler Sayers. Happy Valentine’s Day! MARDI GRAS PARADE, PHOTO BY KEYHOLE PHOTO MOBILE BAY INSPIRATION HOME, PHOTO BY SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY GIMME S’MORE COCKTAIL
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EXTRAS | ODDS & ENDS
All You Need is Love text by MB EDITORIAL STAFF
Dear Juliet ...
Every year, thousands of romantics send letters addressed to “Juliet” in Verona, Italy, the setting of the Shakespearean tragedy “Romeo and Juliet.” The letters don’t go unnoticed; a team of volunteers called the Juliet Club awards a prize to the author of the most touching love letter. Happy Valentine’s Day
Love, Mobile Bay Magazine
[FEBRUARY 9]
READ IN THE BATHTUB DAY If reading this from your tub, touche.
“Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Cartoonist, Scott Adams
On page 18, read about all the ripples created every year by the Krewe of Kindness.
[NOTABLE OPENING]
BISTRO SAINT EMANUEL The Fort Conde Inn’s new restaurant, Bistro Saint Emanuel, is officially open and serving its Old Worldinspired breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m.
5¢
The amount of money a resident of the Catholic Boys Home could earn for picking a gallon of pecans in the orchard behind the facility on Dauphin Street. Two gallons of pecans earned enough money to catch a movie at the Empire Theatre Downtown.
To read more about the Home and its legendary marching band, turn to page 40.
FIFTY 2024 GALLONS THE AMOUNT OF WATER AN ADULT OYSTER CAN FILTER IN ONE DAY
THE NEXT YEAR TO BE A LEAP YEAR
The old Roman calendar just had 10 months and started with March. When the calendar was revised, February was the last month to be added. Since there were only 28 calendar dates left in the year, it became the shortest month. february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 13
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FOOD | THE DISH
Bite of the Bay MB’s contributing food fanatics share their go-to local dishes.
MICHAEL DRUHAN, Owner, Rock the Float Mardi Gras Throws
SEAFOOD STEW AT SOUTHERN NATIONAL “This seafood stew delivers a measured and tempting level of spice with a green curry coconut broth. The littleneck clams float, the crawfish and Carolina gold rice swim, but the star of the dish is the redfish blackened with Japanese spices (in lieu of Cajun seasoning). The bok choy, carrots, bean sprouts, nori and sesame were just a wonderful medley of textures and flavors.” SOUTHERN NATIONAL • 360 DAUPHIN ST. 308-2387 • SOUTHERNATIONAL.COM
SEAFOOD STEW AT SOUTHERN NATIONAL
ENEN YU, Co-concertmaster, Mobile Symphony Orchestra
ASIAN ALMOND SHRIMP AT BRIQUETTES STEAKHOUSE “Although it’s an appetizer, I can’t resist the Asian almond shrimp as a lunch dish. The shrimp are fried — golden and crispy — and have a zesty, ginger taste. The dish is topped with a sweet and sour, but slightly spicy, sauce and is sprinkled with slivered almonds. This beautiful combination can really satisfy an appetite.” BRIQUETTES STEAKHOUSE • MOBILE & SPANISH FORT • BRIQUETTESSTEAKHOUSE.COM
MARY KAY WEBB, Retired, Senior Executive Vice President, Marketing, Medical Device and Imaging Technologies
NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER AT TAMARA’S DOWNTOWN “Having grown up in the Northeast, I consider myself something of a ‘chowda’ expert, and Tamara’s certainly does not disappoint. The creamy delicious soup is chock-full of tender, luscious clams, chunks of perfectly cooked potato, whole kernel corn for a little sweetness and a secret ingredient that results in just the right amount of spice. Add a few crumbled saltine crackers, and I am transported back to New England.”
CINDY McCRORY, Photographer and Studio Owner, Blue Room Photography
FILET MIGNON AT KITCHEN ON MAIN “I usually order seafood at Kitchen on Main because the menu is loaded with it, but sometimes I want to jump from the sea to the land and get a filet. And Kitchen on Main has a fantastic filet! It’s usually served with creamy potatoes, but I asked to substitute with risotto, and Chefs Dorothy and Tara are always willing to be flexible. Served with crisp French green beans, creamy potatoes or risotto, this dish is an excellent rendition of an American standard.”
TAMARA’S DOWNTOWN • 104 N SECTION ST.,
KITCHEN ON MAIN • 1716 MAIN ST., DAPHNE
FAIRHOPE • 929-2219 • TAMARASDOWNTOWN.COM
307-5350 • KITCHENONMAINDAPHNE.COM
What dishes made you drool and left you hungry for more? Share them on our Facebook page! february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 15
FOOD | TASTINGS
Bay Town Burger Co. text by HALLIE KING • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU
Y
ou’ve heard of the sweet and savory combos that we all know and (most of us) love, like pancakes and sausage, chicken and waffles, and pineapple pizza. Even burger patties sandwiched between two glazed donuts have taken their rightful seat in the salty-sweet spotlight. But burgers and beignets weren’t a pairing that ever occurred to Jaclyn Robinson when she curated the concept for Bay Town Burger Co., a sister company for Mo’Bay Beignet Co., in the summer of 2021. “Connor, my 16-year-old who has loved cheeseburgers since he was a baby, said, ‘So, Mom, when are you going to make me a cheeseburger place?’ halfway joking,” Robinson says. “It never crossed my mind. I didn’t even expect to do beignets, let alone this.” But the vision for Bay Town Burger somewhat divinely fell into place, much like the origins of the original Mo’Bay Beignet location almost exactly two years prior. In 2019, a friend of Robinson’s mentioned that a vision of a cheeseburger came to mind while she was saying a prayer for her, and a printed image of a cheeseburger has hung on Robinson’s prayer vision board ever since.
“I think we’re supposed to have a burger place,” she says. “I don’t think this is about whether or not we wanted to do it. I feel like back in 2019, the Lord was preparing me then.” The West Mobile storefront is flooded with nostalgic memorabilia celebrating our most iconic national pastime: baseball. Inspiration for the decor stems from Connor and his 14-year-old brother Cole, both Faith Academy athletes with a passion for the game. Local players adorn the walls and tabletops; portraits from classic films “The Sandlot” and “A League of Their Own” decorate the restrooms; a replica of Chicago’s Wrigley Field scoreboard even serves as the primary menu. If Bay Town Burger is the home team, then Mo’Bay Beignet is the visiting team that keeps the game exciting. Everything offered on Mo’Bay’s Dauphin Street, food truck, and Auburn menus is available at Bay Town Burger, along with their own signature array of savory dishes that can only be found in West Mobile. The simplicity of their offerings pairs perfectly with a pile of sugar-dusted beignets and flavored syrups for an out-of-the-park experience as sweet as a winning home game. MB
Bay Town Burger Co. • 7450 Airport Blvd., Suite D • facebook.com/baytownburgerco 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. M - Th; 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. F; 8 a.m. - 11 p.m. Sa; 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Su 16 mobilebaymag.com | february 2022
FOOD | TASTINGS
[ON THE MENU]
BAY BURGER
GRAND SLAM
The classic cheeseburger gets a Bay Town twist: A juicy beef patty comes dressed with lettuce, tomato and tangy, creamy Bay Sauce, richly spiced with Old Bay seasoning.
Build your own Player’s Choice burger piled with fan-favorite toppings, then pair it with seasoned Freedom Fries and Old Bay-laced Bay Sauce for a concession-ready special.
BEIGNET BURGER This secret menu exclusive features a burger patty and cheese surrounded by two squares of beignet dough, deep fried for a dream team pairing. Batter up.
GRAND SLAM
CONNOR’S ROOT BEER SLUGGER Old-fashioned root beer straight out of a glass bottle fizzes over vanilla ice cream for a nostalgic summertime sip in a souvenir glass.
GUMBO | AWARENESS
Krewe of Kindness An organization founded in 2018 uses Mardi Gras magic to promote special needs inclusivity in Coastal Alabama. text by JILL CLAIR GENTRY • photos by MIKE DUMAS, MD IMAGE ARTS
M
ardi Gras in Mobile is a time to celebrate. People make time for weeks of revelry — parades, music, king cake, balls, beads, MoonPies and a general sense of excitement flood the city. Over 40 mystic societies operate year-round, planning festivities, floats and social events. But one krewe, established in 2018, channels the energy and spirit of Mardi Gras for more than just fun. The Krewe of Kindness, founded by Jenni and Michael Zimlich, hosts an inclusive ball each year to raise funds that improve the quality of life and meet the nonmedical needs of families, individuals and children with physical disabilities and other special needs. The nonprofit’s first ball in 2019, held at the Pillars in Midtown, raised over $15,000. The Krewe of Kindness used the funds to install over 100 feet of beach access mat at Dauphin Island’s West End Beach. Since then, the organization has purchased an additional 270 feet of mat in partnership with the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, has supported local and national wheelchair athletes, has donated hundreds of pillowcases to USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital and has made it possible for students with special needs to attend Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Sea Stars, a three-day buddy camp for students with special needs.
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Above The 2019 Krewe of Kindness Ball was themed “Have Courage and Be Kind,” a nod to “Cinderella.” Left to right: 2019 King Gavin Sims with mom Jennifer Moore; 2019 Queen Delaney Zimlich with mom Jenni Zimlich.
“We don’t just do one thing,” Jenni says. “Think about organizations like Junior League — we have so many initiatives, but it all boils down to one central focus.”
Inspiration Jenni and Michael know firsthand what it’s like to care for a loved one who needs accommodations to enjoy a world that is designed for people without disabilities. In 2006, their daughter Delaney was born with spina bifida, which didn’t show up on an ultrasound during Jenni’s pregnancy. “The day she was born, the doctors were
looking and said, ‘Oh wait, we are doing a C-section right now,’ and from then on the surprises never stopped,” Jenni says. As she and Michael learned all they could about spina bifida, they realized how little support existed for families like theirs. Sixteen years later, they are doing their part to create a more inclusive community for their daughter and other individuals with disabilities who want a rich, fun, involved life. “What we’ve seen as Delaney has grown is there is so much for small children — there are so many great initiatives with playgrounds and really great therapies — but
february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 19
then they grow up,” Jenni says. “Then what? They still need something to be involved with. As Delaney got older and her friends became involved with sports, there wasn’t a home for her. She wants to participate, but it’s only her physical limitations that hold her back.” Although inclusivity and accommodations are becoming more common, Jenni says there is still work to be done. The beach access mat project was inspired by a saddening interaction she saw on a Dauphin Island Facebook page. “Someone posted that Gulf Shores had gotten beach access mats and asked if there were any plans for Dauphin Island to get them,” she says. “Several people commented saying it was not needed — that it was fluff and that we needed internet more than that. It lit a fire under me. After we completed the project, I went back to that post and invited all of those people to come to the opening.”
Adaptive Racing
Top to bottom Carrie Akins dances with daughter Avery. Left to right: Erin Grimes, Brandon Grimes, daughter Camille Grimes and Jenni Zimlich pose with an Azalea Trail Maid. The late Heather Pfefferkorn, owner of The Pillars, and Jenni Zimlich. 2019 Queen Delaney Zimlich and King Gavin Sims. The 2020 Krewe of Kindness Ball was themed “Be Our Guest” and inspired by “Beauty and the Beast.”
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In 2015, after Delaney had a major orthopedic surgery at USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital, she was asked to be an ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network. She traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak to the surgeon general, and she became passionate about fundraising. Around the same time, the family got involved with the local chapter of myTEAM TRIUMPH, which promotes inclusivity at endurance racing events. “After being pushed in several races, Delaney wanted to start racing on her own,” Jenni says. “She fundraised and got her own racing wheelchair, and we went to Disney World and raised money for Children’s Miracle Network at a race there. One of our friends who is a physician in the Emergency Department at Children’s & Women’s dressed up as a mermaid and ran with her. There was also a tent for athletes with disabilities — it was just a beautiful, inclusive experience, and we wondered how we could bring that environment home. We have all these races, but don’t have this kind of inclusivity.” In addition to projects such as the beach access mat, as Krewe of Kindness grows, Jenni says the organization hopes to pick up where the local chapter of myTEAM TRIUMPH left off after it dissolved in 2020.
“We want to help connect people and foster inclusion for everyone at these races,” she says. “Part of all of this is changing the way we view people with disabilities. We want it to be normal to see adaptive racers at these events.”
The Ball Jenni says the Krewe of Kindness ball is open to everyone, and attending is the best way to support the organization. “We aren’t like a typical krewe — we are just a group of people,” she says. “There’s no membership required to attend.” Just like other Mardi Gras balls, the Krewe of Kindness ball has a theme each year. In 2019, the theme was “Have Courage and Be Kind,” loosely based on “Cinderella;” 2020 was “Be Our Guest,” with “Beauty and the Beast” touches; and this year’s ball, which has been postponed to May 14, will be held at the Battle House and will take guests under the sea with the delightful theme “Part of Your World.” “Our ball is inclusive, but it’s not a kiddie ball,” Jenni says. “It’s an actual ball with a tableaux, DJ and a cash bar. It’s fun for kids, adults, everyone.” Each year, the organization’s king and queen are individuals with disabilities. The event has been sponsored all three years by Mark Clark of General Insulation. Jenni says this year’s ball will be bittersweet — Heather Pfefferkorn, who owned The Pillars and helped Jenni and Karen Coulson Simmons start Krewe of Kindness, died in January 2021 after contracting COVID-19. “She got very close with Delaney and remembered Delaney telling her one time, ‘I don’t think I’ll ever get to go to a Mardi Gras ball,’” Jenni says. “Heather ran with that and said, ‘No, honey, you will have a ball. I’m going to make sure you have a ball.’ She didn’t have a dog in that hunt, but she wanted to see her friends have a good time. She donated the venue, reached out to catering companies and had a custom ramp made so people could get in and out. We miss her.” MB february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 21
FOOD | BAY TABLES
text by HALLIE KING photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU
HOSTING A ROAST Switch up your seafood offerings, and try your hand at a traditional oyster roast. It’s easier than you think.
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MURDER POINT OYSTERS february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 23
Left Farm-raised oysters are grown in baskets off the bottom to deter predation and ensure clean bivalves. The oysters are tumbled regularly to make perfectly shaped shells with deep cups to hold all that salty brine. PHOTO LEFT AND BELOW BY FERNANDO DECILLIS
F
lames roar from logs nestled beneath a metal plate, searing hot and ready to replicate a grill or griddle in a warm, inviting format. It’s a scene we all instantly recognize, with the anticipation of blistered hot dogs, bronzed vegetable skewers or oozing toasted marshmallows emerging in the near future. But what if the Gulf Coast’s most beloved bivalve seared on that wood-fired surface instead of more traditional outdoor eats? Roasted oysters are rarely featured alongside our raw, fried and charbroiled specialties around these parts, but in other areas across the country, oyster roasts are as well known as crawfish boils or fish fries are to the Bay Area. Popular in the Carolinas and other states along the East Coast, the “Lowcountry” or “Carolina” roast has roots originating from Native Americans who occupied the coast long before colonists settled there. The purpose of the roast is to elevate the natural flavor of an oyster by steaming it in its own juices, emphasizing its salinity and gently warming the meat for a steaming, briny bite. This practice was picked up by Northeastern transplant Bill Walton and introduced to locals when he moved to Dauphin Island to farm oysters as the oyster aquaculture extension specialist for Auburn University. He used his signature offbottom farmed oysters — bivalves that are meticulously grown in baskets and rotated many times throughout their lives to create beautifully
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clam-shelled oysters with glistening, clean shells that never touch the muddy ground — for roasted oysters with pure flavor and an eye-catching presentation. Since then, roasts have added another dimension to oyster consumption on both sides of the Bay. “I had never heard of it until we were in Scouts, I would say 6 or 7 years ago,” says Gulf Coast native Steve Sasser, left, who met Walton when their children were in Cub Scouts together. Over the years, their core group of parentsturned-friends have roasted oysters on both sides of the Bay, gathering together to commune over good food and even better company. Walton recently moved back out of state, so Sasser now carries on their years-long oyster roasting tradition to keep the fire alive, both figuratively and literally. “Being from the South, a lot of people have been around oysters. But growing up, an oyster was an oyster,” he says. “I didn’t know the difference between any oysters.” What he did know is that he loved to cook, loved to eat and loved to share those passions with others. So now, when the weather is right and the music is loud, Sasser gathers friends and family to roast oysters and crack cold ones as they celebrate the fruits of our local shores. MB
THE PURPOSE OF THE ROAST IS TO ELEVATE THE NATURAL FLAVOR OF AN OYSTER BY STEAMING IT IN ITS OWN JUICES, EMPHASIZING ITS SALINITY AND GENTLY WARMING THE MEAT FOR A STEAMING, BRINY BITE.
Clockwise from top Oysters are ready to pull off the heat when the shells begin to open and you can smell their briny juices. Oyster roasts are best kept simple, but Tabasco, Crystal hot sauce, fresh mignonette sauce, spiced garlic butter and simple saltines make great guest stars. Shuck safely by using a protective glove and a high-quality oyster knife. The secret to the oyster roast is allowing them to steam in their own juices, enhancing their natural salinity. Regularly add water to your roasting oysters to keep the steam going.
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FOOD | BAY TABLES
“THE BEST THINGS TO GO WITH OYSTERS ARE GOOD FRIENDS AND COLD BEER. USUALLY WITH AN OYSTER ROAST, YOU DO IT SO YOU CAN EAT THE OYSTERS AS THEY ARE.” - STEVE SASSER
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HOW TO THROW AN OYSTER ROAST PHOTO BY FERNANDO DECILLIS
WITH SPANISH FORT’S STEVE SASSER
Start with the Best “The start of a good oyster roast is a good oyster,” Sasser says. “When you’re doing a roast — as compared to grilling oysters, for example — there’s only one ingredient: the oyster. You start with a good one, and chances are it’s going to be good.” With so many local oyster farms to choose from, you really can’t go wrong, but Sasser favors Murder Point oysters for their impearance. “To me, they’re the best oysters in the world.”
Stay Cool ready to use. “These are live un-
they die, so they need to stay cool without being submerged in ice or cold water, to avoid drowning
PHOTO BY FERNANDO DECILLIS
Get Shucking
Gather the Gear Equip your setup with a hot metal water for steaming. Sasser doesn’t ture before he gets started, but be sure it’s hot enough to allow the oysters to steam over high heat. Place the oysters rounded-side down on your preheated surface, then cover them with the wet burlap and allow open, adding more water as needed
-
loosen from one another. Slide shell to clean the oyster from the
ing on the half shell for premium
Improvise Use what you have. The setup doesn’t have to be fancy or formal; any hot metal surface will do you could do this on a grill on top roast I went to was literally on the
fancy with extravagant sauces or an the grazing approach, with a variety of raw and charbroiled oysters to accompany the roast, along with d’oeuvres and desserts. “There’s no ferings simple and hand-held. But,
-
Keep It Casual “The best things to go with oysters are good friends and cold beer,” Sasser says. “Usually with an oyster roast, you do it so you can eat the oysters as they are.” No need to get
ers in your group.
Enjoy! it up,” says Sasser. “If it’s already a good oyster, you can eat it raw.” The
Above, top to bottom Oyster farming in Grand Bay, Alabama. A raw, farm-raised oyster being shucked at the site. An ice chest of cold beer is the best side dish for a roast, especially when the beer is local. Sasser lets the steam out as he shucks a roasted bivalve.
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MARDI GRAS WITH THE EXPERTS text by MAGGIE LACEY • photo this page by KEYHOLE PHOTO
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After Mardi Gras took a rare break in 2021, locals are counting down until the parades roll this year. Let’s walk the parade route with a few seasoned insiders.
GUMBO | INSPIRATIONS
DRUHAN HOWELL 6. FAVORITE THROW I love to throw what I love to catch, so all the light-up things. I also love to throw things that match the year’s
HOW I MARDI GRAS 1. DRINK OF CHOICE Bloody mary’s and screwdrivers are the only way to start Joe Cain Day. Our cousins Danielle and Allen Williams have the most epic bloody mary bar for the day. Otherwise, a way to go! Then, during Mardi Gras balls, my go-to drink
animal or trinket and seeing a kid’s face light up and want it so bad and throwing it directly to them. THE BEST! 7. FAVORITE SPOT We almost exclusively watch parades at Bienville Square. I grew up watching parades at
and it has just stuck as a
“I START FEELING THE MARDI GRAS SPIRIT ON TWELFTH NIGHT! CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS COME DOWN AND MARDI GRAS DECORATIONS GO UP AND ALL THE EVENTS AND PARTIES START.”
2. WHAT TO WEAR I go for comfortable but fashionable for parade-watching. Think trendy jeans and fashion sneakers. You are going to be outside, so dress according to weather for sure. We are real Mobilians (aka we don’t like the become a must-have on those really cold parade nights.
mostly watch from the Athelstan Club now. 8. DON’T MISS I love the MOTs because the dragons are always entertaining, and KOR is our Fat Tuesday favorite! 8. PARADE TIP
3. SNACK TIME There is only one answer to this
drinks and snacks because everyone inevitably ends up hungry and thirsty, even if you ate before the parade. Make friends with those around you.
a bag of fresh roasted peanuts. It is my go-to parade snack. It brings me right back to being a kid at Mardi Gras. Also, I always feel obligated to have at least one funnel cake during the parade season.
9. MARDI GRAS MEMORIES As a kid, Mardi Gras was more of a family event than even Thanksgiving or Christmas. I miss a few things about the parades of my childhood, like no barricades. It was so cool to walk right
4. BAG YOUR LOOT We bring our reuseable grocery
PHOTO BY KEYHOLE PHOTO
carabiner can secure your bag to the barricade so hands are free to catch more throws. 5. GOOD COMPANY We watch most parades with the kiddos and grands. Joe Cain is an adult-only endeavor always watched at Moe’s BBQ or The Bike Shop
snapping pops. 10. RIDE OR DIE I am in two women’s my husband is in two know what they say about secret.
and out-of-town guests.
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GUMBO | INSPIRATIONS
PHOTO BY KEYHOLE PHOTO
JAMES V. CORTE
HOW I MARDI GRAS
“AFTER EPIPHANY, I START WEARING MY SILVER PARADE AND BALL SHOES AROUND TO GET THEM BROKEN IN AND READY.”
1. DRINK OF CHOICE Spicy bloody mary in the morning, ice-cold Miller High Life during the day and a properly made old fashioned in the evening. 2. WHAT TO WEAR blue jeans and boots with a classic navy blazer. This durable enough for abrupt weather changes. The boots
stompability. 3. SNACK TIME When traveling from across the Bay, it’s great to stop at The Bluegill for some oysters shrimp loafs are the best.
7. FAVORITE PARADE I love to watch them all, especially when the maskers seem to be enjoying themselves. But there’s nothing worse than a wagon of drunk mannequins rolling past or the idiot with the one giant teddy bear that teases everyone with it. 8. PARADE TIP Get there early, dress appropriately, and most importantly, have a are looking to have a great
4. BAG YOUR LOOT I use a monogrammed canvas bag to hold my throws that was a 5. GOOD COMPANY I watch parades with my family, even though my kids aren’t kids anymore. (Corte is pictured at a recent Mardi Gras with his daughter, 6. FAVORITE THROW I love long beads that are by the bag or by the dozen only, except to smaller children. four gently. I also love fullwhich are the only real
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THE BLUEGILL
9. MARDI GRAS MEMORIES I used to spend the day driving my grandfather on his parade
several other places to grab lastminute throws, then over to the auditorium where they would Always the best day for me. 10. RIDE OR DIE Of the parades I ride in, each is special to me for
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GUMBO | INSPIRATIONS
RONALD “ROCKY” HORNER
HOW I MARDI GRAS
it is one of the younger or newer
1. DRINK OF CHOICE My personal drink of choice is vodka and cranberry juice with a splash of orange juice. During a brunch
been around for a minute, or you
2. WHAT TO WEAR What I wear to the parades depends on our weather. I have been to a parade where I have only had to wear a light jacket, but I have also stood in cold weather layered up in thermal pants, a pair of jogging pants and comfortable jeans on top. I do a thermal shirt, a hooded sweatshirt, and my MAMGA (Mobile
you may need one of those giant laundry bags made of tarp material. 5. GOOD COMPANY I like to watch the parades with my wife, Sabrina, my brother Jonathan, my dad, Ronald Sr., and Aunt Yvonne. It takes me back to being a kid again. 6. FAVORITE THROW I love to throw boxes of Oatmeal a child catch their very own box when I toss it to them is priceless!
and cap to cover my ears. In all of anything thrown my way! 3. SNACK TIME Best place to eat before a parade is the food vendors! I always go nachos and French fries. 4. BAG YOUR LOOT The bag I bring depends know people riding in that
7. FAVORITE PARADE My favorite parade to watch is The are always so colorful and vibrant.
“OUR CHRISTMAS TREE QUICKLY TURNS INTO THE TRADITIONAL MARDI GRAS COLORS OF PURPLE, GOLD, AND GREEN, AND OUR FESTIVE JESTERS SIT ON OUR MANTEL.”
8. FAVORITE SPOT Standing across the street from the Mobile Carnival Museum on Government Street, you eventually get to see the parade twice. Once when it goes down, and once more when it comes back to go to the Civic Center to disband. 9. PARADE TIP Get there early, and always try to stand in the same spot. Some people I only see during Mardi Gras season, and they have been standing in the same spot on the parade route for almost 20 years now.
PHOTO BY KEYHOLE PHOTO
10. RIDE OR DIE My favorite parade to ride in is the Conde Explorers make sure that the night goes off without a hitch, and then we get to enjoy hearing the people yell for you to “Throw me something, Mister!”
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GUMBO | INSPIRATIONS
BIXLER CUNNINGHAM
“I GET IN THE MARDI GRAS SPIRIT AS SOON AS THE DAUPHIN ISLAND PARADE ROLLS.” HOW I MARDI GRAS 1. DRINK OF CHOICE A screwdriver to start the day on Mardi Gras day, followed by water, Miller Lite or Maker’s Mark. 2. WHAT TO WEAR Whatever keeps you warm while the wind swirls in downtown Mobile. 3. GOOD COMPANY I always watch with my family and friends at “the spot.” I am also excited about introducing my baby girl to her
9. DECORATE Mardi Gras wreaths on the door, we decorate the mantel, turn the Christmas tree into a Mardi Gras tree and have a Mardi Gras
4. FAVORITE CATCH I reach for beads, footballs, sandwiches! 5. FAVORITE THROW My throws are silver bells (Hershey
10. MARDI GRAS MEMORIES When I was a kid, before barricades, I remember running
who would dump them on us during his parade. I also love footballs and bags of popcorn.
started blowing smoke.
6. FAVORITE PARADE I enjoy watching the MOMs, MOTs, Joe Cain Day, IMs and everything.
You’ll get bombed. I feel everyone should visit Joe Cain’s grave on his day to watch the Merry Widows and then enjoy the
PHOTO BY KEYHOLE PHOTO
PHOTO BY KEYHOLE PHOTO
7. INSIDER TIP Always stand close to somebody
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GUMBO | INSPIRATIONS
LAURA MCLEOD
HOW I MARDI GRAS 1. DRINK OF CHOICE During the day, I like a mimosa or screwdriver (for the extra night parade, a canned beverage is easier.
PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
2. WHAT TO WEAR I dress for comfort at parades shoes since you may end up walking several blocks. Gloves are great in cold weather so that your hands are protected as you’re grabbing for
“HEARING A JAZZY NUMBER FROM THE EXCELSIOR BAND ALWAYS GETS ME FEELING IT! AND AFTER A 2021 SEASON MARRED BY CANCELLED PARADES, THIS IS SURE TO BE A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER.”
chilly night air. 3. SNACK TIME House Hotel is a crowd-pleaser with easy-to-order pizza and parade route access. Get there early to snag a table!
4. BAG YOUR LOOT plan to catch a lot. Don’t count on shoving everything in one huge bag or you’ll be weighed down by the end of the parade. 5. GOOD COMPANY Gathering with friends and family makes parade-going special. There are also certain “Mardi Gras friends” that we don’t see regularly throughout the year but can count parade route every season. 6. FAVORITE THROW I love to throw cups, but they are too lightweight to go beyond the barricade if you’re throwing into the wind. I learned some tricks of the trade from my mom, an expert on this a cup. Then it’s weighty enough to throw and get out into the crowd.
Museum for one of its expertly curated exhibits. 8. INSIDER TIP
catching from riders on the back
cold weather! 9. MARDI GRAS MEMORIES In 2008 my husband and I decided to have a “Mardi Gras” wedding. We knew we’d have lots of out-of-town guests
rehearsal dinner was
the Conde Cavaliers from the balcony. The next day we had the went to the Carnival Museum for an
For learning about Mardi Gras, the Mobile Carnival Museum is a great spot to soak up the history
night’s parades!
something new about Mardi Gras
or ever will surpass that experience
10. RIDE OR DIE I was fortunate to have the honor of
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GUMBO | INSPIRATIONS
SIGN BY SO
IR EE SIGNA TU RES
BETSY GREER
HOW I MARDI GRAS HOT CHICKEN AT SQUID INK
1. DRINK OF CHOICE Jameson and ginger ale! 2. WHAT TO WEAR
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
because you never know what you may be stepping in Downtown during Mardi Gras. And dress in light layers that can be thrown on and the sport of catching anything and everything starts, you might have to ditch a layer! 3. SNACK TIME I always love hot chicken from Squid Ink, but this year Reuben
8. PARADE TIP Make sure to keep your eyes peeled so you don’t get knocked out with something you didn’t see coming your way. 9. DECORATE Mardi Gras swag around our front door and hang a wreath. But last That was awesome to see the city that founded Mardi Gras keep it rolling somehow.
Greer’s on St. Louis will be my go-to before the parades! 4. BAG YOUR LOOT
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5. GOOD COMPANY I watch parades with my friends and family with a cocktail in hand. PHOTO BY CARMEN SISSON
“MY FIANCÉE HAS THE MOST ICONIC MOONPIE HAT FROM THE FIRST ANNUAL MOONPIE DROP IN DOWNTOWN MOBILE. IF I’M LUCKY, SHE LETS ME WEAR IT! IT’S A REAL CROWDPLEASER.”
6. FAVORITE THROW
7. FAVORITE PARADE love those crazy cats. I watch them right by the Civic Center and head 10. MARDI GRAS MEMORIES A few years ago, Joe Cain fell on my dad’s birthday, so we brought the whole family Downtown, just adults. We ate brunch together and spent the day walking up and down Dauphin Street. It
text by BRECK PAPPAS • photos courtesy ARCHDIOCESE OF MOBILE ARCHIVES
THE LOST
BOYS
OF MARDI
GRAS
FOR ALMOST 50 YEARS, THE CATHOLIC BOYS HOME FIELDED THE LOUDEST,
ABOUT, MOST RAUCOUS MARCHING BAND THE CITY OF MOBILE HAD EVER SEEN. NOW, 53 YEARS AFTER THEIR LAST PARADE, FORMER BAND MEMBERS AND HOW A BAND OF ORPHANS FOUND A WAY TO STEAL THE SHOW. 40 mobilebaymag.com | february 2022
february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 41
F
For the youngsters living at the Catholic Boys Home in Mobile, secondhand was second-nature. The orphanage, which occupied the long, low structure on Dauphin Street that most Mobilians would identify today as the Mobile Gas building, was a well-known destination for hand-medowns and leftovers. Day-old bread rolled in by the truckload from Smith’s Bakery. Milk that had slipped past its expiration date arrived in 5-gallon cans from Barber’s Dairy. (If it was fresh enough to drink, it’d go to the boys. If it was sour, it was mixed in with the chicken feed.) The basketball team sweated through jerseys emblazoned with “Spring Hill College,” and the marching band played castoff instruments. But those band uniforms: those dazzling white pants, those cardinal red jackets, those white shoes. Those were bought new, thanks to a little creativity. Brother Roy, the firm but beloved prefect at the Catholic Boys Home (CBH), paid a visit to a scrapyard on Dauphin Island Parkway in 1961, where he found boxes and boxes of decommissioned fire hose doing nothing but taking up space. He asked the proprietor if he could find it in his heart to donate the tattered canvas to the Boys Home. It took some convincing, and five trips to haul
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away all of the boxes, but before dark, Brother Roy owned enough fire hose to lasso the moon. It took so long for the boxes of hose to burn that one boy was made to stay up all night monitoring the inferno. The next morning, all that remained were the charred brass hose nozzles. Brother Roy could sell those and put the money toward band uniforms. New uniforms. The city’s favorite marching band deserved as much.
The Keepers of the Strut If you attended a Mobile Mardi Gras parade anytime from the 1920s through the 1960s, here’s how it likely played out. First, you probably heard them before you saw them; the Catholic Boys Home Band was an ear-splitting bunch, as if they took silence as a personal affront. “Here come those struttin’ boys,” the parade-goer next to you might’ve said, and the crowd would’ve stretched its neck. Then, he’d come into view — the head drum major. The strutter. Dressed in white from his shoes to the tall plume on his head. With a whistle in his mouth and a baton in his clutch, the strutter would’ve sidestepped and zig-zagged, foot-dragged and shuffle-hopped. The crowd would’ve whooped. Next would’ve come the little strutters, seven or so of the Home’s younger residents dressed in their red uniforms and mimicking the head drum major’s strut, step for step. The crowd
would’ve awwed. And of course, the band of about 50 would’ve followed, blasting their used instruments, marching straight and proud in their tailored jackets and military-style hats. “The band director at McGill used to always tell me, ‘Well, we were much better than the CBH Band,’ says Doug McEnery, a former Boys Home resident and band member. “I said, ‘Yes, you were. But we were much louder.’” Doug, now 76, remembers with amusement that there wasn’t much choice about being in the band, let alone what instrument you played. That was up to longtime, no-nonsense band director Walter Holmes. “‘You’d be good on the clarinet,’ he’d say, so I learned how to play the clarinet. Then after a while, we needed a saxophone player because somebody graduated, so he put me on the alto sax.” When Holmes walked into the band room one day with a donated baritone sax, Doug changed instruments yet again. Doug’s brother Jim, on the other hand, didn’t find his niche in the band room. “I strutted for 7 years because I couldn’t play an instrument,” he says, to the laughter of his big brother across the room. “Mr. Holmes tried his best.” “But Jim got to be a famous drum major,” Doug interjects. “He developed his own strut.” “Well, my own brand of it,” Jim says sheepishly. He credits a boy named Jose Roca, the head drum major before him, for bringing some unique dance steps to the role. “The crowds loved our strutting, and we drum majors loved the attention and applause they gave us,” Jim says. “The company we bought our shoes from must have loved us, too. We wore these white shoes with soles that weren’t meant to be strutted for 5 miles in a parade. So they would wear out. I mean, I’d march in maybe three or four parades, and my shoes would be worn out. Brother Roy, who could do anything, came up with a way to put taps on the bottoms and all along the sides of my shoes. And that helped with the wear and tear. But as the taps wore out, they’d get pretty sharp, and as you kicked your feet back, you’d cut the bottom of your pants.” It was nothing that Mrs. Rudder couldn’t handle; the seamstress hemmed and stitched all the boys’ clothes from her house across the pecan orchard. Aside from strutting, the head drum major’s job revolved around his whistle. With a blast, he could strike up the band. “Or tell ‘em to move over because we had some mule droppings comin’ up,” Jim adds. Mules pulled all the floats in those days, and remember, those boys were wearing white shoes. Barricades weren’t yet a feature of parades, setting the scene for some memorable encounters with the liquored masses. “The best memory I have is when people would just jump out there with us and try to do the strut,” Jim says. “Some had their wits about ‘em. Others did not.” The CBH Band members straddled two worlds — dancing to the direction of a drum major’s whistle at 9 p.m., then waking to the shrill pierce of a whistle at 6 a.m. Life was far from easy at the Catholic Boys Home. It was regimented. Strict. Every hour of the day was accounted for. Brothers doled out punishments, sometimes with a leather barbershop strap. If you were caught smoking — clean out the chicken coop. If you were heard cursing — 1,000 lines on the chalkboard. By
Top Barefooted CBH students work in a classroom on Dauphin Street. The boys were educated at the Home from the fourth to eighth grades. Beginning in ninth grade, they were shuttled to McGill Institute in a red and white bus with a large cardinal bird painted on the side. Above Walter Holmes, band director at CBH for over 30 years, learned much of what he knew about music while growing up in an orphanage himself. The experience would inspire him to devote his life to the boys of the CBH Band. Opposite The CBH strutters take to the streets of Mobile. “There were certain spots on the parade route where you’d really turn it on,” says former head drum major Jim McEnery, “because you might have WKRG out there filming, or you’d pass by the Bishop’s house.” Outside Barton Academy was a popular place for the band to go all out.
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sheer coincidence, every former CBH resident interviewed for this story went on to serve in the military, and every one of them said the same thing: After CBH, basic training was a piece of cake. “There was no meanness to us,” Doug explains. “There were 100 boys there at a time, and only five Brothers to look after them — it had to be regimented. If you did something you shouldn’t do, you got punished, and you deserved it. There’s no fence around that gas company today, and there wasn’t around the Home either. If you didn’t like it, leave. They didn’t run you down or anything. So every once in a while, somebody would run away.” Across the room, Jim raises an index finger. “You ran away?” Doug asks. “You dirty dog …” “Me and a couple other guys decided to run away,” Jim says. “We had a code we’d tap on our metal beds when we were gonna do it. We had left a door ajar going out the back, and we took off in the middle of the night. Got as far as the railroad tracks between the Boys Home and UMS. We stopped in the pitch black and asked ourselves, ‘Where are we going now?’ So we turned around and went back in. I don’t even know to this day why we ran away. It was just something to do.” The truth is, for boys like the McEnery brothers, the Catholic Boys Home was the best option they had. Doug and Jim were just 5 and 4 years old, respectively, on the day in 1950 that their parents walked out of the apartment in Mobile and didn’t return. “Our situation was never explained to us, and I didn’t know how to ask about it in those early years,” Jim would later write in a memoir. “But how do you tell children that their parents don’t want them?”
Tuning Up
Top An undated photograph shows the CBH Band outside the Lafayette Street home, with some members hanging out of a nifty bus with “Boys Industrial School Band” on the side. Above Babe Ruth poses for a playful photograph with the CBH Band in 1929. Ruth, likely in town playing an exhibition game for the New York Yankees, wasn’t an orphan, but he spent some years attending school at a very similar home in Baltimore.
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The origins of the Catholic Boys Home can be traced back to 1847 when, following a series of yellow fever epidemics, Bishop Michael Portier sought help from the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in France for the care of local male orphans. A boys facility was established at the intersection of St. Francis and Warren streets, and the Brothers began their work with 18 orphans. In 1856, farmland was purchased on North Lafayette Street to produce food for the orphans, and as the operation grew, it became known as “The Male Orphan’s Farm and Industrial School.” An early 1900s aerial photograph found in the Archdiocese of Mobile Archives tells the story; the new boys home, a grand four-story stone structure on Lafayette Street, sits on a tract of farmland, where the boys toiled to grow food for themselves and the public. Greenhouses and rows of crops occupy the land where St. Mary’s Church and McGill-Toolen sit today. It was around this time that one Brother is said to have come into an inheritance. He used the money to purchase band instruments,
and within a year, the boys were marching in a Mardi Gras parade. Though little is known about the band’s earliest days, a few photographs survive. One shows the troupe outside the Lafayette Street home, posed around a bus with “Boys Industrial School Band” lettered on the driver’s door. Another shows the boys surrounding a visiting Babe Ruth, who wears a Yankees hat, a half-smile and a tuba. Though Ruth wasn’t an orphan, at age 7 he was sent to St. Mary’s Industrial School for Orphans, Delinquent, Incorrigible and Wayward Boys in Baltimore. Whatever the story behind this photograph from 1929, Ruth no doubt felt a kinship to these lads he met in Mobile. Four years later, the band would even travel to Washington, D.C., to march in the first inaugural parade of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Yellow fever had created the need for an orphanage; the Civil War, the Great Depression, two World Wars and alcoholism helped keep it full. After almost 50 years of use, the Lafayette Street building was deemed inadequate, and construction began on the Home’s final Dauphin Street location. The 37-acre stretch of rich farmland, which now makes up Sage Park, was well beyond city limits when the building was completed in 1949. Across Dauphin Street, cows grazed at Graf ’s Dairy, and crops grew in overflowing rows; some say that even today, after a hard rain, a faint smell of cabbage lingers in the air. And so the Brothers packed and transported their unique brand of care and discipline to the western end of Dauphin Street. Walter Holmes, meanwhile, brought the music.
Making a Little Magic “Walter Holmes, the band director for 30plus years, was my father,” an 85-year-old Rose Sawyer-Grimes says sweetly over the phone. “So the Catholic Boys Home Band was all that I knew.” Sawyer-Grimes remembers standing on Bienville Square during the parades, listening for her father’s band and looking out for his cream white suit. Holmes was known to keep a bag of confetti in his pocket, ready to sling its contents on his family. The band director, donning a white cap and black bow tie, is easy to spot in grainy parade footage. He always marched alongside his boys, rain february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 45
or shine. (Although in his later years, Holmes granted himself the right to slip off into the crowd and cut a shorter parade route.) Sawyer-Grimes also remembers a good number of those boys in the CBH band. “When I got to be a teenager, I was in love with one of them,” she laughs over the phone. “Something about a man in a uniform, you know. Daddy put a stop to that.” Born in 1909 and raised in Prichard, Holmes had a special place in his heart for the boys at CBH. Not many band members knew then, or even now, that their director had lived for some years at the Alabama Boys Industrial School in Birmingham af-
ter his father abandoned the family. “The only time he was not working at CBH was when he was drafted into the Army during World War II,” Sawyer-Grimes says. “I had a man tell me that had been on the ship with Daddy coming home from the Philippines — and he’s the only one that has ever told me this — he said, ‘I talked to your dad a lot, standing outside and smoking on the deck. And he said that he wanted to give back what had been given to him.’ So I think his time in Birmingham at the Boys Home informed his life’s work.” The band’s acclaim is universally credited to Holmes, who insisted they play catchy, popular tunes: “Green Onions,” “When the Saints Go Marching In,” “Red Sails in the Sunset,” “Rock Around the Clock.” Other marching bands were stiff, conventional, proper. Not the Catholic Boys Home. Holmes’ group, however, was by no means the first to march with attitude and flair; William P. Foster, founder and celebrated director of the “Marching 100” band of Florida A&M University, is considered the father of the modern marching band. In 1946, Foster’s first year at FAMU, the once-staid world of militaristic bands was upended by his group’s high-energy, high-stepping performance. As Foster’s new, dazzling approach rippled across the South, the CBH Band became one of the movement’s earliest local adopters, in both the way they swaggered and the songs they played. “Other bands played beautiful music,” Doug McEnery says with a laugh. “Good music. But not popular music.” Sawyer-Grimes remembers her father writing the arrange-
Top The boys of the band meet legendary TV personality Ed Sullivan in this undated photograph. Above The CBH Band poses for a photograph in 1962. Band director Walter Holmes stands at the far left, beside a 16-year-old Jim McEnery. Head drum major Jose Roca holds his white hat at far right. The pecan orchard, where CBH boys could gather pecans for five cents a gallon, is visible in the background.
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ments for those songs himself, dotting out the parts for each instrument by hand in the family’s Prichard dining room. Some were original compositions; one song, “Broy,” was named for Brother Roy, the prefect and firehose burner. “Any time we wanted Brother Roy, Mr. Holmes said we never said ‘Brother Roy.’ We all said ‘Broy,’” remembers Tom Lewis, who lived at the Home from 1954 to 1962. Lewis, now 80 years old and living in Pennsylvania, arrived at CBH in the fourth grade. Like most boys there, Lewis wasn’t a “true orphan” but rather the child of a single mother who simply couldn’t afford to raise her children. “It turned out to probably be the best thing that ever happened to me,” he says. “I loved all my years at the Boys Home.” At 6-foot-1 and almost 200 pounds as a teenager, Lewis earned himself a spot behind the hulking bass drum. “I beat that drum up and down all the streets of Mobile, and that became my job — maintaining the rhythm for the whole band.” The band practiced every afternoon before supper. Mr. Holmes, positioned up front with a conductor’s baton, didn’t suffer fools; his band received $25 for marching in a Mardi Gras parade, so this was serious business. The boys marched in about a dozen Carnival parades a year, but they cut their teeth all over town: McGill football games, the annual Blessing of the Fleet in Bayou La Batre, the Junior Miss Parade. “When we were on the street, we knew what we were doing,” Lewis says. “There weren’t many sour notes. If Mr. Holmes heard something he didn’t like in the middle of practice, he’d stop us, scream and yell and holler. Not mean, you know, just to make sure we were doing it right. We may practice the same song all day long until we got it right.” Even during the summer, when the boys relocated to the Home’s waterfront cottage in Coden, the band members were never far from their music. “We’d be out on the pier playing our instruments and people would stop, park and just stand out on the road, listening to us play,” Lewis remembers. The hours of practice paid off. “You could feel the tension as our band came by,” Lewis says. “We were loud and proud.” And they succeeded in attracting the attention of one key demographic: Girls. Female admirers sometimes followed the band for the en48 mobilebaymag.com | february 2022
tire parade route. “There was a lot of that,” Lewis says. “Girls would chase the boys in uniform, that was true.” Jose Roca, the head drum major whose dance steps inspired Jim McEnery, calls from Hoover, Alabama. “Girls used to write letters,” Roca says, still amused after all these years, “telling you they wanted to meet you.” He suspects that a lot more of their letters failed to make it through the Brothers’ mail monitoring process. Roca was born in Guatemala but followed his mother to Mobile when she secured a job working for a local Guatemalan family. He arrived at CBH in 1958 knowing only a few words of English but more than a few dance moves. “I took over as head drum major from Tommy Wilson. He took over from John Boy.” Sure, the previous drum majors strutted, but Roca added a little rock ‘n’ roll shuffle. “I started doing some steps, and everybody liked it.” Six years after Roca’s last strut, the music came to an end. The boys marched in their final parade in 1969, and the Home’s doors were shut for good in 1970. Nationally, a growing preference for foster care rendered large facilities for orphans obsolete. Today, the Catholic Boys Home Band is largely wiped from the collective Mardi Gras memory, but it’s still alive for those who witnessed the strutting boys in person. “I hear really good memories from people, and I really don’t understand it to tell you the truth,” Doug McEnery says. “My wife tells me that when her grandfather would see us coming, he would just start cheering. And I say, ‘Why?’” His brother Jim offers one theory. “The boys who played the trumpets, clarinets, saxophones, trombones, tubas, cymbals, drums, and the strutters made a little magic under the direction of Walter Holmes.” If you go to a Mardi Gras parade today, you can still see them. The uniforms are different, maybe the songs, too. But keep an eye on that drum major and the way he stops and slides his foot across the asphalt. When you’ve seen that, you’ve seen a little William P. Foster, a little Jose Roca, a little Jim McEnery. You’ve seen a CBH strutter, or at least his ghost. Give him a whoop. MB Visit mobilebaymag.com to see a clip of the CBH Band on the streets of Mobile. february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 49
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THE WEIRD, WONDERFUL
AND SOMETIMES BOTH text by EMMETT BURNETT
A castle. A dental implement. A submarine. What do all of these things have in common? Absolutely nothing. Unless you live in Lower Alabama. Roadside attractions reflect the people living in a particular place, so it’s no surprise that the Mobile Bay area has some oddball, surprising and downright fascinating artifacts lining its roadways. Some are inspiring, others strange and a few just flat-out weird. Here are nine unusual sites that are quite a sight — within two hours of Mobile.
United States Sports Academy, Daphne | The Art of Sports and Spare Parts
BRUCE LARSEN’S SCULPTURE “HOME RUN” PHOTO BY BROCK LARSEN
Poet John Keats was right: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” But so is scrap metal with the right touch. Fairhope artist Bruce Larsen has that touch. On the campus of the United States Sports Academy at One Academy Drive, Daphne, he has transformed junk into metallic masterpieces. His work includes an Olympic swimmer, professional baseball player, gymnast and other famous titans of sports. Each is made of metal scraps: tractor parts, automotive engines, flywheels, chain drives, plumbing fixtures and more. A favorite is “The Iron Bowl,” unveiled by Nick Saban and others on May 18, 2010. Look closely at the football that two helmeted warriors are fighting for. “The ball is actually two headlights, back to back, from Model A cars,” Larsen says with a smile. february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 51
PHOTO BY L. SCHAERER
Oak Avenue, Fairhope | Home Sweet Castle Yes, the Eastern Shore has castles. Three are in Fairhope, regally embedded on Oak Avenue: Mosher, Sheldon and Boom Hobbit. Collectively they are awesome castles, by day or knight. “Some children claim it’s the tower of Rapunzel. Others say Cinderella lives here, and some call it home to Hansel and Gretel,” says Pagan Mosher who, with husband Dean, designed and built the whimsical neighborhood. “The castles are whatever you want them to be.” Exploring exterior grounds is free. Visitors stroll seemingly enchanted paths and a bridge over goldfish waters. Artwork and wonders await every turn. Mosher Castle is full of renowned artist Dean Mosher’s paintings, sculptures and family memorabilia. Interior tours are available by reservation. The fortresses have been featured on HGTV, Alabama Public Television, syndicated broadcasts and thousands of selfie photos. However, Fairhope’s castles are residential homes — no backyard visits, walking on porches and decks, and no peeking in windows. King Arthur is not here. For more information, visit fairhopecastle.com.
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Montrose | Tolstoy Park’s Hermit In 1923, Nampa, Idaho, resident, Henry Stuart, was diagnosed with tuberculosis and advised to move to a warmer climate. He purchased 10 acres in what is now Montrose, built a 14-foot diameter domed hut and named it Tolstoy Park. Surrounded by an office park on 22787 U.S. Highway 98, Stuart’s hut still stands. Visitors can enter the tiny one-room structure, which includes period furnishings, a wood-burning stove and a guest book. For those feeling claustrophobic standing in this tiny dwelling that could fit in a two-car garage, consider Stuart. He resided in the diminutive dwelling for almost 20 years before moving to Oregon to live with his son. Stuart died in 1946.
Lucedale, Mississippi | Palestine Gardens: Replica of the Holy Land
Spanish Fort | Dental Check
Behold, Lucedale, Mississippi, where thou shalt visit Palestine Gardens, The Holy Land. Beside tranquil paths and shady trees are miniature replicas of the Bible’s most renowned sites, crafted in miniature. “It’s folk art,” Director Don Bailey says about the displays at 201 Palestine Garden Road. “The pieces are not exact miniature models. But The Holy Land and other areas’ topography and distances are scaled to its real counterparts. One yard equals one mile.” Replicas of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, Nazareth, and other cities and villages are installed in the Districts of Judea, Samaria and Galilee. Admission is free but donations are accepted. Amen.
Retiring in 2020, after 54 years practicing dental medicine, Dr. Barry L. Booth of Montrose left behind an effigy of his profession — a dental explorer and mouth mirror that can be seen from Google Earth. The monument, named “Piknmera” by the dentist, depicts a mirror about 8 feet in diameter and 16 feet long. Its 2006 dedication plaque reads: “To Honor the Visionaries-Faculty-Staff of the University of Alabama School of Dental Medicine,” in Birmingham. So why is it in Spanish Fort? “The University of Alabama School of Dental Medicine asked me to commission and design the work,” the dentist recalls. “It was fabricated in Mobile and placed at my Spanish Fort office for movement to the Birmingham campus.” When a new administration took control, the project was put on hold. “Piknmera” was placed by Dr. Booth’s office on 6424 Spanish Fort Boulevard in 2006, and it remains there today.
Chickasaw | The Motor Driven City Displayed in Chickasaw’s Maritime Park, adjacent to City Hall, is the city’s centerpiece, a large red motor, bigger than a minivan. No, it does not drive the exhibit. It is the exhibit. In 1912, the mammoth machine ran the pump that drained the swamp, allowing Chickasaw’s first shipyard to be built. Workers supplied maritime vessels for World Wars I and II. Brochures from the October 2013 dedication of the pump motor noted the machine helped make Chickasaw a bustling town of shipbuilding for the war effort. Today, the 101-year-old mammoth motor sits in silence at 224 North Craft Highway. It is a reminder of the early days when Chickasaw boomed and so did the motor. Allegedly, when cranked up to speed, the kerosene-fed motor sounded like cannon fire.
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Daphne | Daphne’s Veterans Memorial One of Alabama’s most unique monuments is Daphne’s Veterans Memorial. It depicts a hand clinching the American flag at Veterans Pointe on U.S. Highway 98, south of exit 35. It has a weathered green patina, but its message never faded, as inscribed on the statue’s base: “Dedicated For Those Who Answered the Long Roll.” The monument was commissioned by Dr. Barry L. Booth — yes, the same Dr. Booth responsible for the previously mentioned dental artwork in Spanish Fort. “I was inspired by my son, Justin, who at age 12 in 1982, led the Dedication Parade in Washington D.C. of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The Wall,” Booth says. In its May 11, 1993, dedication ceremony, Marine Commandant Four-Star General Carl E. Mundy Jr. said, “This impressive sculpture will long be recognized and appreciated by local residents as well as visitors passing the site.” He was correct.
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Telegraph Road, Mobile | We All Live in a Yellow Submarine What’s a submarine doing on the side of the road? Glad you asked. In the early 1960s, Charles E. Adams and Ken Martin salvaged a World War II troop transporter submerged in Mobile Bay. They decided to build a submarine from the 20,000-gallon water tanks removed from the wreckage. The two-person submersible was fitted with a vacuum device. In theory, it would suck lobsters off the ocean floor, trapping them in the sub. The duo also planned to use the vessel for treasure hunting in the briny depths. The homemade submarine — 42 feet long, 15 feet wide and 10 feet tall with welded steel plates a half inch thick — was built at Three Mile Creek. “But Dad and Martin had a disagreement,” recalls Ed Adams, son of Charles Adams. “Martin wanted to immediately take the sub to the Cayman Islands and launch it,” Ed notes. “Dad wanted to test it in the Gulf first.” They never agreed. According to Charles Adams, the sub never touched water. In the 1980s, Jordon Pile Driving purchased the vessel from Adams for about $10,000. It sits in front of the company’s 1754 Telegraph Road location in Mobile and is painted yellow in honor of The Beatles’ 1960s hit album and movie, Yellow Submarine.
Blakeley State Park | The Hiding Tree On the grounds of Blakeley State Park, 34745 State Highway 225, Spanish Fort, is a storied live oak. Its root system extends out of the earth and separates, forming a large hollow space. Legend says Confederate soldiers sought refuge in the tree’s root cave, the ultimate branch office. “That’s not likely,” says Blakeley State Park Director Mike Bunn. “The tree was probably not here during the war. If it was, it was not big enough for someone to hide in the roots.” He adds, “But it’s a popular spot in the park and a natural attraction. The story has taken on a life of its own. Lots of people take pictures of the root system and kids love to hide in it.” And there it is: the weird, the wonderful, and sometimes both, perfect for a road trip with someone you love — preferably also weird, wonderful and sometimes both ... MB
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RESTORING HISTORY Take a walk in Sydney Betbeze’s shoes
text by JAIMIE MANS • portrait by CHAD RILEY
T
ake a stroll through Mobile: on your right, people gather in Bienville Square; on your left, a divine scent of seafood fills your nose, engulfing your body in a salty embrace; you keep walking, admiring the local plant life, reveling in the fact that your city is stunning. You think to yourself, What makes Mobile dazzle more than others? Minutes pass by until you finally realize, Aha! The architecture is what does it for me! Sydney Betbeze, Restore Mobile’s sixyear-and-counting executive director couldn’t agree with you more. For her, Mobile’s historic architecture is what makes her heart beat. Join MB in our conversation with Betbeze as we delve deeper into the movement to save Mobile’s original infrastructure.
What is Restore Mobile? Restore Mobile is one of the organizations responsible for the superbly preserved architecture throughout the city of Mobile. Since its founding in 1992, Restore Mobile has preserved everything from commercial buildings to homes. The organization has helped restore over three dozen buildings and homes, ranging from exterior stabilizations to full renovations to new construction infill housing. We have worked in the Lower Dauphin Historic District, Church Street East Historic District, Old Dauphinway Historic Dis56 mobilebaymag.com | february 2022
trict, Oakleigh Garden Historic District and are currently active in the Oakdale National Register Historic District. Restore Mobile aims to save homes and other buildings from demolition, all in hopes of restoring the city to its original charm: brimming with antebellum architecture.
How did your upbringing prepare you to take on Restore Mobile? Having grown up just an hour and a half away from New Orleans, I knew I needed to work toward preserving another historically rich city. Historical preservation is just rooted in me. Growing up, my family always went to New Orleans, so driving on a street filled with beautiful architecture became what I expected — what I knew. So, when I moved to Mobile, it felt like coming home.
What drew you to the organization? When my husband and I relocated to Mobile from Washington D.C., I fell in love with a historic home set to be demolished. This house was a beacon of light in the neighborhood. It used to be an apartment building during the war, so it had such rich history running through its foundation; I just couldn’t let it die! After failed efforts to persuade the family and the City of Mobile otherwise, I knew I needed to come up with some-
Opposite page The freshly painted cottage at 458 George Street, compliments of Restore Mobile. Above Sydney Betbeze on the porch at 966 Seneca Street in Oakdale. february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 57
thing to get everyone’s attention. And so, I decided to get a group of people together to write love letters to the house. It was something I’d heard about before, but I had no idea if it would work! I posted the house’s story on Facebook and asked my friends to help me save it. The story got way more exposure than I thought: In less than three days, it had been shared over 2,000 times! After arranging a date, crowds of people showed up to the home with pen and paper in hand. We set aside a few hours and started writing. Every time someone finished their letter, we attached it to the chainlink fence, showering the house with love. Much to my and the people of Mobile’s delight, the house’s demolition was halted and eventually cancelled altogether. I received permission from the owner to purchase the home and move it to another location for its total preservation and restoration. To this day, you can still find the “Heart Bomb House” in the Oakdale National Register Historic District. With such an impact to signify my arrival in Mobile, I was determined to keep my momentum for historical rehabilitation going. I was able to connect with Restore Mobile, joining their team and eventually becoming their executive director. Even six years later, I’m as adamant about restoring Mobile to its original bustling, historical city as when I first started.
Looking ahead, how do you plan to prepare for the work to come? At its core, Restore Mobile will always be a brick-and-mortar, boots-on-the-ground organization, saving as many of Mobile’s historic homes as we can. However, as we grow, we envision education and advocacy to become larger parts of our everyday operations. Our architecture does not exist in a vacuum. It exists in a neighborhood with people and families living within it. We want to engage with the community and be a helping hand and a resource when it comes to neighborhood revitalization and preservation.
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2008 and 2009, the acquisition budget was $2,500. It was a recession and people weren’t buying and selling. Now we are a little bit challenged to find houses we are able to afford. In this neighborhood, Oakdale, we are actively looking for properties in the $25,000 range.
458 GEORGE STREET
BREAK IT How does Restore Mobile choose its houses? We look for vacant homes, and usually they are threatened with demolition. Then we go through whatever channel we can to get it and save it. The houses are rarely on the market. A lot of times it’s tax sale properties, or houses are donated to us by the family, and sometimes we buy directly from the property owner. Houses on the market are priced too high for us and we are a nonprofit. It’s a house that nobody wants, and we want to stabilize it, fix it up and get it back into the community for someone to live in. How do you get your funding? We have a lot of different sources. Events, fundraising, donations, private foundations, city, state and federal grants. We can recycle funds — we take the proceeds from other houses that have sold and reinvest them in the next property.
966 SENECA STREET
What do you pay for each house? That number has changed over time. When we were working in Texas Hills and Oakleigh in
Are profits the goal of the renovation and sale? Obviously, we want to be good stewards of foundation dollars. But we are also very aware of the markets where we are working. They are usually areas with so little investment that in order to attract a buyer, we often price the home below our investment. We want the price to be accessible so that the potential homeowner will be someone who has been in this community for decades or generations. How do you choose your neighborhoods? We look for a neighborhood with zero investment, a lot of vacant houses and a lot of demolitions happening. If we don’t go in and work on this district, nobody is. Oakdale is sandwiched between Oakleigh and Brookley, so it is primed for some type of investment in neighborhood revitalization. How much do you invest in each project? It takes about $150,000 $175,000 to turn a vacant house back into use. But for some houses, we raise the funds to do just an exterior stabilization. We are stabilizing the house, preventing further deterioration and finding a buyer. That might take closer to $60,000. How many properties has Restore Mobile preserved? About 35 properties have been brought back to life through this organization. It’s an amazing impact.
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1017 OLD SHELL ROAD
1105 TEXAS STREET
1017 OLD SHELL ROAD
“WE ARE MOST SUCCESSFUL WHEN WE CONCENTRATE OUR EFFORTS IN A MULTI-BLOCK AREA, INVESTING IN HOMES THAT ARE CLUSTERED IN A FEW BLOCKS IN A PARTICULAR HISTORIC DISTRICT.” 1105 TEXAS STREET 60 mobilebaymag.com | february 2022
Of course, I want to ensure Mobile stays a beautiful, historic city; however, Restore Mobile knows that the preservation of our historic architecture isn’t just sustaining something pretty to look at. It spurs economic development, promotes tourism, connects with our past, bolsters a sense of place and cultural identity, repurposes valuable building materials, and contributes to the creation of livable, walkable communities. Basically, the hope to restore Mobile is the first step in preparing this city for the population growth it deserves. Now, to physically prepare for the future of Mobile’s economic and societal surge, we’ve learned to approach one residential area at a time. Rather than do what’s called “shotgunning” — or scattering our resources over multiple districts — we are most successful when we concentrate our efforts in a multi-block area, investing in homes that are clustered in a few blocks in a particular historic district. Doing so attracts attention from funders, homebuyers, realtors … and neighbors as well!
What can members of the community do to contribute to the process of restoration and the development? The best thing our community can do is engage and ask questions. Cities like Savannah and neighborhoods like the French Quarter were famously saved by everyday people who just asked questions, engaged with their city governments and organized because they saw value in their historic past. It’s crucial that the public stay plugged in and informed. We have a resources page on our website where visitors can easily access links to meeting agendas for the City Council, Architectural Review Board, Planning Commission and others. They can also find helpful links to city departments and neighborhood organizations and watch our informative “Preservation Talks” video series!
If you could leave people with one piece of information that sums up Restore Mobile, what would it be? Everybody loves the architecture, charm and culture of Mobile. We have to preserve it — and we do that together.” MB february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 61
EXTRAS | CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Festooned February
THROUGH FEBRUARY 23
FEBRUARY 1
FEBRUARY 4
WINTER WEDNESDAYS 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Workshops cover topics from gardening to features of the Gardens and Home. Included in admission.
SENIOR BOWL SUMMIT 6 - 7:30 p.m. A panel discussion amongst college coaches, such as Nick Saban, Bryan Harsin, Steve Sarkesian and Mel Tucker. Tickets: $25 - 65.
KING CAKEOFF 5 - 7:30 p.m. King Cake tastings galore. Tickets: $5, ages 3 - 12; $12, ages 13 and up.
BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG
THROUGH MARCH 7 SO READY FOR THE LAUGHTER: THE LEGACY OF BOB HOPE 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. W - Sa. This traveling exhibit is presented by The National WWII Museum. Included in cost of admission.
SAENGER THEATRE • SENIORBOWL.COM
FEBRUARY 3 FUSE PROJECT AND INFIRMARY HEALTH LIP SYNC BATTLE 7 p.m. An evening of live performances, special guests and drink specials.
GULFQUEST, DOCK 1 • GULFQUEST.ORG
CATHEDRAL SQUARE LIPSYNC.FUSEPROJECT.ORG
THROUGH APRIL
FEBRUARY 3 - 14
CARNIVAL & CUISINE 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. M, W, F, Sa. A literal feast for the senses. Admission required.
THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES 7:30 p.m. Th - Sa. 2 p.m. Su. This smash off-Broadway hit hearkens Springfield High’s 1958 prom. Tickets: $15 and up.
MOBILE CARNIVAL MUSEUM MOBILECARNIVALMUSEUM.COM
THE TEMPLE, ST. FRANCIS STREET KINGCAKEOFF.COM
FEBRUARY 4 - 6 VINTAGE MARKET DAYS 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. An upscale, vintageinspired, indoor/outdoor market. Admission: $10, F/Sa; $5, Su. THE GROUNDS VINTAGEMARKETDAYS.COM
FEBRUARY 4 - 13 THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE 7 p.m. F/Sa. 2 p.m. Su. A musical romp about New York City. Tickets: $15. ORANGE BEACH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER ORANGEBEACHAL.GOV/EVENTS
THE PACT THEATRE • THEPACTMOBILE.COM
FEBRUARY 5
THROUGH MAY 14
FEBRUARY 4
SCIENCE OF ARCHIMEDES 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. T - Sa. Discover the father of science’s inventions. Admission required.
SENIOR BOWL MARDI GRAS PARADE 6:30 p.m. Line the streets and cheer on your favorite Senior Bowl players.
SENIOR BOWL 1:30 p.m. The most prominent college football all-star game in the United States. Tickets: $12 - 55.
EXPLOREUM SCIENCE CENTER EXPLOREUM.COM
DOWNTOWN MOBILE, DAUPHIN STREET SENIORBOWL.COM
THROUGH JUNE 12
FEBRUARY 4
THE VIKINGS BEGIN In the U.S. for a limited time, this exhibition brings to life some of history’s most fascinating people. Admission required. HISTORY MUSEUM OF MOBILE HISTORYMUSEUMOFMOBILE.COM
SENIOR BOWL STREET PARTY 7:30 p.m. Enjoy a free concert by Portugal The Man and food and drink specials at Downtown bars and restaurants. DOWNTOWN MOBILE, DAUPHIN STREET SENIORBOWL.COM
HANCOCK WHITNEY STADIUM SENIORBOWL.COM
FEBRUARY 5 LA CANTERINA 7:30 p.m. One of the lightest and funniest works composer Joseph Haydn ever produced for the stage. Tickets: $10 - 25. MURPHY HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM MOBILEOPERA.ORG
To have your event included in the online or print edition of Mobile Bay Magazine, email calendar@pmtpublishing.com. 62 mobilebaymag.com | february 2022
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SUPER CHILI BOWL COOK-OFF
FEBRUARY 5 BATTLEFIELD BLITZ 5K 8 a.m. Lace up for the park’s annual fundraiser held on the grounds of Alabama’s largest Civil War battlefield. HISTORIC BLAKELEY STATE PARK BLAKELEYPARK.COM
FEBRUARY 5 AN EVENING WITH DREW & ELLIE HOLCOMB 8 p.m. Husband and wife Americana duo. Tickets: $27 and up. SAENGER THEATRE ASMGLOBALMOBILE.COM
FEBRUARY 10 .38 SPECIAL: THE BAND 7:30 p.m. A signature blast of Southern Rock. Tickets: $49 and up. SAENGER THEATRE ASMGLOBALMOBILE.COM
FEBRUARY 12 BLACK JACKET SYMPHONY PRESENTS THE BEATLES’ “THE WHITE ALBUM” 8 p.m. A symphonic recreation of the iconic album in its entirety, note for note, sound for sound. Tickets:$27 and up. SAENGER THEATRE ASMGLOBALMOBILE.COM
FEBRUARY 12 SUPER CHILI BOWL COOK-OFF Sampling begins at noon. Enjoy chili variations while raising money for the American Cancer Society. Tickets: $20. FLORA-BAMA LOUNGE & OYSTER BAR FLORABAMA.COM 64 mobilebaymag.com | february 2022
ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET
FEBRUARY 12 SWEETHEART 5K, SEA TURTLE 1/2 MARATHON & 1-MILE FUN RUN 7 a.m. Grab your running shoes and choose your distance. THE HANGOUT • GULFSHORES.COM
FEBRUARY 12 GRAND VALENTINE’S DINNER THEATRE 6:30 p.m. Enjoy a show and a delicious three-course dinner. Tickets: $105 each. GRAND HOTEL GOLF RESORT & SPA EVENTBRITE.COM
FEBRUARY 19 SEAFOOD FESTIVAL & CAR SHOW 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Ooh and aah over hot rods and seafood aplenty. Free admission. THE WHARF • GULFSHORES.COM
FEBRUARY 19 BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 5K 8:10 a.m. Join the fun as you race through the neighborhoods of Dauphin Island. FORT GAINES • PORTCITYPACERS.COM
FEBRUARY 20 ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET 3 p.m. Renowned for their intensity and breadth of repertoire. Tickets: $25. LAIDLAW PERFORMING ARTS CENTER MOBILECHAMBERMUSIC.ORG
FEBRUARY 23 BIRDS OF PARADISE MARDI GRAS BALL 7 - 10 p.m. Don your island attire, and let the good times roll. Tickets: $75. LULU’S GULF SHORES • LULUBUFFETT.COM february 2022 | mobilebaymag.com 65
HISTORY | MARITIME
The Black Warrior Affair In the winter of 1854, a steamer out of Mobile sparked a diplomatic incident that threatened war between the United States and Spain over Cuba. text by JOHN SLEDGE
Above The steamship Black Warrior, shown here in an 1853 oil painting, was a familiar sight to Mobilians. PAINTING BY JAMES BARD (1815 - 1897)
O
n the morning of February 25, 1854, the steamship Black Warrior lay alongside Mobile’s wharves loading cotton. She was, by general consensus, a handsome vessel — a 227-foot-long, black-hulled barkentine of 1,600 tons, with a tall black and red smokestack amidships and a pair of paddlewheels positioned aft. She was New York-built in 1852 for the coastal trade and since that time had been running a regular route from there to Mobile and back, with brief stops at Havana each way. Her cargoes were strictly for American ports, but she often delivered and took on passengers and mail during her Havana stops. She was a familiar sight to Mobilians, as was her dashing captain, 31-year-old James D. Bulloch, a serious
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and conscientious officer. As she loaded cotton that winter’s day, no one, least of all her savvy captain, could guess that she was about to precipitate an international incident. Meanwhile, in Havana, the Black Warrior’s consignees, Charles Tyng and Co., already expecting the vessel, made an early entry and clearance request with Spanish customs officials, stating the vessel was “in ballast,” that is, not carrying cargo. According to Spanish law, any cargo was to be itemized and requisite fees paid. Tyng and Co. knew this, of course, as did the local harbor constabulary. But since the cotton was only in transit through Havana for New York, Tyng and Co.’s customary practice was not to declare it. Havana’s customs officials
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understood and generally waived the rules. Unfortunately for Capt. Bulloch, Messrs. Charles Tyng and Co., and everyone else involved with the Black Warrior on this trip, a new Spanish governor had taken office with a mandate to strictly enforce the law. Backgrounding his orders was Spanish anxiety over American filibustering, or armed meddling, in Cuba as well as local revolutionary activity. Pro-slavery Southern politicians were agitating for the United States to acquire Cuba as another slave state, by force if necessary, and local revolutionaries wanted independence from Spain. What if the Black Warrior was loaded with arms or supplies for filibusters or the insurrectionists? Since there had already been one (failed) invasion attempt by hotheads recruited in the States, the Spanish government’s fears were well-founded. Running two days behind schedule, the Black Warrior finally glided into Havana Harbor on February 28, with 900 bales of cotton and 17 passengers. She anchored near the city’s coal wharves, and a local customs official and a translator boarded her. Capt. Bulloch, per usual, declared the vessel in ballast and handed the inspector the form. But then the inspector glanced into the ship’s open hatches and spotted the cotton. Conscious of the new governor’s orders, the inspector informed Bulloch that he had 12 hours to change his manifest to accurately indicate the cargo. The situation quickly escalated, compounded by intemperate personalities, obstinate pride, and mutual misunderstanding. Tyng requested the ship be cleared for departure that afternoon but was denied since her paperwork was out of order. He then paid a visit to the port collector and tried to amend the manifest. The collector informed him that it was too late, because Tyng had already declared the vessel in ballast several days earlier, before she even arrived in port. Thus he was well beyond the 12hour deadline to amend. Tyng lost his temper and shouted that he would “not submit to ridiculous formalities.” In response, the collector sent launches loaded with men to seize the Black Warrior’s cargo. He also imposed a $6,000 fine. Bulloch erupted when his ship was boarded, telling the Spanish officer in charge, “By forcibly opening the ship’s hatches and discharging her cargo … you have virtually annulled my authority as commander.” He hauled down the flag in a huff and departed with the crew and passengers for a nearby American merchant ship. When news of the Black Warrior’s seizure became public, Southern politicians and newspaper editors urged a confrontation with Spain. Congress was then debating the KansasNebraska Act, and national feelings over slavery were hardening. Amidst the fiery debate, Southern interests considered “the Black Warrior Affair” an insult to the American flag and a perfect excuse to invade Cuba. By their calculations, Cuba as a slave state with two senators and nine representatives would nicely counterbalance Kansas’ and Nebraska’s likely admission as free states.
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Above Pierre Soulé, photographed between 1844 and 1860. COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Their cause was considerably aided by the rash actions of Pierre Soulé, above, the French-born American minister to Spain. Soulé was a pariah in European high society, a popinjay enamored of ruffled shirts and dress swords who had shot a French nobleman in a duel. As a former senator representing Louisiana, he was fervently pro-slavery, and when the American secretary of state informed him of the Black Warrior Affair he wasted no time in exceeding his authority to make haughty demands of the Spanish government. These included an indemnity of $300,000 and the dismissal of all Spanish officials who had played a part in the matter. Though he did not directly say so, he darkly hinted that the U.S. might declare war otherwise. Predictably, Spanish diplomats bristled, and several voiced their own bellicose thoughts. Happily, after months of diplomatic correspondence, cooler heads prevailed. Neither President Franklin Pierce nor most U.S. congressmen wanted a costly foreign distraction, and the northern public was not as outraged as the Southern slaveocracy. Spain released the Black Warrior, returned the $6,000 fine, and eventually paid a $54,000 indemnity. The Black Warrior resumed her New York-Havana-Mobile route without further incident. Undaunted, Soulé coauthored the Ostend Manifesto on October 15, 1854. The document referenced the “unatoned” Black Warrior outrage and recommended the U.S. government acquire Cuba by purchase or, if Spain refused to sell (which they knew it would), by war. President Pierce and Northern public opinion instantly rejected the idea. There would be no war with Spain over Cuba. Yet. MB John S. Sledge is currently working on a book about Mobile and Havana’s centuries-long shared history.
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HISTORY | LEGENDS
A Brief Brush with Russian Royalty: Grand Duke Alexis in Mobile, 1872 Exactly 150 years ago this month, the city of Mobile geared up for a royal appearance — with mixed results. text by DR. LEE A. FARROW
I
n late November 1871, Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, son of Tsar Alexander II, arrived in New York harbor and began a tour of the United States and Canada that would ultimately last three months. The reasons for the tour were multifold. Russia and the United States had long had friendly relations, despite their distance from one another and very different approaches to government and political practice. Only a few years earlier, in 1867, the two nations had engaged in a mutually beneficial agreement in Russia’s sale of Alaska to the United States. Now, in 1871, the two nations were seeking to further enhance and clarify their relationship in the wake of the traumatic decade of the 1860s. In a space of only 10 years, Russia had liberated its serfs, confronted an uprising in the Polish section of its empire, experienced an assassination attempt on its tsar and initiated a variety of domestic reforms. The United States had similarly suffered through a difficult period, with the Civil War, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the post-war challenges of Reconstruction. For several years, there had been talk of a possible visit from a member of the Russian Romanov family, but the choice of Alexis had a larger significance. Alexis, only 21 at the time, had fallen in love with a much older woman who was not of royal blood named Alexandra Zhukovskaya; to make matters worse, she was carrying his child. Consequently, the tsar and his wife decided that Alexis should be the member of the family to set out on a goodwill visit to the United States, proverbially killing two birds with one stone. Between late November 1871 and mid-February 1872, Grand Duke Alexis visited nearly two dozen cities and towns in the United States and Canada and experienced some of North America’s most notable natural wonders, such as Niagara Falls and Mammoth Cave. He met President Ulysses S. Grant, Samuel Morse, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Al-
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Above Grand Duke Alexis of Russia (son of Tsar Alexander II) started a goodwill tour of the United States in 1871. Alexis’ stopover created quite a stir in Mobile, as it did in every city he visited. This November 1871 edition of “Hearth and Home,” a weekly illustrated magazine based in New York City, features the grand duke on the front page.
bert Bierstadt, and many other famous businessmen, politicians, engineers and artists of the period. He visited Chicago only weeks after the Great Fire and hunted bison with William “Buffalo Bill” Cody and General George Armstrong Custer. He traveled down the Mississippi and was present for the first daytime Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans and the birth of the Krewe of Rex, one of the oldest Carnival organizations. Along the way, he was wined and dined, given parades and presentations and invited to balls and city tours. The American public came out in droves to see him, in cities, at train depots, and along rail lines, and the press followed him closely and reported on his every move: what he ate, how he looked and with whom he danced. There was eager speculation that he might be in search of a bride — a thoroughly misguided notion, as it turns out — and this idea fueled many stories about his views on and interest in American women in the various cities he visited. Alexis departed New Orleans on the evening of February 19, 1872, traveling by train to Mobile, where he would board a steamer to take him to his fleet waiting at Pensacola. Mobile city officials had proposed a reception, but the grand duke declined, pleading time constraints. Still, many in Mobile hoped for an appearance of the royal visitor, and the Mobile Register kept residents up to date on his movements, “to quiet the nerves of those who are daily on the look-out for Alexis.” One article postulated that a strict schedule was not the real reason the grand duke turned down a reception in Mobile; rather, it was a disagreement with his father. Hitting closer to home than it may have realized, the paper suggested that it was the extension of Alexis’ trip through the Far East that had left him sad and disdainful of more festivities. Indeed, throughout his North American tour, Alexis’ guard-
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ian, Admiral Constantin Possiet, had been monitoring the young man’s mood and reporting to the tsar, and when it became clear that his attachment to Alexandra was still strong, the tsar had decided to keep him away from Russia longer. The near certainty that Alexis would spend no time whatsoever in Mobile did not prevent one store from using his name in its advertising, as so many businesses had over the past months; Grover and Baking Sewing Machine Company on Dauphin Street suggested that the grand duke would be stopping by to buy raffle tickets on an elegant dressing robe embroidered by the machines in the shop, and they urged locals to do the same. At approximately six o’clock on the morning of February 20, 1872, the grand duke’s train arrived in Mobile, greeted at the wharf by a small crowd of eager spectators and the Fire Department’s brass band performing the Russian national hymn. There was no formal reception of any kind, and Alexis stayed out of sight in his train car until the steamer, St. Elmo, arrived, at which point he “marched on board under a police guard, without casting his eye to the right or left, and not recognizing the common herd with a wink, blink or nod.” Even the rousing blare of the brass band did not seem to engage the grand duke’s attention. While Admiral Possiet acknowledged the musicians with a raise of his hat, Alexis gave no sign of hearing them at all. The steamer then took Alexis to another location, where he boarded a special train to Pensacola. Several newspapers reported a similar scene in Pensacola, where Alexis transferred to the Svetlana with no acknowledgment of the crowd that had come out to see him. Not everyone was left angered by the grand duke’s final stops, however. The Russian fleet had purchased 450 tons of Alabama coal at 12 dollars a ton for the next leg of its trip, and the grand duke gave a diamond ring to Captain John Black of the St. Elmo in appreciation for his service. Despite the unremarkable conclusion of Alexis’ North American excursion, Admiral Possiet could report to the tsar that
Above The Grand Duke Alexis inspects submarine excavations at Hallet’s Point, Long Island, during his trip through America. PHOTO COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
overall, the trip had been a success. In three months’ time, they had traveled approximately 8,500 versts (5,610 miles) by rail and 1,350 versts (891 miles) by river, without any significant problems. He also noted that the grand duke had been enthusiastically received everywhere, and that the reception in the South had been every bit as warm as it had been in the North. Possiet admitted, however, that their itinerary had been exhausting, with nonstop receptions and celebrations, and that eventually all the new places ceased to interest them and the introductions became mechanical. Nonetheless, from the perspective of the American public, the visit of the Russian Grand Duke Alexis had been a thrilling adventure and was proof that Russia and the United States would long be friends. In fact, the fabric of the Russian-American friendship was already fraying, due in large part to the missteps and breaches of protocol by Russia’s minister in the United States, the “odious and disagreeable” Constantin Catacazy. MB
Dr. Lee A. Farrow is Distinguished Research Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor of History at Auburn University at Montgomery. She is the author of “Between Clan and Crown” (2005), “Alexis in America” (2014) and “Seward’s Folly” (2016). Her newest book is “The Catacazy Affair: The Uneasy Path of Russian-American Relations” (October, 2021).
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HISTORY | ARCHIVES
Lost at Sea: The Men of SS Azalea City In February 1942, a merchant vessel with a Mobile connection disappeared without a trace. text by JOHN SLEDGE • photos courtesy BENJAMIN L. NARINSKY PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION
S
ometime during the winter of 1942, a dozen crewmen on board the merchant freighter SS Azalea City assembled for this informal photograph. Most of them kept a straight face, though a few smiled, and the two chaps at lower right engaged in a little tomfoolery — one with his booted leg playfully
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thrown across the shoulder of the other, who appears ready to “cock a snook,” or thumb his nose, a beloved gesture at the time. Mercifully, none of these men knew that within a few short weeks they would be lost at sea, their actual fate only revealed after the conclusion of World War II with American access to German naval records. MB
HISTORY | ARCHIVES
THE CREW The Azalea City was a 22-year-old steel-hulled vessel of 5,000 tons owned by Mobile’s Waterman
UNDER ATTACK When the Azalea City failed
On February 16, 1942, she
German records revealed
winter, she was declared lost with all hands, cause
carrying a cargo of linseed master was George Robert
in heavy seas 125 miles east-southeast of Ocean
and the crew included two mates, cadets, ordinary and able seamen, engineers, oilers, wipers, mess men
stalked the freighter, but his
American, including a man from north Alabama,
Azalea City’s crew even knew
Norwegian, one Italian, one German and one
UNARMED The United States had declared war on Nazi Germany just two months earlier, but the Azalea City’s master was innocent of
crossed the merchantman’s wake, came about and loosed another shot from torpedo slammed into the de grace, causing the Azalea City
unarmed, unescorted and in alone in that, and German U-boat captains gleefully exploited their advantage among the lumbering
MISSING AT SEA The ship’s roster lists every man on board, but who exactly posed for this image them have been Thomas
when they sank dozens of the allies adopt seaside blackouts, convoys, destroyer escorts and torpedo planes in order to improve
a wiper; or 44-year-old the bosun? Alas, we cannot captured by the camera, poker-faced, smiling or they disappeared beneath
Top Crewmen of the SS Azalea City pose alongside their vessel. The tall man in the middle is Benjamin L. Narinsky, who captured the image on the opposite page. Narinsky’s final trip on the Azalea City was the voyage before its fatal journey. Above The SS Azalea City in port, 1939.
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THE ARTS | LITERATURE
Love, Me A stash of old love letters leads writer Audrey McDonald Atkins to rediscover her grandparents and makes her wonder — what will we leave behind?
excerpt from the book THEY CALL ME OR ANGE JUICE by AUDREY MCDONALD ATKINS
W
e were cleaning out her house. Packing up the dishes, the linens, the cutlery. The books, knickknacks, and bridge sets. Her mother’s wedding dress and her daughter’s baby dress. A forgotten shoebox filled with Borax and zinnias. Nearly a hundred years of living to be parceled out, stored away, or sold. Her closet was emptied of its Alfred Dunner suits for church, housedresses for every day, and models coats for lounging and pulling the occasional offending weed. Dress shoes and slippers all packed up for Goodwill. A final sweep of the floor, dust off the shelf, and this cheerless chore will be nearly done. Reaching back into the far, dark corner of the shelf, she touched something. Something that had gone unnoticed during the cleanup. It was a little wooden box. It was locked. Later that evening at home, she pried the lock open and lifted the lid. Letters. The box was full of letters. The letters were tied with a ribbon. These letters told the story of young lovers who were always “old folks” to me. Teasing and flirtation. Spats and apologies. Endearment and devotion. Plans and dreams. Reality and survival. Was it a tear that smeared the ink? Did she laugh at his pet
names and silly jokes? A whole new story of my grandparents crowded my imagination and warmed my heart — the prequel to the white hair and bifocals I had always known. The ones I loved so much were now young strangers to me. Together they endured the death of a baby child and a husband’s grave illness. They raised a beautiful, intelligent daughter and sent her to college. They gained a handsome, bright son-in-law and saw two grandchildren born. They had their differences like all couples do, but they always had each other. Then, one day in November, she buried him. But she still had the letters. The love letter is a lost art. Lost to lives that are too busy (or too lazy) to take time to pick up a pen or go buy a stamp. Lost to technology. Lost to ways that are easier, but not better. Lost right along with beautiful language and heartfelt sentiment. What will tell the story of your life? What will your children find? An email, text, or tweet? A CD or flash drive? A Facebook message with a little (heart symbol) and an xxoo? Maybe … if your past is not password protected. Or will they find a yellowed envelope enclosing a faded letter, worn on the edges from rereading and smelling faintly of Midnight in Paris, inked with the inscriptions of adoration, devotion, and love. Just what will they find? MB
Born and raised in Citronelle, Atkins shares stories about growing up and living in the South in her book, “They Call Me Orange Juice,” and at her blog folkwaysnowadays.com. 76 mobilebaymag.com | february 2022
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MARDI GRAS 2022 PARADE SCHEDULE FEBRUARY 5 DAUPHIN ISLAND PEOPLE’S PARADE
1 p.m. Dauphin Island
FEBRUARY 11 CONDE CAVALIERS
6:30 p.m. Route A
FEBRUARY 12 ORDER OF THE ROLLING RIVER
2 p.m. DIP BAYPORT PARADING SOCIETY
2 p.m. Route A MYSTIC D.J. RIDERS
2:30 p.m. Route A PHARAOHS MYSTIC SOCIETY
MOBILE MYSTICAL REVELERS
2:30 p.m. Route A MOBILE MYSTICAL FRIENDS
3 p.m. Route A KNIGHTS OF ECOR ROUGE
6:30 p.m. Fairhope MAIDS OF MIRTH
6:30 p.m. Route G ORDER OF BUTTERFLY MAIDENS
7 p.m. Route A KREWE OF MARRY MATES
7:30 p.m. Route A ORDER OF HEBE
8:00 p.m. Route A
FEBRUARY 20
CONDE EXPLORERS
NEPTUNE’S DAUGHTERS
FEBRUARY 17
MYSTIC STRIPERS SOCIETY
6:30 p.m. Route A
FEBRUARY 25 CREWE OF COLUMBUS
6:30 p.m. Route A KREWE DE SECONDLINE
6:45 p.m. Route A MAIDS OF JUBILEE
6:45 p.m. Fairhope
6:30 p.m. Route A ORDER OF ISIS
FEBRUARY 26 FOLEY PARADE
11 a.m. Foley
ORDER OF INCA
6:30 p.m. Route A APOLLO’S MYSTIC LADIES
6:45 p.m. Daphne
FEBRUARY 19
6:30 p.m. Route A ORDER OF MANY FACES
7 p.m. Route A
FEBRUARY 22 ORDER OF LASHE’S
6:30 p.m. Route A
MOBILE MYSTICS
2 p.m. Route A
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SHADOW BARONS
3:30 p.m. Route D
6:45 p.m. Daphne
12 p.m. Route A KNIGHTS OF MOBILE
12:30 p.m. Route A
ORDER OF ANGELS
FORT MORGAN PARADING SOCIETY
ORDER OF MYSTIC MAGNOLIAS
1 p.m. Fort Morgan
6:45 p.m. Fairhope
ARRIVAL OF KING ELEXIS I
INFANT MYSTICS
LOYAL ORDER OF THE FIRETRUCK JOE CAIN PARADE
5 p.m. Route A KREWE DU CIRQUE
6 p.m. OWA, Foley CORONATION OF KING ELEXIS
7 p.m. Mobile Convention Center
FEBRUARY 28
2 p.m. Mullet Point MYSTICS OF TIME
11 a.m. Cooper Riverside Park
MYSTICS OF PLEASURE
6 p.m. Orange Beach
7 p.m. Route F ORDER OF DOVES
7:30 p.m. Route F
2:29 p.m. Daphne
ARRIVAL OF KING FELIX III
6 p.m. Route H
NORTHSIDE MERCHANTS
4 p.m. Route D
1:30 p.m. Route A KREWE OF MULLET MATES
MONDAY MYSTICS
FEBRUARY 27
LE KREWE DE BIENVILLE
1 p.m. Route A
FEBRUARY 18
3 p.m. Route D
FLORAL PARADE
6:30 p.m. Route A
ORDER OF VENUS
6:30 p.m. Mobile Convention Center
12 p.m. Saraland
MOBILE MYSTICAL LADIES
FEBRUARY 21
MLK BUSINESS AND CIVIC ORGANIZATION PARADE
2:30 p.m. Route A
ORDER OF POLKA DOTS
7 p.m. Route A
CORONATION OF QUEEN EUGENIA GREER O’CONNOR TO KING FELIX III
2 p.m. Route E
KREWE OF SPARTA
6:30 p.m. Route A 7 p.m. Route A
FEBRUARY 24
KING FELIX III PARADE
MARCH 1 (FAT TUESDAY) GULF SHORES MARDI GRAS ASSOCIATION
10 a.m. Gulf Shores ORDER OF ATHENA
10:30 a.m. Route A KNIGHTS OF REVELRY
12:30 p.m. Route A KING FELIX III PARADE
1 p.m. Route A COMIC COWBOYS
1:30 p.m. Route A MOBILE AREA MARDI GRAS ASSOCIATION PARADE
2 p.m. Route B
12 p.m. Route A
ORANGE BEACH PARADE
FLORAL PARADE
2 p.m. Orange Beach
12 p.m. Route A
ORDER OF MYTHS
6 p.m. Route C
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HISTORY | ASK MCGEHEE
Is it true that Mobile’s Stocking Street was named to identify it as part of the red light district? text by TOM MCGEHEE
Stocking Street in the Leinkauf District was actually named for John Stocking, who served as Mobile’s mayor from 1831 to 1834. The city’s Tenderloin District was located in an entirely different part of town, and the street names had no connection with the activities there. John Stocking was born in New York state in 1797. Just when he moved to Alabama is unclear, but his 1823 marriage to Keziah Beard took place at Blakeley in Baldwin County. Blakeley had been founded by a Connecticut native in 1813 and by 1823 was a boom town competing with Mobile for business. Stocking could well have been one of thousands of young men looking to make their fortune in what was considered a new frontier. Blakeley’s proximity to the swamps of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta spelled its doom. Horrendous bouts of yellow fever decimated the population, and Blakeley was ultimately a ghost town. The Stockings, like countless others, had moved to Mobile where records show their third child was born in 1827. There is no indication of John Stocking’s profession. In 1831, however, he ran against French-born druggist Basil Meslier for mayor and won. The vote count is a vivid reminder of just how small Mobile was at the time; Stocking received 288 votes to Meslier’s 192.
A Gracious Host Early on the morning of January 1, 1832, Mobile’s new mayor and his family were awakened by a group of drunken revelers outside their home. Cotton broker Michael
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Kraft had rung in the New Year down at a cafe on the corner of Conti and Water streets. He and his friends were making their way home when Kraft stumbled into a display of rakes and cowbells in front of Partridge’s Hardware Store. While loudly singing and clanging those cowbells, the rake-shaking band landed in front of the mayor’s home on St. Emanuel Street. Surely, all the men knew one another in a town so small, and what other Mobilian would they want to visit but the new mayor? Not only did John Stocking welcome the throng into his home, but legend has it he toasted the group, which was dubbed the Cowbellion de Rakin Society. The following year, they repeated their parade but began wearing masks and then elaborate costumes. Next came decorated wagons, and Mobile would become forever known as the Mother of Mystics. Unfortunately John Stocking did not live to see Mobile’s tradition of masked parades grow. He died at the age of just 38 in 1835. There is speculation that his death was due to a cholera outbreak, but no one knows for certain.
Above John Stocking served as mayor of Mobile from 1831 to 1834, receiving 288 votes to his competitor’s 192. The new mayor would play a minor part in the story of Mobile’s first masking society.
With Extraordinary Pomp Newspapers from Charleston to Philadelphia reported the death and subsequent funeral of Mobile’s mayor. “The funeral in Mobile of John Stocking, mayor of that city, was made with extraordinary pomp, expressive of the high estimations in which the deceased had been held as a man and a magistrate.” He is buried in an unmarked grave in Church Street Graveyard. John Stocking left a widow and five
young children and, as the newspapers reported, “no property.” A group of friends started a fund for their benefit, and it soon exceeded $4,000. In terms of today’s dollars, that would exceed $126,000. Obviously, this young mayor had been extremely popular. As Mobile enters another Carnival season, it seems very fitting to set the record straight as for whom Stocking Street was named. MB
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END PIECE | BACKSTORY
Revelry in Bloom Photo courtesy William E. Wilson Photographic Collection, Minnie Mitchell Archives, Mobile Historic Preservation Society
“In Mobile, Mardi Gras comes with the seasons, a natural phenomenon, an event to be anticipated and enjoyed, but not really to be considered anything very unusual. One simply grows up knowing that Mardi Gras will come with the spring.” – Caldwell Delaney, as quoted in "Mardi Gras in Mobile," by L. Craig Roberts
LONG BEFORE THE FLORAL PARADE became synonymous with children's floats, Mobile boasted a different parade of flowers, one that included automobiles bedecked in blooms. Pictured here is one such car from the inaugural parade, 1905. That year, King Felix, Orville Cawthon, owner and proprietor of one of Mobile's most luxurious hotels, and Queen Mary Morris Clark reigned over Carnival. Over the next 12 years, revelry quickly blossomed, and 62 mystic societies were formed, most of which didn't last long — Spirits of Darkness and Carnival Flirts, being two such examples. Also short-lived was the original floral parade, which lasted until 1917. But in 1928, the Mobile Carnival Association started the Children's Flower Parade, mostly as an attempt to keep people in town the weekend before Fat Tuesday. Later changed to "Floral Parade," it is one of the longest, most colorful — and youthful —parades of the season. AFTERNOON EVENTS ON MARDI GRAS, 1905 excerpt from the Montgomery
"At 1:00 this evening, the Knights of Revelry entertained the thousands gathered in the Imperial City, with a Felix, on his gorgeous throne
German Relief Hall where they
people were guests during the
and other fortunate persons so
95
Percentage of Mardi Gras parades that follow Route A, a 2.5-mile path through Downtown
6
Number of venues in which Mardi Gras balls were held in the early 1900s: Admiral Semmes Hotel, Athelstan Club,
1902
Year masks were prohibited from public use — at the bandits were known to wear masks.
$3
Have you ever ridden in the Floral Parade? Let us know! Email ahartin@pmtpublishing.com. 82 mobilebaymag.com | february 2022
Amount of money the members paid in monthly dues — the
