In the wake of the recent MA-ATM Conflict, a Mod Mobilian reader took us up on our offer (to publish essays from Mod Mobilian readers). He/she suggests maybe it is time to look at whether the Azalea Trail Maids are the best representatives of Mobile. Always wanting to take a rational look at both sides of an argument (but please heed Shakespeare’s advice in Henry IV Part 2 about killing the messenger*) – here it is:
And where are the young men with the high GPAs, admirable self-possession, and exhaustive knowledge of local history? I am told there used to be “Azalea Trail Dandies” who acted as escorts for the girls. They wore white suits with colored pocket squares to match their Maid. I’m not sure whatever happened to the Dandies—perhaps the local boys lost interest in applying, or perhaps in this modern era it was thought that the young ladies no longer needed male protection. Surely that’s for the best—the sight of fifty girls in hoop skirts twirling parasols AND fifty boys suited up like Colonel Sanders might be more Southern charm than the Macy’s parade can use.
And that mental picture brings us to the real controversy, which emerged recently when the Maids were invited to Obama’s inaugural parade. Edward Vaughn, head of the Alabama NAACP chapter, complained that the girls should stay home because they were identified with slavery. If you don’t remember the firestorm this created, it’s fairly easy to imagine it.
But come on, guys. Be honest, now. It’s those damned hoop skirts. (Well, them and the parasols.) Very wide hoops were at the height of their brief vogue during the time of the Late Unpleasantness, and they are strongly associated with mid-nineteenth-century Southern women. And not hardscrabble Tennessee mountain women or canny New Orleans Creoles, either. We’re talking Scarlett at the barbecue and a big plantation house with graceful colonnaded porches, wide stairs, and double doors that could accommodate her getup. And we all know what economic engine drove that plantation.
A group of fresh-faced, pastel hoop-skirted girls in New Jersey, or even as far south as Virginia, might suggest a historical re-enactment, a goofy costume party, or maybe a true Bridezilla wedding. But when they’re in the Heart of Dixie, where Mr. Wallace made his famous stand, it’s inevitable that a lot of people are going to think about the spreading fields of Tara and exactly who was working in them. (And no, including black girls on the court doesn’t magically transform our memory of that period of history into “a time when grace and beauty were vital to everyday life.”)
It might not be so bad if we weren’t so deadly serious about it all. Many towns have oddball customs – Punxsutawney Phil, the jumping frog contest, whatever. These charming traditions seem to me to be carried on with a lighthearted “we know it’s ridiculous, but we wouldn’t have it any other way” spirit that the Azalea Trail Maids lack. If you don’t believe me, just Google the Edward Vaughn dustup. Steve Nodine was particularly incensed.
There are plenty of ways in which smart, talented, poised young women can represent our city, welcome visitors, and even exude Southern hospitality and charm without dressing up in fifty-pound hoop skirts. If they’re supposed to evoke flowers, why not try getting creative? Blue Velvet Studio might have a few ideas about wearable art. Or if we must have hoops, Mobile has 300 years of history. Let’s showcase some of the other twenty-nine decades, too. Maybe even get the boys involved again. Wouldn’t that be just Dandy?
* “It’s a losing situation, being the first man to bring unwelcome news. That man’s voice sounds forever like a sad bell.”
October 19th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
After reading your endless tirade concerning Azalea Trail Maid organization. Your obvious cynical mind finds displeasure at the thought of 50 girls competing for the revered spots that will allow them to represent everything that is southern, positive and beautiful about Mobile! This process is not for the weak at heart. Hours are spent learning Mobile history, the leaders of our country and local entertainment they can recommend to any visitors they come in contact with. Once they have been chosen, and can I say, it is after two stressful interviews that require knowledge and poise, they must sacrifice their time to be present at many functions and events that they must be able engage in any conversation with governors, tourists or just curious children. Their families step up to the challenge of having the dresses made and then learning how to get in and out of them in under 10 minutes! The reward? Unfortunately, they have to endure idiots like you who find it necessary to make something that they have worked hard to achieve a negative and insulting icon! Not every southern woman who wore a hoop dress during that era was a slave owning heartless rebel! It is however a style that goes hand in hand with “southern”. Fortunately the south and this country have come a long…long…long way since those horrible days of slavery. They have come a long way since segragation! Just because YOU attach hoop dresses and slavery does not mean every person who sees those 50 Trail Maids at events have the same outlook. Being a Trail Maid is an honor. Those girls work hard to represent southern hospitality to the best of their ability. Their reward is pride in their heritage and quite possibly scholarship money that will enable them to attend college. So, instead of tearing something down that has a positive affect & influence, why don’t you try being supportive and even showing a little southern respect for the Azalea Trail Maid organization.