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The Northshore's First Royalty
by Karen Gibbs
O, to be a carnival queen for a day! To wear a crown, ride atop a Mardi Gras float, wave to throngs of people below and be toasted by the Mayor! Only a select few lived that dream as the first queens of northshore Mardi Gras krewes. Here, four of them share the memories that are grand enough to last a lifetime.
Madeline Davis
1987 Krewe of Eve, Mandeville
Who’d have believed it? Madeline Davis’ first step in becoming queen of the Krewe of Eve took place in the parking lot of Mandeville High as she and fellow school bus driver Joan Smith were waiting for their riders. “Joan came over to my bus and told me I needed to join the krewe that she was helping to start up,” remembers Madeline. “She said it was going to be fun and gave me the application.”
Right then and there Madeline filled out the form, checking off that she wanted to be a maid or a queen. “I did it as a lark,” Madeline admits. “I thought Joan was joking when she called to tell me my name had been picked from a hat and I was Eve’s first queen.” Both Madeline and husband Shannon were quite excited but had to keep her selection a secret.
The weather on the night of the parade was made to order—mild temperatures with just a slight breeze. The crowds, mainly families, were excited about their city’s first parade. Standing on the raised float, Queen Madeline and King Dr. William Barfield glowed beneath their regal crowns, as she waved her rhinestone-encrusted scepter to the happy faces below. Meanwhile, Madeline’s 7-year-old daughter, Allison, caught up in the exuberance of being a young attendant on the royal float, threw beads by the handful, disregarding her queen mom’s instructions to toss them one pair at a time. “She ran out of throws long before the parade ended,” laughs Madeline.
After about three hours, Queen Madeline’s parade ride ended where it had all begun—in the parking lot of Mandeville High School. “They helped Dr. Barfield off the float first. Then when they came for me, I told them, ‘I’m not ready.’ I just wanted a few more minutes of standing up there.”
The dinner dance that followed the parade gave Madeline a chance to dance with her real prince charming, Shannon. “All in all, it was a thrilling, exciting and wonderful night,” she beams. “Once it was all over, I felt like Cinderella after the ball when she was left with only her shoe. After the gown, crown, scepter and float went back to New Orleans, all I had left were my shoes.”
So what does a queen do when her reign is over? For one thing, she meets yearly for lunch at Benedict’s with the other past queens of Eve—just to keep the magic alive. Then, she works her hardest at all she does for the other 364 days of the year. In Madeline’s case, the effort paid off as she went from driving her bus to routing parish school buses. Then she moved up to assistant to the Director of Transportation. Three years ago, she was promoted to Director of Transportation for St. Tammany Parish schools. Reigning without a crown, she wields the power of interviewing new bus drivers, enforcing safety standards and directing all 350 buses that transport our public and many private school students.
However laudatory, being transportation director pales when compared to Madeline’s favorite occupation. “I’m also a granny now, and that is my joy,” she proudly adds. With three of their four children married, Madeline and Shannon have nine grandchildren to brighten their lives. “We also own a motor home and love to go camping.” Satisfied for the moment with short trips on weekends, Madeline looks forward to retirement and her next royal title, “Queen of the Road.”
Marjorie Morrison
1986 Queen of Omega, Hammond
Ninety-year-old Marjorie Abbey Morrison greets me at the door of her country home on a brisk, sparkling morning wearing a royal purple suit with coordinating blouse tied at the neck. Exuding a regal demeanor, she moves with grace and agility as she guides me to her living room. She is the personification of Southern charm and graciousness, an obvious product of her 24 years as the wife of the late U.S. Congressman James Morrison.
Marjorie speaks with delight of her husband’s scheme to surprise her with the announcement that she would be the first queen of Hammond’s Krewe of Omega. Having been selected as the first king of the krewe, James Morrison asked Marjorie to accompany him to New Orleans on the pretense of viewing the float he was to ride. Within a short time, a representative of Omega appeared with an enormous bouquet of roses. Presenting it to Marjorie, he asked if she would be Omega’s first queen.
When recounting this story, Marjorie’s face lights up and her voice reflects the happiness felt that day. A memorable time in her life, being queen for a day in Hammond’s Mardi Gras parade rivaled her days in Washington, D.C. among the rich and famous. When describing what she wore as queen, Marjorie replies candidly that she chose a gold brocade evening dress with matching jacket, “something Queen Elizabeth would have found appropriate.” Her husband, King James, dressed in a tuxedo, sat on the throne next to his queen. Simple crowns adorned their heads.
The ride was memorable—for crowds and clouds. As the royal float crossed the railroad tracks, the skies opened and rain poured down in buckets. Despite the deluge and chill, the people stayed, cheering on their city’s first parade. Marjorie wouldn’t think of leaving the float, despite the opportunity to do so. It wasn’t until the parade reached the end of its route that Marjorie realized just how cold and wet she was. Her water-soaked gown and ermine cape were so heavy she actually needed assistance in disembarking.
As we sit for a while enjoying coffee and dainty poppy seed muffins, I cannot help but be amazed by this lady. What a remarkable and beautiful woman she is! She neither acts nor looks 90. I simply have to ask her the secret of her youthfulness. “Why, thank you. You are so kind,” she begins, her voice so sweet and so Southern. “When I was very young, my father introduced me to a way of eating—whole grain breads, fresh fruits and vegetables and not much red meat—the same diet that is so popular today. I’ve eaten that way all my life.”
“So what are you doing nowadays?” I ask. Without missing a beat, our premier queen flows into a discourse about her lifelong passion for the arts and her campaign to promote them in the Hammond area. After her husband retired from Congress in 1967, Marjorie joined the the state’s arts council and the local cultural arts department. She helped develop the art slide program to create appreciation for fine art among area students—a program that is still in use today.
Ultimately, the arts council acquired use of the Levy building from the city to house the Hammond Regional Cultural Arts Center. Marjorie recently helped artist Michael Ledet set up his exhibit of paintings in the center. “Can you imagine a 90-year-old woman helping to hang paintings?” she laughs.
Yes, I can. Very easily. Especially when the 90-year-old woman is Queen Marjorie Morrison.
Rosemary Clement
1971 Queen Andromeda I, Krewe of Perseus, Slidell
Approaching the bayou-front home of Rosemary Clement, I am greeted with a vibrant “Hello! Wait right here while I get the paper for Walter.” With that, 70-something Rosemary speeds down the driveway on her bicycle with Lady, the family dog, following close behind. Rosemary Clement is ageless. She looks as fit as she did in the late ’70s when she taught dancing and gymnastics.
While we climb the stairs to Walter’s room, Rosemary describes the nightmare of Katrina and being rescued from the second story of their home. Hearing the details, I am in awe of the strength of this woman. After giving Walter a kiss, Rosemary leads me downstairs to a bright and airy sunroom. There we turn the calendar back to 1971 as she shares the story of Queen Andromeda I.
Rosemary remembers exactly what her husband’s reply was when she asked if it would be okay for her to put her name in for Queen of Perseus. “Yeah, Rosemary,” Walter agreed. “They’ll never pick your name anyway.”
Figuring her husband was right, Rosemary tried not to get her hopes up. Happily, on the same day as her wedding anniversary, she received word that she was to be the first Queen Andromeda. That night, while she and Walter danced at the Blue Room, Rosemary cooed the good news in her husband’s ear.
According to Rosemary, her reign was a family affair. All three daughters—Candace, Gwendolyn and Mary—rode on the royal float. Her mother, an accomplished seamstress, made the gowns for each of the girls. “The morning of the parade, the weather was beautiful and sunny,” Rosemary continues, “but by the time we turned down Front Street, the temperature really dropped. Being so high on the float, the girls and I felt the cold.” Ultimately, Mary and Candace opted to conclude their ride in a convertible. Little Gwendolyn, however, braved the weather with her mother.
Walter and the couple’s two sons, Walter IV and Bruce, sat proudly in the City Hall reviewing stands as Rosemary’s float arrived. “It was a thrill being up there, toasting Mayor Cusimano and breaking the glass,” Rosemary recalls, her face aglow.
After the parade, the krewe held its ball, and the following week it hosted a supper dance. When asked if she spent much of the ball on her throne instead of dancing, Rosemary widened her brown eyes and quipped, “Not this queen!” Indeed, this queen has a zest for life that is refreshing. She truly looks 20 years younger than her true age. A high-energy woman, Rosemary walks three miles a day, works out at the fitness center, water skis daily during the warmer months, and never, ever misses the chance to dance.
In 2001, Rosemary won the Ms. Senior Louisiana pageant, tap dancing her way past ladies in their 50s. She then competed in the Las Vegas Ms. Senior America pageant. “I didn’t win, but I was honored to be competing against so many beautiful and talented women.”
Rosemary garnered yet another honor in 2005 when the Krewe of Slidellians selected her, on the basis of outstanding contributions to Slidell over the years, to serve in 2006 as their 56th queen. Katrina, however, sidelined the 2006 parade, so Rosemary will reign with her son Bruce in the Slidellians’ 2007 parade on January 28. That it took two years for Rosemary to finally ride as Queen of Slidellians is not really important. The fact is, Rosemary Clement has been Queen of Slidell for as long as I can remember.
Sue Blossman Pierce
1967 Queen of Olympia, Covington
While Sue Blossman Pierce isn’t sure that it was her father, A.R. Blossman Sr., who nominated her for her eventual royal title, she has no doubt that she was his princess long before she ever became Olympia’s queen. Recalls Sue, “He was a great father—always supporting my efforts in any endeavor. He wanted me to enjoy all the finest things in life and felt that my participation in the Krewe of Olympia would be very special. I believe that he and my brothers submitted my name for this honor and encouraged their friends to do the same. I remain very grateful for them all.”
On that thankful note, Sue begins her reverie of a most magical moment in her youth. “The magnificent pageantry and opulent parties will be my treasured memories forever. I am a very private person by nature so, in retrospect, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the experience. I suppose it would be difficult for any young woman to find disenchantment with the phrase, ‘Your Majesty.’”
Indeed, from the moment King Paul Pegue asked her to be his queen, Sue relished her reign. “I did not ride on a float,” she explained. “No, I was in the reviewing stand in front of the courthouse where I toasted the king.” Instead of a gown, Queen Olympia wore a white suit and hat. The parade was held at night, and Sue remembers that it was a stormy night, at that. The ball, held days later, was the occasion for Sue to wear her formal golden gown—one that was acquired from a New Orleans krewe and tailored especially for Sue.
Years later, Sue relived the pageantry of Olympia when her three daughters—Sean, Shane and Shannon—shared in the Olympia experience as ladies-in-waiting and in Washington, D.C.’s Mardi Gras Ball as princesses. Comments Sue, “I believe they enjoyed it as much as I did.”
Remarking on the tremendous growth of the Krewe of Olympia, Sue says that she is very glad that the krewe has remained “such a well-established part of our beautiful community. I believe it is an important organization culturally and hope that many more generations will be able to indulge in its fanfare.”
Today, Sue is busy with work, family and travel. Currently, she serves on the board of Parish National Corp., the holding company for Parish National Bank, on whose board Sue served for many years. She and her husband, Frederick “Wes” Pierce, are proud of their three daughters and son, Erin Patrick. With family occupying center stage in Sue’s life, it is natural that the close-knit group, including the six grandchildren, often vacations together. They’ve seen the fiords of Norway, walked the streets of Rome and sailed around Europe. At one time, the family had a second home in Big Sky, Montana, where they gathered for rest and relaxation.
While being Queen of Olympia remains a treasured memory for Sue, she keeps it all in perspective with her quick wit. When asked for an interview as queen of Olympia’s first parade, Sue quipped, “Well, if you have to be the ‘oldest living’ something, I suppose the ‘oldest Queen of Olympia’ isn’t so bad.”
