Using the theme of girl in the center
I found this photo of the 1953 Mardi Gras Queen at my high school.
I was a sophomore at that time and the queen always came from the senior class.
I cannot remember what her name was but I remember the guy.
He is one of my cousins.
The Mardi Gras was the parochial school version of the prom.
It was held the week-end before the beginning of Lent as being Catholic we did not hold dances or any kinds of hoopla during Lent.
No marriages were allowed in the church during Lent etc.
I just love his argyle socks and found many examples of them in the rest of the photos in this group.
This honor was bestowed by the vote of the sister teachers of our school.
Most other honors were awarded by virtue of GPA or student vote.
The sisters felt the honor of being the Mardi Gras Queen represented them so they would always pick someone they considered a virtuous and spiritual girl.
No sour grapes here, well maybe a little, but by virtue of GPA I would have been Mardi Gras Queen in 1956 but I had a boy friend, a freshman in the college there, so the sisters did not vote me as their queen.
I was on the court of course.
The girl who was selected as queen in 1956 had never had a date before.
She was very kind and a great friend.
She was one of my best friends.
By popular vote in the senior book I was voted Most Popular.
A big bad senior I guess.
By way of bragging, sorry Lord, I was also awarded the highest esteemed scholarship to Sienna College in Tennessee. Now that was earned.
But because my mother was a single mom raising three children I had to go to work.
My father had abandoned us.
A girl from a broken family had a stigma to carry.
Sorry to say but it was the truth back in the 40s and 50s.
My heart was broken.
I had attended this high school on a scholarship awarded to me from my elementary school owned by the same group of sisters.
They had to put up with me for 12 years.
I was not a bad girl I was just lively and very visible, all 99 pounds of me.
But life has taken me on the path that has brought me to serenity and happiness in life.
I have no regrets.
Forever I will be the Wife of the Year (52 times) and Mother of the Year (of 6 for 51 times,) as my most cherished honor.
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