Parades and Pageantry
Fleet-Footed Forebear
Known for his winged sandals, the Greek god Hermes, son of Zeus and Maia, and messenger of the gods, lives on in Crescent City Carnival circles with a krewe dating from 1937. Supplicated, Hermes created a magnificent street pageant and tableau ball.
The local celebration, which occurred over two days (and then some) took place first, as a ball, in the Hyatt Regency’s Empire Ballroom with “The Apocalypse” as the theme — good and righteousness vanquished evil — and Miss Lily Jay Schaefer as the goodly queen. Manuel Ponce was the artist for the invitation and ball program. To the streets it was the following evening for the stunning 34-float parade along the traditional route.
Her majesty, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Darrah Schaefer, succeeds Miss Ana Luisa Rodriguez, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Ricardo Jose Rodriguez. Once the formalities commenced and after the Champagne reception, 2022 maids Halle Grace Briede and Virginia Leigh Halpern appeared. Subsequent activity was the playing of the national anthem by the United States Coast Guard, and entrances, in turn by the captain, the king’s pages, Hermes LXXXIII himself, the bearers of the flowers (Veronica Ofelia Rodriguez) and the soon-to-be-retired scepter (Sophia Reese Dugan), the 2023 maids, the ladies in waiting and her 2023 majesty Lily. Mr. Robert M. Midkiff was the ball’s general chairman.
Composing the court were maids Henly Linnette Crosby, Anna Grace Ortemond Franques, Brigette Frances Jonau, Madeline Anne Kling, Isabella Michelle Mannino, Margaret Godchaux Roos and Grace Olivia Valentino. Also, ladies in waiting Emery Wallace Brooks, Molly Beatrice Conroy, Anabelle Eileen Gannon, Stella May Grubb, Helen Kathleen Hannan, Odelia June Irwin, Caroline Michaela Kramer, Margaret Adeline Major, Madeline Teresa Ortemond, Eloise St. Clair Puckett, Mary Keating Schuhmacher and Caroline Elizabeth Waltz; and pages Bradan Thomas Hayes, James Burke Irwin VII, James Comiskey Marsh, Chase Michael Murphy, William Mackenroth Rausch, Patrick Davis Ready, Kennedy Christian Smith and Jude Ryan Truxillo. The Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra provided the pageantry’s musical message.
Among those applauding them were 17 past Hermes queens: Susan Schoen Holmes (1966), 50-year monarch Barbara Aline Batt (Mrs. Martin D. Claiborne III), Marina Ofelia Rodriguez (Mrs. Vincent V. Tumminello Jr.), Tessa Mariana Martinez, Michelle Andree Montz (Mrs. Douglas W. Branch), Rebecca Elizabeth Murphy (Mrs. Christopher J. Roos), Christina Elizabeth Murphy (Mrs. Edward T. Hayes), Emily Elizabeth Davis, Christine Elizabeth Baudier (Mrs. Gregory B. Wood), Emily Cara Valentino (Mrs. Filipe Madeira), Lisa Alexandra Long, Shelby Elizabeth Sanderford, Luciana Elizabeth Bertucci, Elizabeth Hale Rodriguez (Mrs. Jonathan Hitt), Isabel Rose Coleman, Bergen Loren Sanderford and Constantine Elena Rodriguez (2020). No doubt they remembered their stunning monarchal gowns as they admired Lily’s. Designed by Suzanne Perron St. Paul, it had a jewel-encrusted overlay atop gold silk lamé and embellishment of beading, sequin blossoms, rhinestone flowers, gold bugle beads and Austrian crystals.
Royal mother Foofie's gown by the same designer featured hues of blue and gold. Joining her in the box seat were royal grandmother Mrs. Arthur J. Axelrod, Tiki, and Mmes. Amy J. Axelrod, G. Martin Warren, Doug Walner, Louis Gertler, Lee Chawla, Gary Solomon and David Gallo. Also, Leah Struzenski, Meredith Warren and Courtney Nathan Singer.
Nearby were Mmes. Robert Allan Vosbein Jr., Robert Vosbein, Casey P. Talley, Neville Gates, Scott Dubois, Conrad Morris and Henry C. Vosbein, along with Sandra Cason, Ellison Vosbein and Lauren Vosbein. Noted, too, were Mmes. Robert M. Midkoff and Robert M. Murphy. The Hermes 2023 ladies’ ducal and theme pins by Adler’s were worn by most of them.
The Celestin Ballroom housed the glorious Queen’s Supper. Mardi Gras Productions did the décor and arrangements, the hotel served a delicious dinner of braised short ribs and redfish, and the Phunky Monkeys beckoned all to boogie.
Both queen Lily and the unidentified Hermes expressed thanks for their reigns, the importance of the organization’s tradition, the joy of being with family and friends, and ultimately, how much fun they had. And that might be one of the best messages that the mythological Hermes has to deliver.
World Wonders
Showcasing a procession of 27 floats and an ensuing masked ball, the Knights of Babylon (1939) used “Wonders of the World” as its theme. Stupendous edifices, such as the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat, were recalled, both in the parade and in the ball’s printed program, which depicted each float in miniature.
The wonder of royalty at the New Orleans Marriott was portrayed by Miss Lynn Mary Hammel, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Stephen Hammel. Her Babylon lineage — going back to her great-grandfather — is extensive with seven crowns, including her mother, who reigned as Miss Mignonne C. Mary in 1991. Most fittingly, Lynn, as the 2023 majesty, wore her mother’s royal gown, which was designed by Juliette Couture, Inc. It was hand-sewn with lace selected in Paris by her great-grandmother, Myrtle Mary. An onlooker described the dazzling gown of all-gold French lace as “truly a piece of art.”
Last year, the queenly garb was worn by Miss Sidney Alicia Jones, whose parents are Mr. and Mrs. Heath B. Jones.
The 2023 royal court consisted of maids Eleanore Reese Hammel, Hadley Elizabeth Mary, Therese Anne Martello, Amelia Rivé Mary, Margaret Sinclair Smith, Anne Elizabeth Abramczyk, Katerina-Violetta Marisol Ryan, Mary Mae Winter Hayes, Marigny Frances Risey and Eugenie Marcelle Dazet. Also, princesses Charlotte Johanna Hammel, Janine Aurora Bishop, Abigail Lee Becker and Carlie Claire Henderson; and ladies in waiting Bridget Margaux Patel, Eleanor Lillian Schneider, Sabrina Jane Fort, sisters Catherine Elizabeth Anazagasty and Anna Sophia Anazagasty, Maya Elizabeth Millsap and Nora Grace Henderson. The Misses Hammel are sisters of the queen, and the Misses Mary, two of them, and Smith are cousins.
The four pages – those of her majesty, brothers Abbott James Foley and Anders Joseph Foley, and his majesty, James Frye Sanderson and Andrew Kendall White – enjoyed the thrills of the parade led by Sargon LXXVII, the king, and the ball, where B.J. Perez III led the Carnaval! Orchestra.
Others reveling in the excitement of the bal masqué were queen mother/former queen Dr. Mignonne Mary Hammel, whose dress was by Maison Safiyaa; royal grandmothers Mmes. Charles Mary and Donald Hammel; Mrs. Benjamin Zink, 1988 monarch Charlotte Claire Mary; Mmes. Michael Seal, Jack Jacob, Martin Brooks and Samuel Painter; and Mses. Rona Seal and Julie Jacob. They wore the India Stewart-designed krewe favor of a heart of laurel leaves accented with a crown.
The supper dance followed elsewhere in the Marriott Hotel with, as features, a four-course dinner of beef filet and baked Alaska led in by a second line, and lively music by the Wiseguys party band for dancing until 4 a.m.
Sargon portrayed contemporary majesty, while queen Lynn Mary also drew on her many years of Babylon heritage. She expressed her appreciation of the family’s legacy, her part of the history of the club and its role in the city, and the opportunity to wear her mother’s regal dress. Wonders of the Carnival whirl!