“It’s been the time of my life”, Maids of Jubilee celebrating 40 fabulous years
FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WKRG) — The Maids of Jubilee celebrate a milestone anniversary with this year’s parade theme, “Forty and Fabulous.”
MOJ’s president called it, “A salute to the ladies of the eighties who showed up and showed out!
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The mystic society, at times referred to as the “Mothers of Fairhope,” has made history in more ways than one.
The Head Marshal for Maids of Jubilee is believed to be the first female marshal to lead a Mardi Gras Parade.
As a founding MOJ member, she recalled when her journey started in 1984.
“It’s kind of weird,” she said. “I kind of feel like it was just yesterday when we all got together and decided we’re gonna have a Mardi Gras ball. We’re gonna entertain Fairhope.”
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A small group of ladies invited a few of their friends to join them as Maids of Jubilee, creating the Eastern Shore’s first female Mardi Gras Association with about a hundred members.
“It’s been the time of my life,” Head Marshal and founding member said. “You know to be able to see this club flourish from having nothing. They said we couldn’t do it. We couldn’t pull it off to owning our own floats, our generators, our float barn and every member that is in MOJ owns a piece of it.”
Over the years, she has accumulated quite the treasure trove of trinkets and memorabilia including photos of her riding a horse or camel.
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However, what members hold most dear is something that is not tangible.
It’s a sisterhood as explained by the organization’s president.
“I’m a 25-year member,” she said. “I never thought I would be in an organization 25 years because I am not a girlie girl, and it has been so rewarding to meet people to get to know people. I never would have met a lot of the folks that I know now and I am friends with if I was not in this organization because we all did it together.”
“These women came from all different walks of life,” the Head Marshal and Founder said. “It wasn’t the same. We all had different friends and we all came together as one sisterhood with all these different individuals and it was just kind of like magic.”
Mardi Gras “magic” draws in the crowds to downtown Fairhope year after year.
This year, you can expect to see floats representing Princess Diana, Princess Leih, The Material Girl, the first American woman in space and many more. The parade is Friday, Feb. 9, at 6:45 p.m.
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