Page 20 - South Mississippi Living - Ocotber, 2022

PEOPLE
Not many organizations endure for 100 years but the Krewe of Les Masquees has done just that and the ladies are celebrating this historic milestone.
Les Masquees was founded in Biloxi on October 22, 1922, at the birthday party of John Wood. A group of friends had attended a ladies’ carnival ball in New Orleans and wanted to start a similar group on the Coast. These Biloxi ladies reconvened the following spring for their first ball. The original dues were set at $3 and the membership was capped at 75 members.
“Our first queen was Miss Josephine Folkes and it was established that the gentleman who received the greatest number of 'callouts' should be selected as king of the carnival ball,” says Captain Terri Green. “The Les Masquees founders created a set of bylaws which stated that their objective and purpose 'shall be for pleasure only,
to promote social activity, and to hold a masked ball by its members once each year.' This remains our mission to this day.”
Les Masquees’ Centennial Celebration will cover
multiple events across the 2022-2023 carnival season. The Celebration kicked off with a Centennial Party for members and guests at the Community Center in Ocean Springs. A beautiful display of Les Masquees queen costumes, crowns and scepters from years past was featured.
The krewe will celebrate Founder’s Day in October with proclamations from the Mayors of Biloxi and Ocean Springs and the Governor of Mississippi. Additionally, the Coastal Mississippi Mardi Gras Museum mounted an exhibition
in September to honor the 100th anniversary that will be
on display until March 1, 2023. It features costumes and photographs from the krewe’s history.
20 | October 2022
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Queen Josephine Folkes.
100 YEARS OF TRADITION
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of Krewe of Les Masquees