When I was about five years old, my parents took my brother and me to a Mardi Gras parade in Downtown Mobile.
I don’t remember which Krewe was marching or really much about the day other than what I have been told.
Apparently, I was on my father’s shoulders to watch the parade. At 6’6” tall, he provides an optimum viewing location.
A masked reveler pointed me out from his float and frisbee-threw a triple-decker moon pie to me.
I didn’t catch it with my hands, but it did catch me square in the face and fold me back over his shoulders.
I popped up after the incident and continued to shout “Throw me one Mistuh!”
It’s the war cry of the parade attender in Mobile’s Mardi Gras.
The celebration was first organized in 1703 by French settlers who were the progenitors of what would become the town of Mobile.
The celebrations, not yet parades, continued on and off until 1830 when one of the parties spilled onto the streets ending in a makeshift parade.
The Civil War put a stop to the parades until 1866 when Joe Cain revived the parades. What he actually did is a bit of legend. Some say he dressed up as a fictional Cherokee Indian Chief named Slacabamorinico and was pulled through the streets of Mobile on coal cart on Shrove Tuesday.
While the actual events are legend, there was a real Joe Cain and he did revive the practice of Mardi Gras, just perhaps not as I was taught in the Alabama History classes I took at Robert E. Lee Elementary.
We were taught Cain, and several other Confederate Veterans calling themselves the Lost Cause Revelers, paraded through town in front of Union occupying troops.
We also got out of school on Joe Cain Day to help in the celebrations.
Much has changed in Mardi Gras celebrations and in Mobile since the days of Joe Cain and even my childhood.
The parades have now expanded over several weeks. The Krewes are not all private anymore. If the revelers are wearing masks, the Krewe is private.
The downtown parades are much safer than they were in my childhood. I remember there being a blanket prohibition among our friends on attending a night parade.
This year, we returned to Mardi Gras on Feb. 3 and watched a three-Krewe parade of more than 30 floats hitting the streets.
Friends of ours from Greenville joined the revelry bringing the total in our party to 11 people. We stayed on Dauphin Island in a beach house and hit the weather perfectly.
Downtown Mobile was packed. If you’ve not been, the oldest portion of Mobile is much like a mini French quarter in New Orleans. The architecture is similar and the food is similar as well.
There is one distinct item missing: there’s a lot less nudity during a Mobile parade than in a New Orleans parade.
While I’ve now returned home to Greenville and left Mobile’s Mardi Gras behind, I won’t have to leave Mardi Gras behind at all.
This Tuesday, the streets of Greenville will hopefully be full of revelers as, at last count, there were 27 different sponsors of the Mardi Gras parade here. The parade will start at 4 p.m. and a block party will follow.
The newspaper will have an entry in the parade and we’ll be throwing beads and perhaps the occasional moon pie.
I was, frankly, surprised there wasn’t already a Mardi Gras Parade in Greenville as the Catholic Church has always been such a strong, positive driver in the community.
What I truly hope for is good weather, good attendance and streets full of revelers.
Parades are a wonderful way for all members of the community to come together in merriment and in location.
For those who haven’t been downtown recently, you will see more activity in open store fronts than the last time you came.
We’re part of that change and happy to be so. We’re also glad to the Washington County Economic Alliance is stepping to plan what should be a good evening.
Also, don’t forget to yell “Throw me one Mistuh!” when the floats go by.
Jon Alverson is proud to be the publisher and editor of the Delta Democrat-Times. Write to him at jalverson@ddtonline.com or call him at 662-335-1155.
