"Bashing Spring Bash Themes": article draft by Roosevelt Fitzgerald

BASHING SPRING BASH THEMES BY ROOSEVELT FITZGERALD
It was at the "MONSTER BAZAAR," for the benefit of Atlanta's own military men, that Rhett Butler said it; "With enough courage, you can do without a reputation." It was at that bazaar that the only gala dance in the film "Gone With The Wind" took place. The purpose was to raise money for the Confederacy in order to be able to continue a war to maintain slavery. Not everyone, in spite of Margaret Mitchell's view of that institution, was anxious for its continuation. "Mammy", "Big Sam",. "Prissy", "Pork" and the hundreds of other slaves at Tara and the hundreds of thousands at other plantations in Georgia and the millions throughout the south, prayed for the day slavery would end.
The dance hall where the "MONSTER BAZAAR" was held was decorated in crimson, white and grey. There were uniforms of every description along with formal civilian attire. There were red, green, blue, yellow, stripped, white, Scarlett's black and other gowns of every description and hue. All of these gay outfits were worn by the best people in Atlanta; the Hamiltons, Butlers, Wilkes, Meades, Meriweathers and Toms and they were all white. There were black men there but not for any dancing. They were the orchestra and there seem to have been about twenty of them and they played reels (a lively Scottish Highland dance) and waltzes and they never missed a beat. Back in those days when black musicians were hardly paid for their services, they could be found doing just about everything with the exception of being truly free (there were a large number of blacks in the United States during the antebellum period who were not slaves).
Amid all the gaity taking place, Dr. Meade'sannouncement that the traitorous "General Lee has completely whipped the enemy and swept the yankee army northward from Virginia" brought such cheers and rebel yells from men and women alike that the volume was reminiscent of Biblical trumpets bringing down walls.
-2-
Dr. Meade stood on a stage when he made his announcement. Behind him, and to his right, hanging on the wall could be found a picture of yet another traitor; Jefferson Davis. The picture was in a large oval frame and there was an inscription which identified it simply as "OUR PRESIDENT." Davis did not represent black people. He was not their president so the inscription was incorrect. It should have read: ANARCHIST. Directly behind Dr. Mead hung a rebel flag.
The people in attendance at that "MONSTER BAZAAR", while raising money for the soldiers of the Confederacy, were also participants in one of the very meaningful rituals of the gentry. Handsome men, beautiful ladies, gracious manners were typical at such gatherings but people who, when at their plantations or elsewhere, in the real treatment of their slaves, related to them as though they were animals. Bbying, selling, flogging and raping black men and women were common occurrences in slavery. There was nothing beautiful about it. Storytellers, such as Margaret Mitchell, made it seem otherwise.
Her book and the movie begin the same way. She wrote: "There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South...Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. Here was the last ever to be seen of Knights and their Ladies Fair, of Master and of Slave. Look for it only in books for it is no more than a dream remembered—A Civilization gone with the wind."
Her description almost brings tears to your eyes—slavery ending, masters possibly having to dirty their hands by working, ladies possibly not being able to fritter away their afternoons taking naps and sipping tea. The movie made it all seem so sad as it ended. Movies can do that especially if that is indeed what they set out to do and if the audiences have a predisposition to buy into the propaganda.
Consider propaganda movies of that same period which had to do with World War II. We were made to hate Japanese people along with Germans. They, on the other hand, made movies designed to cause their populations to hate the allies.
-3-
Some of the 1iterature--novels, short stories, etc. were designed to achieve the same end. Somewhere there are copies of those books and films and people who bought into the ideas they espoused. There are neo-nazis who use such to justify their perception and treatment of Jews and other groups. There are klansmen who use those ideas to justify their perception and treatment of blacks. We condemn such behavior whenever it shows its ugly head. Regretfully, we do no do so all the time.
On April 15, 1988, The Allied Arts Masque Ball was held at the Tropicana Hotel's grand ballroom. The theme for the ball this year was "Gone With The Wind." 425 formally attired guest attended and shared in an evening of "Southern hospitality." The fact that the book and film glorified and romantized an era of our nation's history which was brutal to black people seem not to have mattered in the selection of the theme. My grandfather died in 1954 at the age of 96. Any who is pretty good with numbers can determine that he was born during the period os slavery. In many conversations I overheard him having with others and in those with myself, not once did he suggest that slavery nor the years afterward was one "reel" after another. His time as a slave, like that of every other slave, had been pure hell. It was the same for Jews who had been enslaved in Egypt. It was the same for Greeks in Rome. It is always that way and it is not something to clelbrate with some festive activity whatever the cause. John Quincy Adams, in describing the serfs of early 19th century Russia, said that some were quite wealthy. However, they were still slaves and a slave, no matter how wealthy, is but a slave.
Imagine how some others would be offended if someone would celebrate the enslavement of the aforementioned groups. They wouldn't tolerate it. Imagine if some were to celebrate with some big bash the slaughter of millions of Jews in concentrations camps. They wouldn't tolerate it. Imagine if someone were to celebrate with a big formal dance the Bataan Death March, or the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. They wouldn't tolerate it. Imagine if someone were to celebrate
-4-
any one of the many occasions of suffering which so many people have suffered? Who would tolerate it? There are many things to call such things; "The Spring Festival," "The Spring Ball," "The Masked Masque" or "The Big Dance." But for heaven's sake let's not call it "Gone With The Wind" or "Holocaust-II or "Nagasaki Revisited." We've got to be more creative and more sensitive than that because if we are not, someone might do something offensive to us and we will not be in a position to complain; I believe that the ultimate right we must protect is our right to complain and we do not protect it when we offend
others.
Arts council benefit offers
fine old Southern Hospitality
GONE WITH THE WIND ... Was
the theme for the Allied Arts
Masque Ball held April 15 in the
Tropicana Hotel’s grand ballroom.
Ball chairman David Quinn, senior
vice president of First Interstate
Bank and his wife, Sharon,
charmingly greeted the 425 formally
attired guests for an evening of
Southern hospitality. Mint juleps
were sipped around the azalea-covered
gazebo as the Dick Wright
Dixieland Band played on a 37-
foot-wide Mississippi River dock
where riverboat, bales of hay and
barrels added to the gala’s atmosphere.
Souvenir photographs were
taken around an authentic buckboard
similar to the buckboard
Rhett and Scarlett escaped from
Atlanta in. A 25-by-60-foot facade
of white-columned “Tara,” complete
with porch and flower gardens,
was a perfect setting as gentlemen
signed the ladies’ dance
cards.
The dinner’s first course was
Aunt Pitti Pat’s pate with Savannah
sauce, followed by Ashley’s
Twelve Oak salad vinaigrette. The
entree was Scarlet’s Confederate
game hen with truffle sauce in the
company of Miss Melanie’s vegetable
melange. Dessert was Prissy’s
pecan pie with chocolate chips and
; bourbon custard.
Denny Weddle, director of corporate
public affairs for Summa
Corp., served as master of ceremonies.
Mustached Weddle wore a
1 crimson-colored Southern colonel’s
oufit. The Room decor was by designer
Roger Thomas, dressed as a
' Union soldier, and Jane Radoff
and Barbara Molasky, who wore
'antebellum gowns. Among the
, guests donning period costumes
' were Sue Weddle, Lynn Wiesner,
Dedee Nave, Jan Jones, Dal and
Robin Anderson, Marsha Miller,
Paula Hobson, Glen Ashworth and
Alison Windsor. Also present were
' Joel and Ann Kazar — with Joel
dressed as an Atlanta fireman —
and Arthur and Judi Steele — with
• Arthur playing a Mississippi gambler.
JUNIOR LEAGUE TRIP ... Thirty
members of the Las Vegas Jut
nior League recently returned from
. r___ j___ __ lx..__ 1 x_:_ C-- x-
Dorothy
Huffey
On the Scene
Adele Root, Lynn Buchanan,
Dawn Dudas and Shirley Holst to
view the Girard Collection of
120,000-piece village scenes from
100 countries, and to see Spanish
colonial art. Next, we took in the
Wheelwright Museum of the
American Indian. Checked into our
delightful-hotel, Inn on the Alameda,
where we enjoyed their complementary
elaborate continental
breakfast each morning. Thursday
evening was dinner at the El Dorado
Hotel’s Tile Court Room, and
then a short walk to the Play
House for Susan Van Aken, Mollie
Stevenson, Nancy Bentley and the
rest of the group to see the outstanding
production of “Bus Stop.”
The Las Vegans departed early
Friday morning for the Puye Cliff
Dwellings (30 miles north of Santa
Fe) where Anasazi Indians lived
centuries ago. Climbing ladders up
the mountain face and descending
into the kiva were Madeleine Andress,
Nancy Peccole, Rhonda Evans,
Saundra Richardson, Wendy
Kalb and Donna Andress. After
lunch in Taos, Carolyn Sparks,
Patty Craddock and Kathy Dalvey
toured the Kit Carson Home and/'*
Museum. All the group continued
on to the Millicent Rogers Museum.
Enjoying the tour were Marti
Hafen, Maria Quirk, Diana Wilson,
Carol Jones and Deni Conrad.
Late afternoon, we continued on
to the village of Chimayo — famous
for Chimayo blankets and rugs
woven by the Ortega Family, who
have pursued the craft here for
eight generations. We went to the
picturesque Rancho de Chimayo
for a delightful outdoor twilight
dinner. After an hour’s ride back to
Santa Fe, the group was invited to
the lovely hilltop home of former
Las Vegans, banker Dave and Liz
Vlaming. The Vlamings hosted a
wine and cheese party as we caught
them up on all the Las Vegas news.
Saturday was a day for shopping.
On Sunday, the group weathered
a blizzard but made it to the airport
for its late afternoon flight to
Las Vegas. League tour leaders
DeDe Rosenthal and Linda Silvestri
put together an interesting trip
to Santa Fe.
DESERT INN COUNTRY CLUB
... Held its President’s Ball the evening
of April 15.
The club’s 32nd president and
incoming board were feted at a formal
dinner and dance. Balloon
bouquets decorated the Terrace
Room, where dining tables covered
in ecru lace with spring floral bouquets
offered guests dinner of steak
and lobster. Gold foil-wrapped
boxes of chocolates were dinner favors.
Outgoing DI president Lynn
Weidman passed the club’s gavel to
incoming president Chris Montana.
Therm White and Gordon
Hafenrichter are the two new
board members. President Chris
Montana presented Mary Gallardo,
lady golf association past
president, with a gold medallion.
Michelle Morphy will serve as lady
golf association president for the
coming year. The vice president is
Ruth Rappleye. The Hoyt Henry
Orchestra played for dancing.
HOME OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
AUXILIARY ... Presented
“Please Don’t Eat the Daisies,” a
garden luncheon and fashion show
by Bullocks on April 19.
Auxiliary member Gloria Pearson
opened her Scotch 80’s home
to the 100-plus guests. A menu of
salads and desserts was served
poolside. Kay Ott of Bullocks presented
spring fashions modeled by
Commissioner Thalia Dondero,
Bertha Beggs Ragland, Sandy Tiberti,
Peggy Sparks, Margaret Lychock,
Lee Nigro, Julie Baxter and
Kim Laub.
Seen enjoying the afternoon
were Richie Rapone, Bonnie Gragson,
Mai Mor ledge, Kay Fish,
Sandy Peltyn, Donna Pearson, Pat
Fenton, Sylvia Maxson, Lee Alverson,
Nancy Lamb, Della Richards,
Maryann Smith, Dottie Ramberg,
Jacki Keefer, Ruth Martin, Carol
Rapp and Jill Simshauser.
BRIDAL SHOWER ... Jeanne
Boles and Use Epprecht hosted a
bridal shower luncheon for Debby
Smith, daughter of Fred and Mary
a Monday, April 25, 1988/Las Vegas Review-«lournal/3D
JoAnn Nivlson, from left, Dean Schank, Elaine and John Fish whirl on the dance floor.
Edward Bernstein squires his wife Cari to the Paula Hobson, from left, Glen Ashworth and
Allied Arts annual benefit ball. Allison Windsor travel to the Old South.
Arts council benefit offers
fine old Southern Hospitality
T" GONE WITH THE WIND ... Was
the theme for the Allied Arts
Masque Ball held April 15 in the
Tropicana Hotel’s grand ballroom.
Ball chairman David Quinn, sel
riior vice president of First Interstate
Bank and his wife, Sharon,
I charmingly greeted the 425 formal-
! ly attired guests for an evening of
Southern hospitality. Mint juleps
I were sipped around the azalea-covi
ered gazebo as the Dick Wright
Dixieland Band played on a 37-
| foot-wide Mississippi River dock
where riverboat, bales of hay and
barrels added to the gala’s atmosphere.
Souvenir photographs were
taken around an authentic buckboard
similar to the buckboard
Rhett and Scarlett escaped from
Atlanta in. A 25-by-60-foot facade
of white-columned “Tara,” complete
with porch and flower gardens,
was a perfect setting as gentlemen
signed the ladies’ dance
\ cards.
J The dinner’s first course was
/ Aunt Pitti Pat’s pate with Savan-
S. nah sauce, followed by Ashley’s
] Twelve Oak salad vinaigrette. The
/ entree was Scarlet’s Confederate
/- game hen with truffle sauce in the
I ■ company of Miss Melanie’s vegetable
melange. Dessert was Prissy’s
. pecan pie with chocolate chips and
I bourbon custard.
Denny Weddle, director of cor-
I - porate public affairs for Summa
Corp., served as master of ceremo-
- nies. Mustached Weddle wore a
‘ crimson-colored Southern colonel’s
oufit. The Room decor was by designer
Roger Thomas, dressed as a
; Union soldier, and Jane Radoff
and Barbara Molasky, who wore
-antebellum gowns. Among the
- guests donning period costumes
' were Sue Weddle, Lynn Wiesner,
Dedee Nave, Jan Jones, Dal and
Robin Anderson, Marsha Miller,
Paula Hobson, Glen Ashworth and
• Alison Windsor. Also present were
Joel and Ann Kazar — with Joel
"dressed as an Atlanta fireman —
and Arthur and Judi Steele — with
Arthur playing a Mississippi gam-
\ • bier.
JUNIOR LEAGUE TRIP ... Thirty
members of the Las Vegas Ju-
. niocr_ _L_eaJg—ue _relcxe_n_tl1y Xre-:t—u rXn-e dL ?f_r_oXm-
On Sunday, the group weathered
a blizzard but made it to the airport
for its late afternoon flight to
Las Vegas. League tour leaders
DeDe Rosenthal and Linda Silvestri
put together an interesting trip
to Santa Fe.
DESERT INN COUNTRY CLUB
... Held its President’s Ball the evening
of April 15.
The club’s 32nd president and
incoming board were feted at a formal
dinner and dance. Balloon
bouquets decorated the Terrace
Room, where dining tables covered
in ecru lace with spring floral bouquets
offered guests dinner of steak
and lobster. Gold foil-wrapped
boxes of chocolates were dinner favors.
Outgoing DI president Lynn
Weidman passed the club’s gavel to
incoming president Chris Montana.
Therm White and Gordon
Hafenrichter are the two new
board members. President Chris
Montana presented Mary Gallardo,
lady golf association past
president, with a gold medallion.
Michelle Morphy will serve as lady
golf association president for the
coming year. The vice president is
Ruth Rappleye. The Hoyt Henry
Orchestra played for dancing.
HOME OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
AUXILIARY ... Presented
“Please Don’t Eat the Daisies,” a
garden luncheon and fashion show
by Bullocks on April 19.
Auxiliary member Gloria Pearson
opened her Scotch 80’s home
to the 100-plus guests. A menu of
salads and desserts was served
poolside. Kay Ott of Bullocks presented
spring fashions modeled by
Commissioner Thalia Dondero,
Bertha Beggs Ragland, Sandy Tiberti,
Peggy Sparks, Margaret Lychock,
Lee Nigro, Julie Baxter and
Kim Laub.
Seen enjoying the afternoon
were Richie Rapone, Bonnie Gragson,
Mai Morledge, Kay Fish,
Sandy Peltyn, Donna Pearson, Pat
Fenton, Sylvia Maxson, Lee Alverson,
Nancy Lamb, Della Richards,
Maryann Smith, Dottie Ramberg,
Jacki Keefer, Ruth Martin, Carol
Rapp and Jill Simshauser.
BRIDAL SHOWER ... Jeanne
Boles and Use Epprecht hosted a
bridal shower luncheon for Debby
Smith, daughter of Fred and Mary
Dorothy
Huffey
On the Scene
Adele Koot, Lynn Buchanan,
Dawn Dudas and Shirley Holst to
view the Girard Collection of
120,000-piece village scenes from
100 countries, and to see Spanish
colonial art. Next, we took in the
Wheelwright Museum of the
American Indian. Checked into our
delightful-hotel, Inn on the Alameda,
where we enjoyed their complementary
elaborate continental,
breakfast each morning. Thursday
evening was dinner at the El Dorado
Hotel’s Tile Court Room, and
then a short walk to the Play
House for Susan Van Aken, Mollie
Stevenson, Nancy Bentley and the
rest of the group to see the outstanding
production of “Bus Stop.”
The Las Vegans departed early
Friday morning for the Puye Cliff
Dwellings (30 miles north of Santa
Fe) where Anasazi Indians lived
centuries ago. Climbing ladders up
the mountain face and descending
into the kiva were Madeleine Andress,
Nancy Peccole, Rhonda Evans,
Saundra Richardson, Wendy
Kalb and Donna Andress. After
lunch in Taos, Carolyn Sparks,
Patty Craddock and Kathy Dalvey
toured the Kit Carson Home and
Museum. All the group continued
on to the Millicent Rogers Museum.
Enjoying the tour were Marti
Hafen, Maria Quirk, Diana Wilson,
Carol Jones and Deni Conrad.
Late afternoon, we continued on
to the village of Chimayo — famous
for Chimayo blankets and rugs
woven by the Ortega Family, who
have pursued the craft here for
eight generations. We went to the
picturesque Rancho de Chimayo
for a delightful outdoor twilight
dinner. After an hour’s ride back to
Santa Fe, the group was invited to
the lovely hilltop home of former
Las Vegans, banker Dave and Liz
Vlaming. The Vlamings hosted a
wine and cheese party as we caught
them up on all the Las Vegas news.
Saturday was a day for shopping.
a Monday, April 25, 1988/Las Vegas Revlew-Journal/3D
JoAnn Nivison, from left, Dean Schank, Elaine and John Fish whirl on the dance floor.
Edward Bernstein squires his wife Cari to the Paula Hobson, from left, Glen Ashworth and
Allied Arts annual benefit ball. Allison Windsor travel to the Old South.