We have a proud tradition: After 100 years, Crewe of Columbus to celebrate its Mobile Mardi Gras roots – AL.com

When Neil Diamonds America cues up inside the Mobile Civic Center, and the Crewe of Columbus marches out Friday for their 100th anniversary tableau, Terry Ankerson will be dancing right along with them.

Its a fellowship the 75-year-old retired banker from Mobile has been involved with since 1974. His family has been linked to the mystic society since its inception in 1921. According to Ankerson, one of his great uncles is a charter member.

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The century celebration is set for Friday, after having been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its theme is Constellations Navigating by the Stars, and the parade will feature 20 units 19 floats, and the queens carriage.

Ankerson will be riding on one of those decorative floats, for the 48th time, alongside a grandson.

In the Crewe, youll see three generations, said Ankerson. Grandaddies and sons. That has held us together for so many years. Its a wonderful tradition.

We miss her a lot

This years parade will be bittersweet for Ankerson as well, as its the first since his daughter, a former queen of the Crewe of Columbus, died from a bout with cancer in November 2020.

For Ankerson, the family ties with the Crewe run deep:

Leigh Ankerson Bailey, at age 42, died in November 2020, following a battle with internal melanoma.

Terry Ankerson, one of the longest active members of the Crewe of Columbus, pictured here looking at his late daughters dress that is on display at the Mobile Carnival Museum. Leigh Ankerson Bailey was 18 when she crowed queen of the Crewe of Columbus during their 75th anniversary in 1996. She died in November 2020 at age 42 following a bout with internal melanoma. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Tough, tough times, said Ankerson, as he looked at his daughters mint-conditioned gown from the organizations 75th anniversary ball that is on display inside the Mobile Carnival Museum in downtown Mobile. The museums exhibit honoring the Crewe of Columbus 100th anniversary will remain on display through May.

Its like having four weddings, said Ankerson, who serves as a tour guide at the museum, and is the de facto historian for the Crewe of Columbus as he referred to his daughters weddings and their individual crowning at the past balls.

We are extremely proud of her, Ankerson said, while looking at Leighs dress and a decorative scepter shaped as a golf club that his daughter possessed during her royal reign in 1996. Leigh Ankerson was once a standout golfer.

We miss her a lot, he said.

Democratized Carnival

Featured behind his daughters dress inside the Carnival Museum is the 50th anniversary gown worn by the queen during the 1971 ball. Surrounding the resplendent attire are pictures, costumes, memorabilia, photographs, and trinkets commemorating the past 100 years of one of the largest mystic societies that parades Mobiles streets every Mardi Gras season.

Indeed, 600 members make up the Crewe of Columbus today, a remarkable increase from early days when historical accounts show that 92 members were part of the group when it was known as Krewe of Columbus.

We have quite a list of guys waiting to get in, said Ankerson. We have a proud tradition.

When first formed, the all-mens mystic society consisted of only members of the Knights of Columbus, the global Catholic fraternal organization.

The organization remained the Krewe of Columbus until 1937, when the K was dropped in favor of the C after a reorganization.

The Crewe democratized Carnival, said Cart Blackwell, curator of the Mobile Carnival Museum. Prior to the finding of the Crewe, it was a small cast of characters involved with the actual parades and balls. They spread it out. Its a big organization. Its that constant spreading out of Carnival that is very meaningful.

Blackwell said another notable aspect of the Crewe of Columbus is its link to the Roman Catholic Church. Though affiliation with the church is no longer a membership requirement, Blackwell said its foundation in the church is very special given the sacred roots of Carnival.

Ankerson said hes unsure what the Catholic and non-Catholic split is within todays group, though he believes there are more non-Catholics than there are Catholics.

Early memories

The groups earliest parades culminated in a ball that was held in the Battle House Hotel, according to a historical account released during the 50th anniversary celebration in 1971. Weather sometimes canceled or postponed the parades, though the balls would always take place.

Sometimes a stubborn mule would create a parade ruckus. That occurred in 1939, when a mule named Leonard sat down in the middle of the parade route. Tractors were brought in to pull the floats for the 1940 parade to avoid another Leonard rebellion, according the 50th anniversary account.

In 1946, the Crewe of Columbus celebrated its silvery anniversary with the first parade on the streets of Mobile since 1942. All parades were canceled during World War II, though organizations gathered for their annual balls.

Among the attendees during the 1946 Mardi Gras was Wayne Dean, a Mobile Mardi Gras historian who is well-known in the city for his portrayal of the beloved Carnival character Slacabamarinico.

The Crewe used to always start Mardi Gras, theyd be the first parade out the chute, said Dean. When it started back up after the war, my grandfather took me he held me in his arms and watched that parade roll. I wouldve been maybe 4 years old.

Dean, in an almost astonishing feat of counting each ball hes attended in his lifetime, tabbed the Crewes 2020 ball as his 1,000th.

It was my first parade Ive been to, after the War, and it was my personal 1,000th ball, Dean said.

Dean also was also in attendance at the Crewes 50th anniversary ball at the Mobile Civic Center (the Crewe moved its balls from Fort Whiting to the Civic Center in 1965).

Back then, they allowed fire inside the ballroom, and they had six-to-eight chandeliers hanging from the ceiling of the Civic Center auditorium, Dean recalled. I remember a man coming out on a tall ladder and lit those candles in the chandeliers before the ball. It was a beautiful scene. But then they discovered they used candles and they were dripping, and a lot of men were getting candle wax on their tails and the ladies on their dresses. It was an interesting night.

Dean added, But it was one of the most beautiful scenes at a ball that I can remember. It was real candles flickering over the dance floor.

Smoldering rubble

The Crewe, over the years, has had its challenges. Twice, within a period of about 10 years, the organizations float barn burned with memorabilia and floats destroyed.

The first fire occurred on December 30, 1968, when a warehouse the organization shared with the Maids of Mirth erupted in flames and left the venue a heap of smoldering rubble.

For the 1969 Carnival, the Maids of Mirth opted not to parade. But the Crewe with their perennial pluck, according to the 50th anniversary booklet, rebuilt its floats.

Mother Nature wasnt cooperative. The Feb. 14, 1969, parade was thwarted by torrential rains, canceling the parade. A group of maskers then loaded onto buses and were transported to Bel Air Mall where they parade on foot and snake-danced and even took part of a style show that was taking place at the mall that night, according to the 50th anniversary booklet.

Back at the ball, Martin Johnson welcomed the guests and read a proclamation from the Mobile Carnival Association that recognized the organizations indomitable will to rebuild its parade from the ground within six short weeks.

The Crewe paraded behind the Infant Mystics three nights later.

The second setback happened in 1979, when on Aug. 11, the organizations float barn erupted into flames. Those flames consumed three of the floats, and damaged six others approximately one month before one of the most devastating storms to ever hit Mobile arrived Hurricane Frederic.

Related content: Remember Freddie: How Mobiles 1980 Mardi Gras steered recovery through revelry

What is really weird is we had that fire in August and it pretty much destroyed everything, Ankerson said. Then the hurricane hit, and it didnt hurt us as much. Everything was gone anyway. But we rebuilt.

Miss USA and Jim Cantore

The organization continued to grow, but always maintained a rigid position that only masked members could ride in a Crewe of Columbus parade.

The closest that strict ruling came to being upended was when Courtney Gibb, who was Miss USA 1988, paraded on the Crewes emblem float inside the Mobile Civic Center as it was showcased during Miss USA pageant in 1989. The pageant, hosted by Dick Clark, was the only time a Miss USA pageant took place in Alabama.

Courtney Gibbs, Miss USA in 1988, is the only celebrity who has ever been allowed to ride on a Crewe of Columbus float. Ironically, that did not happen during the mystic societies Mardi Gras ball. It occurred on their emblem float during the filming of the 1989 Miss USA pageant at the Mobile Civic Center. It was the first, and only time that the Miss USA pageant occurred in Alabama. (file photo)

Miss USA got to ride on top of the world, Ankerson said.

As Ankerson recalls it, Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel fame expressed interest whether it was serious or not in riding along on the 2016 parade aboard a float that featured him straddling a palm tree.

Cantore, instead, interviewed one of the maskers during an episode of Americas Morning Headquarters on The Weather Channel. The float was part of that years theme, Apps.

We dont let anyone (but members) ride on a float with the Crewe of Columbus, said Ankerson. But we had that one exception and it was not during a parade.

A member of the Crewe of Columbus tosses a handful of beads to the crowds gathered along the streets of downtown Mobile, Ala. Friday Feb 12, 1999. (file photo)

Status doesnt matter

Ankerson estimates it taking eight years before someone moves off the groups waiting list to becoming an associate member and then to an active member who is allowed on a float.

Associate members, Ankerson said, still get to join in on the parading fun. They walk the streets holding a sign that promotes the float that is rolling behind them.

Some of those guys have more fun than the guys on the floats, Ankerson said, noting that its not uncommon for the masked marchers to find ladies standing on the side of the parade route, who might get a friendly hug.

Status within the group or as a member of a local company, Ankerson said, does not matter.

Whats really fun, though, is when you come to a meeting, we dont care if youre the president of the company or the clerk of the company, he said. When you walk through the doors, youre a member of the Crewe of Columbus. No politics and no commercialization. Im sure that is the way its done in a lot of organizations, but thats how we do it.

Crewe of Indigenous People?

The Crewe of Columbus celebrated its 93rd year as a parading organization with the theme Bucket List on Friday Feb. 28, 2014 in Mobile, Ala. (file photo)

In the age of political correctness, could the Crewe of Columbus be eying reforms?

Ankerson said he doesnt believe so, even if the story of Christopher Columbus is filled with controversy over the Italian explorers role in the theft of property and the deaths of indigenous people.

Protests have occurred over the years during Columbus Day parades, and there have been efforts to eliminate the federal holiday honoring the founder of the New World.

Alabama is also one of 10 states that celebrates a version of Indigenous Peoples Day during the Columbus Day holiday in early October. The state put its own spin on the holiday in 2000, when the Legislature created American Indian Heritage Day alongside Columbus Day. Also celebrated on that day is Fraternal Day, which was established in 1915.

The tradition weve held onto for years is about the milestone of (Columbus) being one of the first Europeans to step on this side of the world, Ankerson said. We dont want to be cruel to anyone else.

He added, Who knows? Someone might say we need to change the name to the Crewe of Indigenous People. I dont know. But weve stayed with our Mardi Gras traditions, and with the fun and merriment that we have. As far as were concerned, its for all Mobilians.

Dean said he isnt too concerned about the Crewes embrace of the Columbus voyage and its portrayal of Native Americans, which he described more as Mardi Gras mystical than a history lesson.

There may be some tweaking down the road, but thats up to them, said Dean. Columbus, he did exist. He did sail over the ocean. What he did when he got here mightve been bad in some cases, but I dont think it will change the Crewe of Columbus. I think they when they get to 200, they will be the Crewe of Columbus.

Great traditions

The Crewe of Columbus rolls through downtown Mobile, Ala., during Mardi Gras on Friday, March 1, 2019. (Mike Kittrell/AL.com)

Ankerson said hes just happy to see the parade and ball return this year.

The 100th anniversary celebration was supposed to happen last year, but its cancellation has stirred a new question: Is this the 101th anniversary soiree, or is that next year?

Such details will have to be worked out at a later time, Ankerson said. The Crew of Columbus is returning to its parade route and Ankerson given what his family has been through since last year and given Mobiles efforts to recover from the pandemic - much-needed merriment and fellowship is fast approaching.

If I step outside and asked 10 people, What does Mardi Gras mean to you here? Maybe it will be a former queen or someone with the Crewe of Columbus who tosses 500 MoonPies, said Ankerson. The next guy may say, I caught the MoonPies. The fact of the matter is every story will be a little different around Mardi Gras. That is one of the great traditions we have in Mobile and our organization, we understand that.

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We have a proud tradition: After 100 years, Crewe of Columbus to celebrate its Mobile Mardi Gras roots - AL.com