debutants at a lavish "coming out party." I'm not sure how the ball was carried out, but
I do remember the Veiled Prophet Parades, also patterned after a Southern tradition of
Mardi Gras and the various "Krewes" that sponsor the various floats.
I'm not sure all the routes the parade took. I do remember we saw one parade on Hampton
Avenue, near St. Joan of Arc. We with with the Nagles at the time. Linda Nagle was Diane's
friend when we lived on Winona. It was a raw, cold evening, in the fall, and most of us had
lost interest in the parade. But Mr. Nagle promised he would take us to see the "maids'
the next day if we could tough it out for the rest of the parade.
On the day after the parade, Saturday, the Veiled Prophet and his court appeared at the
Missouri Botanical Garden (Shaw's Garden, to us). They gathered outside the Shaw
residence so that the less fortunate people could see them close up in their debutant's
gowns.
The next Saturday, I believe, was the actual ball, where the queen and her maids were
introduced to the mysterious Veiled Prophet. He was veiled, but I don't know about the
prophet part. Unless, perhaps, he prophesied who would be the queen and maids.
My father pointed out that all the maids and every queen since it began had been WASPs.
I respected his observation even though I didn't understand it at the time. So, even though
we were white, Italian-German, Catholics, we made an annual appearance along the parade
route and once even visited Shaw's Gardens to see the debs in person.
Maybe some of the thousands of readers who are addicted to "old news" can offer observations
about their own memories of the Veiled Prophet.
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