Society of Martha Washington

Last updated February 22, 2019

The Society of Martha Washington was formed in 1939, in Laredo, Texas. The Society hosts the Colonial Ball, which is an annual debutante ball where young women make their debut into society. The Colonial Ball is held at the Laredo Civic Center and is a part of a citywide festival called the Washington's Birthday Celebration, which takes place in February every year.^[1] The Society of Martha Washington helps Laredo present an image of “racial and national harmony” by working in conjunction with the Princess Pocahontas Council, and the Abrazo Children.^[2]

Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091, making it the tenth-most populous city in the state of Texas and third-most populated on the Mexico–United States border, after San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas. Its metropolitan area is the 178th-largest in the U.S. and includes all of Webb County, with a population of 250,304. Laredo is also part of the cross-border Laredo-Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan Area with an estimated population of 636,516.

The Washington's Birthday Celebration (WBCA) is an almost month-long event held each February in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas, that celebrates the birthday of George Washington. It is the largest celebration of its kind in the United States with approximately 400,000 attendees annually. The celebration consists of various festivals; a Society of Martha Washington Colonial Pageant and Ball, Princess Pocahontas Pageant and Ball, two parades, a carnival, an air show, fireworks, live concerts, "Fun-Fest" at Laredo Community College, and a citywide prom during which many of the Laredo elite dress in Colonial attire. Each year a prominent Laredo man and woman play the roles of George and Martha Washington. One of its main events, the Jalapeño Festival, has recently been named one of Top 10 eating festivals in the United States.

Pocahontas was a Native American woman notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan, the paramount chief of a network of tributary tribal nations in the Tsenacommacah, encompassing the Tidewater region of Virginia. In a well-known historical anecdote, she saved the life of a captive of the Native Americans, the Englishman John Smith, in 1607 by placing her head upon Smith's when her father raised his war club to execute Smith. Many historians doubt the veracity of this story.

Membership

Membership of the Society is exclusive, yet there is no discrimination based on race or ethnicity.^[1] Unlike the debutante balls from the early 1900s up north, where racial and ethnic differences were implied as a definition of social class, Modern Laredo's elite consists of bicultural individuals.^[3] The Society was founded with bicultural roots. As a result, a good number of the girls who are presented are Latinas.^[4] Members who are chosen for the Society usually come from a small group of old families.^[5]

The pageant

The society chooses two prominent members of Laredo's society to portray President George and Martha Dandridge Washington. The debutantes that are presented every year as well as their escorts, either have family in the Society or are invited as guests. The participants portray contemporaries based on the story line, which changes every year, that come out to honor the President and his First Lady.^[6]

George Washington was an American political leader, military general, statesman, and Founding Father, who also served as the first president of the United States (1789–1797). Washington commanded Patriot forces in the new nation's vital American Revolutionary War, and led them to victory over the British. Washington also presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which established the new federal government. For his manifold leadership during the American Revolution, he has been called the "Father of His Country".

Martha Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first President of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural First Lady of the United States. During her lifetime she was often referred to as "Lady Washington".

Debutantes

Each debutant is dressed in an elaborate hand-made colonial dress. Color options must be approved by the Mistress of Wardrobe. The dress is composed of several parts which include: a corset, bloomers, a cage, a petticoat, and finally the dress itself. Most dresses are custom made in a collaboration between the debutant and the dressmaker. Linda Leyendecker Gutierrez, a gifted designer and experienced professional, is the official dressmaker for the pageant. Silks, satins, and velvets fabricated all over the world are uniquely hand picked and adorned with all types of beads, lace, and ribbon to create the perfect colonial debutante dress. The dresses can weigh up to 80 pounds (36 kg) because of the tremendous amounts of intricate beading.^[7]

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity (sericulture). The shimmering appearance of silk is due to the triangular prism-like structure of the silk fibre, which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles, thus producing different colors.

Satin is a weave that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back, one of three fundamental types of textile weaves along with plain weave and twill. The satin weave is characterized by four or more fill or weft yarns floating over a warp yarn, four warp yarns floating over a single weft yarn. Floats are missed interfacings, for example where the warp yarn lies on top of the weft in a warp-faced satin. These floats explain the high luster and even sheen, as unlike in other weaves, the light reflecting is not scattered as much by the fibres. Satin is usually a warp-faced weaving technique in which warp yarns are "floated" over weft yarns, although there are also weft-faced satins. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibres such as silk, polyester or nylon, the corresponding fabric is termed a satin, although some definitions insist that the fabric be made from silk. If the yarns used are short-staple yarns such as cotton, the fabric formed is considered a sateen.

Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word velvety means "smooth like velvet." Velvet can be made from either synthetic or natural fibers.

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References

1 2 Kendall, Diana E. The Power of Good Deeds: Privileged Women and the Social Reproduction of the Upper Class. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002. Print.
↑ Young, Elliott. "Red Men, Princess Pocahontas, and George Washington: Harmonizing Race Relations in Laredo at the Turn of the Century." The Western Historical Quarterly 29.1 (1998): 48-85. Print.
↑ Elinse Chenier “Class, Gender, and the Social Standard: The Montreal Junior League, 1912–1939” The Canadian Historical Review 688. Print.
↑ Mitchell, Claudia A.; Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline (Eds.). Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia [Two Volumes]. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008
↑ "Once Upon a Time in Laredo." National Geographic Nov.-Dec. 2006: 94-109. Print.
↑ Brezosky, Lynn. "Laredo Pulls out All Stops for First President's Birthday | The Bryan-College Station Eagle." Archived 2011-07-04 at the Wayback Machine . 8 February 2007. Web. 16 September 2010.
↑ Horvart, Marian T. "The Debutante Ball in Laredo - Cultural Page." Tradition In Action @ TraditionInAction.org. Apr.-May 2006. Web. 16 September 2010.

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[Kendall-2002-1] 1 2 Kendall, Diana E. The Power of Good Deeds: Privileged Women and the Social Reproduction of the Upper Class. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002. Print.

[2] Young, Elliott. "Red Men, Princess Pocahontas, and George Washington: Harmonizing Race Relations in Laredo at the Turn of the Century." The Western Historical Quarterly 29.1 (1998): 48-85. Print.

[3] Elinse Chenier “Class, Gender, and the Social Standard: The Montreal Junior League, 1912–1939” The Canadian Historical Review 688. Print.

[4] Mitchell, Claudia A.; Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline (Eds.). Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia [Two Volumes]. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008

[5] "Once Upon a Time in Laredo." National Geographic Nov.-Dec. 2006: 94-109. Print.

[6] Brezosky, Lynn. "Laredo Pulls out All Stops for First President's Birthday | The Bryan-College Station Eagle." Archived 2011-07-04 at the Wayback Machine . 8 February 2007. Web. 16 September 2010.

[7] Horvart, Marian T. "The Debutante Ball in Laredo - Cultural Page." Tradition In Action @ TraditionInAction.org. Apr.-May 2006. Web. 16 September 2010.