The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1914-04-17
~ "A R1191W
BELLIES Of DIXIE
VIE AT REUNION
Brilliant Fetes Planned For
Jacksonville Meeting
May 9. and Q To BE Memorable
Dates IA FiorIda's Metropolis
Large Crowd Assured the Reunion
City.

@ttfs
Jacksonville, Fla.-Southern rocia
circles are, again taking an interes
In the great social, military and sen
timental annual meeting that bring
together q crowd Of from $4,000 Il
10000 people to do honor to the ex
Confederate soldief-the reunion o
the survivors of the Confederate arm
les.
The reunion is 70 be held this veal
at Jacksonville, Fla. May s, Z, 8 In
elusive 1t is the first time that this
ex-Confederates have selected Florids
az the reunion state, and uncommon
interest attaches to the meeting here
and throughout the South. Owing v
the comparatively early date Of the
reunion, the divisions, brigades and
camps made their appointments Of
sponsors and maids early, and these
ladies compose the social side of the
reunion. They are known as the Off
cial ladies' Of the meeting, entertained
as such, and courted by the entire so
cial fabric of the South.
The Sons OF Confederate Veterans,
following In the footsteps Of their IA,
theirs, maintain organizations in ev-
cry s-lthern state, and hold their r.
unions on the same dates. They APP
point sponsors and maids Of honor.
The two organizations, closely allied,
81 ~ -of0ro - p<Ie -.
reunion several hundred official ladies.
selected from the best families Of the
South, that stand high in the social
scale In their communities.
Mapping out q social program,
therefore, for q Confederate reunion
is task that demands the best Of
talent in the entertainment line.
There must be dinners, receptions,
balls, trips to points of interest around
the reunion cities and anything else
In the line of social entertainment the
committee may devise. The crown
ing event of the week in society,
however, is the annual ball for maids
and sponsors. II the reunion is held
In q city where hall large enough
to accommodate several hundred danp-
ing couples at once can not be Sc
cured, dancing pavilion is construct
ed for the occasion. This pavilion
consists Of large canvas tent, well
floored and lighted; 1t is also supplied
with comfortable seats on the grand
stand order, where several thousand
spectators may witness the ball II
a reader has not seen one OF these an
nual balls at q Confederate reunion
he has but limited idea of its size and
brilliancy Nothing to equal 1t in
splendor can be seen in the United
States, unless 1t be the Inauguration
ball at the national capital, now fallen
INTO social desuetude. II the inaugu.
ration ball is put out of the contest,
the annual bali OF the Confederate re-
union, at which the maids and spon-
sors hold sway, is the greatest social
of the United States.
The social side of the Jacksonville
reunion will be participated in by rep.
OF all Southern States,
the border states and few western
There are sixteen |
state divisions OF the United Confed-
crate Veterans Association, as fol-
lows: South Carolina, North Carolina,
Virginia. West Virginia, Maryland,
Louisiana. Tennessee, Florida. Ala
Dama, Mississippi. Georgia, Kentucky,
Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Ar
kansas. Each state sends large dele
cations OF young women to the re-
union. selected with regard to their
social standing at home. In addition
10 the state delegations, the COM
has his own official
aides. chosen from the South at large.
There are three departments, known
10 the Army of Northern Virginia de-
1artment, Army Of Tennessee depart
nent and Trans-Mississipp depart.
nent. Each department appoints
maids and sponsors and sends them to
III reunions. The scope of country
severed by these many organizations
las about half the population OF the
United States: hence, the interest in
! Confederate reunion is always wide
pread. Society circles in all Of this
erritory are interested in the Jack
onville reunion, and the event will
,ring herd one Of the largest crowds
il young people ever assembled in
he South. Florida appeals to the
'oung, because OF its flowers and its
wonders its poetry, its songs and its
Ittractive history. Rivers and ocean,
ulf and bays havs interest all their
'wn. The palm and the pine. liveoak
nd holly, and hundred other forest
rees that abound throughout the
tate as nowhere else on, the CONT
Ient. invest Florida with an interest Z,
5 wide as the nation. Greater inter-
st attaches TO the Jacksonville re-
nion than to any recent meeting Of
he Confederates. and preparations are
eing made 10 entertain q large
rowd OF people in May.