History, hospitality and a little friendly competition were set to converge at the Oakleigh House Museum on the evening of June 8, when the Historic Mobile Preservation Society hosted the fourth annual Bravery and Beauty Mint Julep Party. The event, scheduled from 5:30 to 8 p.m., blended a fundraiser for the society with a nod to one of the more charming footnotes in the antebellum home’s storied past.
A president’s compliment
The party takes its name from a visit in June 1877 by James Garfield, then a congressman and not yet president of the United States. Gen. T.K. Irwin, Oakleigh’s owner at the time, served his guest a mint julep, and Garfield later wrote fondly of the occasion, remarking that the bravery and beauty of Mobile had been in attendance. More than a century later, the preservation society turned that flattering line into the theme of its signature spring gathering.
An evening of auctions and prizes
Guests could expect heavy hors d’oeuvres and, naturally, mint juleps, along with a live auction of antiques, accessories and home-decorating items. A prize drawing headlined the evening, with attendees needing to be present to win. Among the offerings were a Cozumel cruise for two aboard Carnival’s Holiday and a pair of coveted tickets tied to an event Mobile had been buzzing about.
The Roadshow comes to town
That event was the arrival of the Antiques Roadshow, the popular public-television program, which was bringing its appraisers to Mobile. Prizes in the drawing included two tickets to a Roadshow preview party at Oakleigh on July 7, with host Mark Walberg and appraisers expected to attend, and tickets to the taping itself on July 8. For a preservation society devoted to Mobile’s material history, a national showcase of heirlooms and their hidden values could hardly have been better timed.
The pairing of a genteel garden party with a television crew’s visit captured something of Mobile’s self-image, a city proud of its antiques and eager, now and then, to have the rest of the country take a look. Society members hoped the julep party would prime interest in the Roadshow and send a few more Mobilians digging through attics and cupboards for the heirloom that might, on camera, turn out to be worth a small fortune.
A landmark and its keepers
Oakleigh, one of Mobile’s best-known antebellum house museums, has for decades anchored the historic district that bears its name, and the society that maintains it counts among the oldest grassroots preservation organizations in Alabama. Events like the mint julep party do double duty, raising money for upkeep while inviting the public through the doors of a landmark many residents pass but rarely enter.
Tickets and reservations
Admission ran $20 for members of the Historic Mobile Preservation Society and $25 for non-members, each ticket including one entry into the prize drawing, with a limit of five tickets for $100. Organizers directed those interested to call the society or to mail a check to the group’s Oakleigh Place address. The proceeds, as always, would help sustain the museum and the preservation work that has long been the society’s mission.