16 Young Women presented at Redstone Club’s Christmas Ball

The Redstone Club’s 112th annual Christmas Ball was held Dec. 21 at the Country Club of Birmingham. More than 150 members of the Redstone Club and their guests attended the group’s annual Christmas celebration.

President of the club for this year’s ball was J. Arthur Smith II, who attended with his wife, Ashley. Ball chairman was Francis H. Crockard III, who attended with his wife, Winn. The floor committee chairman was Jon Bradley Powell, at the ball with his wife Carrie.

Sybil Brooke Sylvester and her team at Wildflower Designs installed the beautiful Christmas themed decorations for both the seated dinner, which preceded the ball, as well as inside the East Room of the Country Club, which hosted the presentation.

This year’s presentation class included 16 young women, all college seniors, from a wide range of schools around the country. The presentees wore traditional long white dresses and gloves and carried simple flower bouquets, a complement to their chosen escorts in black tuxedo tails.

Overseeing the class were Ladies Committee members Mrs. Courtenay R. Bloodworth (Kim), Mrs. Henry Claiborne Crommelin (Jane Huston) and Mrs. Arthur Key Foster III (Walton).

Those presented at this year’s ball were:

• Miss Carolyn Cason Crommelin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William David Sellers Crommelin
• Miss Alexandra Glenn Dunn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Evans Johnson Dunn
• Miss Virginia Murray Farley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.Joseph McConnell Farley, Jr.
• Miss Carson O’Neil Hull, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hewes Turner Hull
• Miss Laney Fowlkes Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Arthur Smith IV
• Miss Mary Caroline Alford, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. David Wiley Alford, sponsored by Mr. Charles Kennedy Porter
• Miss Lindsey Ann Brakefield, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Christopher Brakefield, sponsored by Mr. Hugh Anderson Neighbors IV
• Miss Louisa Bradford Collins, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Stephen Bradford Collins, sponsored by Mr. Charles Trueheart Clayton, Jr.
• Miss Ellen Coleman Edwards, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Wyman Edwards, Jr., sponsored by Mr. Leon Wyman Edwards
• Miss Catherine Morris Greene, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Keller Greene, sponsored by Mr. Duncan Young Manley, Jr.
• Miss Elizabeth Jarrell Lindsey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cooper Lindsey, sponsored by Mr. Richard Turner Scruggs, Jr.
• Miss Grace Wyman Lockett, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Guinn Alexander Lockett, Jr., sponsored by Mr. George Frederick Wheelock III
• Miss Margaret Owen Marshall, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Roye Marshall II, sponsored by Mr. Frank Mims Bainbridge
• Miss Virginia Elizabeth Poynor, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wilmer Smith Poynor IV, sponsored by Mr. Charles Hatcher Simpson
• Miss Virginia Walker Thornton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Lee Thornton, sponsored by Mr. Richard Murray IV
• Miss Grace Landon Wann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Lowery Wann, Jr., sponsored by Mr. Richard Murray IV.

At the ball luncheon, held at the Mountain Brook Club on Dec. 20, the presentees were introduced to the club membership and received some background on the long history of the event and the club itself. Also represented were several of the original 16 members of the 1969 presentee class, who’s 50th anniversary was celebrated.

The “golden girls” from that year were:

• the late Barbara Allen Blackwell
• Elizabeth Lanier Brewer Caughman
• Susan Lee Given Cochrane
• Rena Keith Gearhart Diana
• Virginia Long Magruder Dorlon
• Mary Melissa Houseal Gayle
• Mary Alden Graham
• Caroline Brooks McCall Graves
• Eugenia Gambrill Watkins Greer
• Dorothy Morrow Harris
• Anne Dearborn Hession
• Mary Margaret Livingston Hindman
• Jane Hill Head Johnson
• Maebelle Morgan Lester
• Jane Marzoni
• Lucy Durr Dunn McCain
• Elizabeth Caskie Scott Nevin
• Mary Lea Hoke Roselle
• Mary Jeffray Ryding
• the late Josephine Woodward Simpson
• Mary Lee White Sullivan
• Elizabeth Behner Thurlow
• Marlin Elizabeth Montgomery West

The ball followed a members-only cocktail party and dinner, spread between Birmingham Country Club’s East Room and dining rooms.

Music chairman John R. Simpson arranged the evening's accompaniment. For the cocktail party, debutante presentation and first dance, the Sonny Harris Trio Band set the musical atmosphere. Following the presentation, the Atlanta Rhythm and Groove band took the stage, turning the formal setting into a rocking dance hall that kept members and presentees dancing late into the night.

The 2019 Redstone Club officers and board of governors members are:

• J. Arthur Smith IV, president
• Nelson S. Bean, vice president
• C. Duncan Hulsey II, secretary-treasurer
• Thomas N. Carruthers III, traditions chairman
• J. Reese Murray III, finance chairman
• board of governors members Courtenay R. Bloodworth, Robert M. Couch, Evans J. Dunn, James H. Hancock Jr., George C. Thompson, William B. Wahlheim Jr.
• A. Key Foster III, camp chairman

Submitted by John Cobbs.