Pics of Then

By: usermattw

Jul 15 2012

Tags: African American, Daughters of Isis, photography, vintage photography

Category: Baum, Women

2 Comments

Click here to view it larger.

What it is:

Photo measuring 8 x 10 inches.

What I know about it:

Photographer is Lutt Johnson of Plainville, Connecticut.  Written on the back is “Dottie Baum Night” / Mar 30 1957 / Natalie Douglas M.C.   Also written on the back is the word Pyramid, which was written on the backs of several of these photos, and which I don’t understand.  This photo is from the estate of Dorothy Baum.  Other photos from her estate have been posted here.

Comments:

I felt like visiting the Baums again, and even though neither one is pictured here, this is “Dorothy Baum Night”, which was pretty special.  She was active in the fraternal organization Daughters of Isis, and that group (Arabic Court No. 95 of New Haven, Connecticut), gave her this tribute evening upon her promotion to Imperial Promotional Directress.  I have multiple photos of this event, all 8 x 10 glossies that are among other press photos of their group activities, as well as a copy of the program  for the evening.  It was a Saturday night comprised of a buffet, the citation ceremony, and dancing to the Dick Bailey Trio.  Of all the photos of the evening, this one has perhaps the simplest elegance to it.  Although Natalie Douglas is identified here as the Mistress of Ceremonies, the evening’s program identifies one Allestine Willis as the Mistress of Ceremonies, and another photo shows Ms. Willis in action.  Ms. Douglas is, however, cited in the program as the Chairman of the Citation Committee (among other things), so my guess is that she is M.C. of the actual citation portion of the evening, while Ms. Willis is M.C. of the evening overall.  Regardless of who did what, it looks like everybody pitched in to make it a night to remember.