Guide to the Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary Mardi Gras Programs Collection
MS 259

Summary Information

Repository
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Creator
Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary.
Title
Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary Mardi Gras Programs Collection
ID
MS 259
Date [inclusive]
1956-1983
Extent
1.75 Linear feet (4 boxes)
Language
English
Abstract
The Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary held an annual Mardi Gras Ball, from the late 1940s to 1983, to benefit Camp Oliver in Descanso, California. This collection consists of programs from the Mardi Gras Ball.

Preferred Citation

Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary Mardi Gras Programs Collection, MS 259, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

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Biographical / Historical Notes

The Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary was a women’s group in San Diego, founded to assist the Sisters of Social Service. Members regularly volunteered at the Bayside Social Center, a settlement house in San Diego, and organized the annual Mardi Gras Ball, raising funds for Camp Oliver in Descanso. According to a 1966 brochure, Camp Oliver offered an environment where girls could grow “spiritually, physically, socially in the Christian atmosphere of the camp.” Camp Oliver was run by the Sisters of Social Service, and all proceeds from the annual Mardi Gras Balls went to the Camp Oliver Fund.

The Mardi Gras Ball was a major annual event. The Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary began planning for the ball every spring. Each member was responsible for finding advertisers for the program, attending work meetings and giving talks to the community about Camp Oliver. The Ball had a different theme each year, with sponsors incorporating the theme into their advertisements in the annual program. All decorations at the Ball were created by the members. An appropriately-dressed court presided over each Ball. Men served as court escorts, ushers, jesters and “masquers.” The Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary held this annual event until 1983.

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Scope and Content

The collection consists of event programs from the Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary Mardi Gras Balls from 1956 through its conclusion in 1983 (programs from 1957, 1965, 1968 are not included in collection). The programs are comprised primarily of advertisements from local businesses, many of whom integrated the event’s theme and members into the advertisements. Beginning pages of the programs contain features such as group photos of that year’s court as well as past years’ courts, names and photos of the event committee members, acknowledgements, lists of club members, Executive Board members, event patrons and contributors to the event, and the evening’s schedule. Through 1959, the programs also contained blank calendar pages. There are also items that were inserted in the annual programs such as bookmark and pencil advertisements, a Camp Oliver brochure from 1966, and loose printed images of the annual Mardi Gras’ courts.

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Arrangement

The items are arranged chronologically.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 San Diego History Center Document Collection June 16, 2011

1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA, 92101
619-232-6203

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number 840426A.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Jennifer Ho on June 16, 2011.

Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • Camp Oliver.
  • Juniors of the Social Service Auxiliary.
  • Sisters of Social Service.
  • Social Service Auxiliary.

Geographic Name(s)

  • Descanso (Calif.)
  • San Diego (Calif.)

Subject(s)

  • Advertising
  • Camping
  • Camps for girls
  • Fund raising
  • Women -- Societies and clubs

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Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Some programs have loose or detached pages. (June 15, 2011)

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Collection Inventory

Box-folder

Pictoral Paradise - program; "Carnival in Rio," Ninth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1956 January 14 

1:1

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EKK*NOIA 1958 - program; "Festival of the Gods," Eleventh Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1958 January 25 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

1:2

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Mardi Gras 1959 - program; "Show Boat Jubilee," Twelfth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1959 January 10 

1:3

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Mardi Gras Safari 1960 – program; “Mardi Gras Safari,” Thirteenth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1960 February 27 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

1:4

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Program; “Mardi Gras Vanities” Fourteenth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1961 January 21 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

1:5

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Mardi Gras Ball 1962 – program; “The Glass Slipper Ball,” Fifteenth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1962 February 27 

1:6

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Mardi Gras Ball 1963 – program; “Clowns and Crowns,” Sixteenth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1963 January 26 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

1:7

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Mardi Gras Ball 1964 – programs; “Wings ‘n Things,” Seventeenth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1964 January 18 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

1:8

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Mardi Gras presents Kaleidoscope 1966 – program; Nineteenth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1966 February 19 

Includes:

Camp Oliver brochure insert.

Insert of printed photo of court.

1:9

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Twentieth Annual Mardi Gras Ball Mardi Gras presents the Gilded Nineties - program, 1967 January 14 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

1:10

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!OLE! - program; Twenty-second Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1969 January 18 

2:1

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Mardi Gras - program; "Decadally 7," Twenty-third Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1970 February 7 

2:2

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Romanesque – program; “Mardi Gras Romanesque,” Twenty-fourth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1971 February 20 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

Bookmark advertisement insert.

2:3

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25th Mardi Gras Ball – program; “Mardi Gras Reflections,” Twenty-fifth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1972 March 4 

2:4

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Program; "Mardi Gras New Orleans," Twenty-sixth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1973 March 3 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

2:5

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Program; “Rio Carnival,” Twenty-seventh Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1974 February 23 

Includes:

Bookmark advertisement insert.

Insert of printed photo of court and list of court members.

2:6

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Kan-Gei (Welcome) – program; “Mardi Gras – Shangri La,” Twenty-eighth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1975 January 25 

Includes:

Bookmark advertisement insert.

Insert of printed photo of court.

2:7

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Program; “Star Spangled Mardi Gras Ball,” Twenty-ninth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1976 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

3:1

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Pearl of the Sea – program; Thirtieth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1977 March 12 

3:2

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Program; “Mardi Gras Does Dixie,” Thirty-first Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1978 March 4 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

3:3

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Program; “Mardi Gras Karneval,” Thirty-second Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1979 February 10 

Includes:

Insert of printed photo of court.

3:4

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Program; “A Circus Fantasy,” Thirty-third Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1980 March 8 

Includes:

Bookmark advertisement insert.

3:5

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Program; “Mardi Gras Goes Hollywood,” Thirty-fourth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1981 March 28 

4:1

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Program; “Royal Hawaiian Mardi Gras,” Thirty-fifth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1982 March 20 

Includes:

Inserts of printed photos of court.

4:2

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Program; “Mardi Gras Ole,” Thirty-sixth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, 1983 March 5 

4:3

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