After work, Mike and I hit the streets of Mobile for a little Mardi Gras fun. Think Mardi Gras and New Orleans immediately comes to mind, but Mobile proudly lays claim to the first Mardi Gras. The party began in 1703 after French soldiers survived a bout of Yellow Fever. The advent of the Civil War postponed the tradition for years, but it was revived in 1866 when Confederate veteran Joe Cain marched the streets of Mobile dressed as the fictional Chickasaw Indian Chief Slacabamorinico in tribute to that tribe’s sustained resistance to federal troops. Others joined and history was made. A considerably smaller, family-oriented affair, Mobile still manages to fill the streets with floats, people, beads and moonpies. Joe Cain may have died in 1904 but his legacy is celebrated each Mardi Gras with “The People’s Parade” on Joe Cain Day.
