Pearl Brooks Briscoe

Members of the 1975 Banquet Planning Committee honoring civic leader Hattie Sandidge included many steadfast members of the Lakeland Civic Association and longtime Lakeland residents. They are, from left to right, (first row) Lois Copeland, Mary Lyons, Mary Weems Braxton, and Julia Mack Carroll; (second row) Harry Braxton Sr., Thelma Lomax, Julia Pitts, and James Claiborne. The Lakeland Civic Association has been active continuously since the 1930s. George Brooks Sr. served as president for twenty-five years. He was succeeded by James Claiborne, Leonard Smith, Elwood Gross, Julia Carroll, Hattie Sandidge, Dervey Lomax, James Weems, James Adams, Fannie Featherstone, Karen Roberts, Maxine Gross, Diane Weems Ligon, Monroe Dennis, and Robert Thurston. The Lakeland Civic Association continues to work to preserve and improve Lakeland as a residential community and to protect its unique heritage.

duchess club white gowns with sashes (Source: master photo log.xls)

In the 1940s and 1950s much of the organized entertainment in Lakeland was provided by social clubs. The Counts’ escorts are, left to right (first row), Evelyn Giles Tyner, Mary Weems Braxton, Mary Walls Weems, Bernice Lancaster Walls, Julia Mack Carroll, Mary Douglas Tolson, and Dorothy Mack Allen; (second row) Pearl Brooks Briscoe, Gertrude Walls Corprew, Florence Wethers, Mary Brooks Brewer, and Elizabeth Mack.

Duchess Club with cake dark skirts and light tops with flower (Source: master photo log.xls)

In the 1940s and 1950s much of the organized entertainment in Lakeland was provided by social clubs. These clubs met monthly at the homes of the members. Dinners were part of the gathering and provided the host an opportunity to showcase both their cooking ability and their tableware. The Duchesses and the Counts social clubs sponsored an annual formal dance at Lakeland Hall and sometimes posed for professional photographs. The Duchesses social club was photographed here during their 1947 evening social event. They are, from left to right, Mary Walls Weems, Cecilia Brooks Stewart, Gertrude Walls Corprew, Evelyn Giles Tyner, Florence Wethers, Martha Edwards, Pearl Brooks Briscoe, and Eliza Gray.