MOBILE, Alabama — On May 7, Ellen Prince Banks Buckner hosted a luncheon to honor her late grandmother, Claude Staples McKee “Baby” Prince.

Guests were former Mardi Gras queens and ladies for whom Baby sewed ball gowns, trains, and wedding dresses .

Buckner first met the ladies in 2009 after moving to Mobile from Birmingham.

“Baby designed and made queen gowns in Mobile for over 30 years,” said Buckner. “The Birmingham News account says her first ones were in 1924. Her last queen’s gown and train was (for) Ann Hearin in 1958.”

Buckner said through the years Baby made hundreds of gowns, including bridal and bridesmaid gowns , and averaged about four to five new creations per year.

“Each dress was a Prince original,&#8221 sleeveless wedding dresses ; said Buckner.

Prince, whose nickname “Baby” came from her petite size, was born in 1893 in Bladon Springs, Ala.

Later, she moved to Mobile with her husband, Ben Albert Prince chiffon bridesmaid dress , whom Buckner said was a “riverboat gambler” who abandoned Baby and her daughter, who was named after him.

Baby supported herself and her daughter with money earned from sewing and eventually divorced her husband.

In addition to becoming a skillful seamstress, Baby was an accomplished artist working in pastels and oils, depicting subjects such as Hiawatha and Minnehaha, George and Martha Washington, Adam and Eve and a nude by a pond.

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View full sizeAt Ellen Buckner's luncheon to honor her late grandmother, "Baby" Prince, from left, are Debra Davis, USA Dean of the College of Nursing sleeveless wedding dress ; Cherie Pohlmann, USA professor of Allied Health, gold bridesmaid dresses who catered the luncheon; Buckner; and former Mardi Gras queens Ann Bartlett Hearin (1958), Patricia Townsend Stone (1954), Nan Locke Rosa (1954) and Sally Tonsmeire Morrissette (1955). (Cindy McCrary/Press-Register Correspondent)

For her luncheon guests, Buckner displayed her grandmother’s art, some of the dresses she sewed and photos of other creations.

“In addition to enjoying each other’s company, the luncheon was given to show the queens and ladies more about the little lady who had sewed for them,” said Buckner. They were not aware of her work as an artist.”

Buckner has fond childhood memories of visiting Baby and riding “The Hummingbird” train from Birmingham to Mobile.

“We often came down to Mardi Gras as soon as I could get out of school on Friday, and after the five-hour drive, we would try to arrive in time for the Crewe of Columbus parade,” celebrity inspired prom dresses celebrity inspired prom dresses formal wedding wear formal wedding wear off the shoulder a line wedding dress off the shoulder a line wedding dress said Buckner.

About 1960, Baby moved to Birmingham to live with Buckner and her parents and passed away in 1972.

In 1961, Kitty Sutherland, for whom Baby had created a gold lamé dress, wrote an article about Baby that appeared in the Birmingham News.

“I kept the article in my safe deposit box for 50 years,” said Buckner. &#8220 discount bridesmaid dresses ;When I moved to Mobile in 2009, I had it framed, knowing that the people in Mobile would know what it meant! It hangs in my office at the University of South Alabama.”

Buckner said her grandmother has a lasting impact on her life.

“I grew up knowing she was a gifted artist and my mother was a gifted speaker and writer. I have always appreciated that heritage and tried to distinguish it through my own life,” said Buckner. “I had many opportunities for education that they did not have and I have treasured those.”

While Baby did not have the chance for higher education, her daughter, Ben Albert Prince Banks, a 1937 Murphy graduate, won a Press-Register scholarship and attended Judson College for one year, where she studied journalism.

Buckner’s family’s other hardships helped shape her career.

“I also understand from (Baby’s) life the difficulty of a single mother attempting to support herself and her child,” said Buckner. “That is one reason I have loved teaching nursing because I know that for some women, nursing is a stable profession, and a life’s work that can always provide income and security.&#8221 affordable evening dresses affordable evening dresses; black party dresses

At the luncheon, Buckner initiated an endowed scholarship in her grandmother’s name for the college of nursing at the University of South Alabama.

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This story was written by Christie Lovvorn, Press-Register correspondent.