By Donna Cornelius
Being chosen as King of the Beaux Arts Krewe is always a big honor, but this year’s merry monarch has a special reason to appreciate his selection: He’s continuing a family tradition.
King Frederick Wilkinson Bromberg, better known to family and friends as Ricky, is following in some familiar regal footsteps. His father, Frank Hardy Bromberg Jr., was the Krewe King in 1985, and his sister, Lella Bromberg Wilbanks, was Krewe Queen in 1990.
Although the official announcement of the 2024 King’s name wasn’t made until Jan. 23 at a luncheon, Ricky Bromberg said he was told the news by a fellow Krewe member back in July.
“I was blindsided,” he said with a smile. “This is a great honor and very meaningful – it brings a lump in your throat. My father was not only King but also treasurer of the Krewe for about 30 years.”
An annual glittering affair at Birmingham’s Boutwell Auditorium, the 57th edition of the ball is set for Feb. 9. While the King’s identity is made public in advance, the Queen’s name isn’t revealed until the night of the gala. She’s chosen from a group of debutantes who will be presented at the ball.
The event is a festive night for all who attend, but it has an important purpose.
“The Beaux Arts Krewe Ball is unusual for a traditional Mardi Gras-type ball because the Krewe exists to raise money for the Birmingham Museum of Art,” Bromberg said.
Bromberg’s Birmingham roots go back to attending Mountain Brook Elementary and graduating from The Altamont School. An Eagle Scout, he earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in business administration from the University of Alabama, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
Bromberg’s family ties extend to business as well as pleasure. After graduating from UA, he lived in New York City, where he worked for Macy’s New York in the company’s highly regarded Executive Training Program. He returned to his hometown to work full time for Bromberg & Co., Inc.; established in 1836, it’s the oldest family-owned retailer in the U.S. In 1998, he became the sixth generation of the Bromberg family to hold the president title.
Behind Every Great Man…
Every king worth his salt has the perfect consort by his side, and Bromberg is no exception. He and his wife, the former Nancy Catherine Beaird, married in 1987. They actually met at the Mountain Brook Bromberg’s store before both went off to attend UA.
“We didn’t date until after college,” Nancy Bromberg said.
Ricky said that much of the work involved with his kingly duties has fallen on his wife, and she’s admirably risen to the task.
“She was the first person I called after I was told I’d been chosen as king,” he said.
Ricky has been a Krewe member for 26 years, but it’s far from his only area of service. In his professional life, he was chairman of the Alabama Retail Association and now is a trustee of its Worker’s Comp Insurance program. He’s also been a director of the American Gem Society, receiving that organization’s Triple Zero Award, and was chairman of the Retail Jewelers Research Group. He was a top five finalist for the National Retail Federation’s America’s Retail Champion award.
In his community, Bromberg is a past director for Alabama Goodwill Industries and the Birmingham Area Council Boy Scouts of America. He’s a member of the University of Alabama President’s Cabinet and a past president of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce.
Nancy also believes in community service. She was president of the Linly Heflin Unit, a charitable organization that raises money for scholarships for Alabama women to attend Alabama colleges and universities, and was chairman of the group’s annual fashion show.
Both Ricky and Nancy are active members of the Cathedral Church of the Advent. He has been a vestry member there for several terms, while she was president of the women of the church and a vestry member.
“Our church is really the most meaningful thing in our lives,” Ricky said. “I’ve been a member my whole life, and my family have been members for six generations.”
The couple is appreciative of the Krewe’s purpose in supporting the Birmingham Museum of Art. In fact, a painting in their Mountain Brook home shows one of the museum’s most well-known pieces in the background. Museum patrons likely would recognize the painting, “Looking Down Yosemite Valley” by artist Albert Bierstadt.
The Brombergs have one son, Frederick Wilkinson Bromberg Jr. He and wife, Kathrine Reeves Bromberg, have one daughter, Lella Elizabeth Bromberg.
At age 2, Lella is a little too young to be one of the King’s train bearers. Chosen for those roles are Zoe Dylan Bromberg and Charles Clayton Bromberg III, the King’s great-niece and great-nephew; and Louis Knox Cole, Mary Matthews Cole and William Hutchins Cole IV. The Coles are the children of Lauren and Cameron Cole; Cameron was the director of the Cathedral Church of the Advent’s youth group when the Brombergs’ son was in the program.
Other family members and friends who will be attending King Frederick at the ball will be his dukes: Jeffrey Scott Beall, William Alfred Bowron Jr., Frank Hardy Bromberg III, William Shelton Pritchard III, Cecil Calvert Dodson III, Charles Louie Grizzle, H. Huey Gardner and James Louis Priester. Guardians of the King’s Box are Nelson Straub Bean, William Seldon Dodson and William Dean Nix.
Bromberg already has been fitted for his royal attire. Attached to his basic costume, which is new this year, is a train – a regal garment that hangs from shoulders to floor. The train has been used by Krewe Kings for years and is carefully tended when it’s not being worn at the ball.
“It was brought to our house for a fitting, and then, just like Cinderella after the clock struck midnight, it just left,” King Frederick said, laughing.
About the Beaux Arts Krewe:
• The Krewe Ball has its roots in a glittering event called the Beaux Arts Jewel Ball. In 1966, when the Jewel Ball was in its 11th year, Mrs. James Mallory Kidd Jr. was its chairman. Her vision for the gala changed the direction of the ball to raise money for the Birmingham Museum of Art.
• Before Kidd took over, all the elaborate decorations for the event were discarded after it was over. Under her leadership, a support group with permanent costumes and decorations was organized. About 125 men joined this group as charter members.
• The theme of the first revamped gala was Westminster Abbey, with the idea that each member would dress as a king, have a banner emblazoned with a coat of arms and be attended by a page.
• Today, capes of former kings are decorated with the Krewe’s coat of arms, and members wearing gold medallions are former Captains of the Krewe.
• The first King of the Krewe, in 1968, was John Snow Jemison Jr.; the Queen was Gillian Comer White.
