History
The Former Queens are comprised of a group of women who have all had the honor of serving as Queen of the Snows of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. Since 1958, The Former Queens organization has provided service and support to their community and solidarity to its members. Today, the Former Queens is a Minnesota 501(c)(3) Non-profit organization.
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Forming Solidarity
A renewed effort to stage a Winter Carnival in St. Paul based on the pageantry of the English Royalty, began in 1937. That year the first Queen to be called Queen of the Snows, Gretchen Havenstein Wolfe, was chosen. In 1955, Dorothy Arneberg was chosen as the 17th Queen of the Snows. She was honored and enjoyed her reign and all the new friends she made. She had been a participant even as a child. Even after her reign she faithfully attended functions to which she was invited (and even those open to the public). There she often met other 'past' queens.
In 1958 Dorothy invited the other queens to her apartment for a tea luncheon. She suggested they form an organization and they voted to name it "The Former Queens."
Within a couple of years Helen Duffy Murphy (Queen of the Snows in 1947) invited the group to have the Tea at her home on Historic Summit Avenue. It wasn't long before the Tea became a place to host the new Queen of the Snows candidates, and over 100 guests were crowded into the space. The Tea was hosted at the home of Helen and Dick Murphy (Prime Minister in '63) for nearly 50 years. During that time, it was one of the few Carnival events for which attendance was "by invitation only" and costed nothing to attend.
Providing Service & Support
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In 2009 the Former Queens opened the annual tea to the public. Today, the Queen's Tea is held each year on the Sunday before the official Winter Carnival begins. Our reigning Queen of the Snows is honored at the event, and welcomed into our organization. The Queen of the Snows candidates are hosted each year in honor of Dorothy Arneberg.
In addition to the well-known annual Queen'sTea, the Former Queens engage in many activities in service to the community, have productive monthly meetings, support the reigning Queen, participate in various St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation committees and Boards, and have been supported many local charitable organizations including the Children's Home Society and Family Services , Dress for Success, AAUW scholarship program, The Ann Bancroft Foundation, The Mayo Clinic, WISE, Nexus Kindred Family Healing, and many more.