Molly has been standing in her place of honor in New Orleans' Elks Place since 1943, so it's probably accurate to say that most passersby are too busy to take notice of her.
That's Molly, as in New Orleans-based artist Enrique Alférez's sculpture, "Molly Marine," the first monument to honor women in the military. It's easy to find in its cater-corner location across Canal Street from the Saenger Theater.
Patrons of the Joy Theatre only need to step across Basin Street to get a full view of the statue. And though most theatergoers are too busy trying to get to their shows to stop and look at Molly, Mark Jeffers did.
The Baton Rouge resident's familiarity with the statue and its story made him stop and take notice before attending a function at the Joy Theatre. A closer look at Molly's face piqued his curiosity.
Who Was Molly's Model?
"Who was the model for Molly?" Jeffers asked. "And if there was a specific model, did she live in New Orleans?"
The answer to both of those questions is yes. Well, partly.
According to Katie Bowler Young's 2021 book, "Enrique Alférez: Sculptor," the artist asked his neighbor's friend, Judy Musgrove, to stand as a model for the sculpture. Young says Alférez also incorporated characteristics of four female Marines.
Musgrove reunited with Alférez at the Women Marines Association's 1966 national conference in New Orleans. The conference lasted 10 days with some of the time dedicated to cleaning and rededicating the sculpture, which had been standing only 23 years at that time.
Both Alférez and Musgrove were invited to the event.
"It was quite a reunion," wrote Times-Picayune reporter Betsy Petersen in her June 26, 1966, article. "Together for the first time since those days were Enrique Alférez, the sculptor who devoted his talent, without charge, to the creation of Molly Marine; Mrs. Judy Musgrove, who is, you might say, the REAL Molly Marine -- she posed for the statue; and Charles Gresham, now a noted industrial designer, whose public relations efforts on behalf of the Marine Corps gave Molly her start in life."
The Idea for Molly
Gresham, a technical sergeant and Marine recruiter in New Orleans, commissioned "Molly Marine" in hope of increasing the enlistment of women into the military during World War II.
"The minute they announced that women could be in the service, I dreamed up this thing," Gresham told Petersen. "The statue was to be dedicated to women in all branches of the service, and Alférez was asked to design it. The Architectural Stone Co. donated the materials to cast the statue from Alférez."
Gresham, himself, approached Alférez with his idea. As pointed out by Petersen, the sculptor donated his time and talent to make the statue of a female Marine reservist.
Musgrove, meanwhile, was a former professional model. She told Petersen that Alférez discovered her by accident.
"I was visiting a friend's new apartment, and Enrique came over to light the water heater for her," Musgrove said. "Alférez invited us to his studio. And when we got there, he said, 'Will you please step up on that stand there?' He picked up the clay and started to model."
Musgrove also recalled that her husband was angry when he found out that she was modeling after she promised she would quit the profession.
"But who could resist the charm of Enrique Alférez or the honor of modeling for him?" she said.
The Story of Enrique Alférez
Alférez was a Mexican artist who settled in New Orleans in 1929. Along with "Molly Marine," his public artworks include the New Orleans Lakefront Airport facade reliefs; the "Fountain of the Four Winds," also at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport; the bronze relief "Louisiana At Work and Play" above the entrance of Charity Hospital; the lagoon bridges at City Park and the Botanical Gardens' fountains and figures in City Park.
Some of these pieces were commissioned by the Federal Artists Project through the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.
Long after his 1999 death, the sculptor's name again made Times-Picayune headlines in reporter Doug McCash's November article about a newly discovered wooden sculpture possibly being Alférez's work.
As for "Molly Marine," the statue was erected and dedicated on Nov. 10, 1943, the year the Marines activated the women's reserve, as well as the 168th Marine Corps' birthday. She stands 12½ feet above her pedestal.
According to the U.S. Marine Corps website, marines.mil, two reproductions of "Molly Marine" have since been raised. The first was in 2000 in Quantico, Virginia, where women are trained to be Marine officers. The second was in 1999, in Parris Island, where enlisted female Marines are trained.
"At the end of every female platoon's training cycle, the recruits are asked to vote for which fellow recruit they feel best embodies the qualities and values of a Marine throughout recruit training," marines.mil states. "This is a practice unique to the 4th Recruit Training Battalion. This Marine is to be given the Molly Marine Award, given from the Women Marines Association."
Molly Overcame Obstacles
As for the original "Molly," she faced her own set of obstacles before her permanent installment at Elks Place.
Gresham told Petersen that dignitaries from Washington traveled to New Orleans to see the sculpture while it was still a clay model. The model tipped over during the viewing.
"I remember it was over there on the third floor of what is now Preservation Hall, and the floor was very bad," Alférez told Petersen. "You brought a bunch of rookie Marines to bring it downstairs."
"It was a free-standing, full-length model in clay," said Musgrove, picking up the story where Alférez left off. "And when it fell down, it sort of squished. Anyway, Enrique picked up the pieces and started over again."
Today, Molly peers out at New Orleans from her oak-shaded pedestal while honoring military women. Maybe more passersby will now stop to honor her.
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