eloise milam melody maids rose room museum

• Julie Rogers Theatre
• 765 Pearl & Forsyth
• Beaumont, TX 77701

Overview:

Peep into the scrapbooks of the Melody Maids at Beaumont’s Julie Rogers Theatre. The Eloise Milam Melody Maids Rose Room Museum chronicles the events, trips and lives of the young women who participated in this organization that began during World War II. Eloise Milam organized a group of talented young ladies to sing and entertain the sailors that would dock in Beaumont. The Melody Maids Museum has Eloise’s personal scrapbook memorabilia from 1942-1974. After 1974 the memorabilia is from the Melody Maids Alumni Association. The museum is filled with authentic photos and souvenirs from all over the world. A collection of chronicled music lets those visiting the museum view what tunes the Maids would sing for the visiting sailors. For docketing information call Monday through Friday 8:00am-5:00pm: (409) 835-4503 Hotel Beaumont, (409) 898-7417 Charlene Leonard or (409) 835-5920 Linda Cansler. MELODY MAIDS. In 1942 Eloise Milam was asked to help arrange entertainment for a bond rally at the Jefferson Theater in Beaumont. As a private music teacher, she had a group of private voice students, whom she presented as a choral group, all dressed in white. Since the newspaper insisted on having a name for the group, they decided to call themselves the Melody Maids. They were a self-sustaining, nonprofit organization consisting of teen-age girls. They were a great hit. They began to travel from coast to coast singing for organizations, but mostly they performed at military bases and military hospitals. The group made four tours of Europe, several to England, three to the Far East, seven to the far North, four to the Caribbean, five to Mexico, seven to Hawaii, and four to Bermuda, Iceland, and the Azores. The girls financed some of the tours themselves by holding bake sales, style shows and other fund-raisers. After 1956 all of the Melody Maid tours were financed by the Entertainment Branch of the Department of Defense. Of all the performers who traveled with the Entertainment Branch, the Melody Maids were requested the most. They sang for the troops at military bases and hospitals from 1942 to 1972. The Melody Maids and Eloise Milam wore identical costumes. Their routines called for a variety of costume changes, depending on their location and the content of the show. The group had a book of rules for conduct and etiquette. This book, the Melody Maid "Bible," taught them how to act when presented to royalty and the correct way to present themselves at formal affairs. Milam always said she taught the girls morals, manners, and music, in that order. Many of the Melody Maids kept in touch and established a tax-exempt Melody Maid Foundation, which sponsored a $10,000 scholarship fund at Lamar University. There were around 1,500 Melody Maids through the years. The group received many awards over the years. The Eloise Milam-Melody Maid Rose Room at the Julie Rogers Theater in Beaumont opened in 1990. Many scrapbooks, souvenirs, photographs, and other memorabilia are housed there. The room is open to the public by request.