NEW ORLEANS — When not thinking about purple, green and gold, Rex 2024 –retired businessman John Menge Eastman – is devoted to purple and gold. The LSU alumnus and former track and field star has even been known to dress as a tiger to cheer on his beloved alma mater. In fact, the LSU fight song was playing when he learned he’d be King of Carnival. It happened at a meeting with a friend and former Rex, Hardy Fowler.
“Hardy is a big LSU fan and we got to talking LSU sports and cutting up about LSU before we got into the topic I thought I was there to meet about,” Eastman said. “And he had cued up on his sound system the LSU fight song and I kind of go into a routine when I hear that song. When I turned, I'm standing there staring at the entire Rex executive committee and I'm going, ‘My God, what is going on?’ and it was quite a shock.”
He will reign over Carnival this year with his queen, Elizabeth Brent Montgomery. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bullard Montgomery IV. “Being selected as the queen of Carnival is a tremendous honor, and I'm very excited and grateful to be able to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Montgomery, known as Ellie.
She graduated from Isidore Newman School and is currently a senior at the University of Alabama – ironic since she, like this year’s Rex, grew up a major LSU fan. “As a child, I went to almost every home game with my family and as much as it bothered my dad, I then went to Alabama and became an Alabama fan,” she laughed.
The LSU fan who will reign as Rex, Eastman is retired after 54 years as leader of a third-generation family-owned business, Auto-Chlor, which provides cleaning and sanitation equipment and supplies to the hospitality, hotel and health care industries. He remains co-chair of the company.
Eastman and his wife Kathy are the parents of two and grandparents to six. A New Orleans native, he attended St. Martin’s Episcopal School (where he has been recognized as an outstanding graduate and Hall of Fame athlete) then earned a business administration degree from LSU on a track and field scholarship. During the 1965 and 1966 seasons, he earned All-SEC honors in track, breaking the SEC freshman triple jump record. After college, Eastman enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving six months on active duty and six years on active reserve.
His civic and charitable work includes serving as a volunteer and board member for Café Reconcile, Bridge House, Salvation Army, the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and YMCA. His work with those groups and his church, Trinity Episcopal, has focused on helping at-risk youth, the incarcerated and those battling substance abuse.
“I’ve found that dealing in these areas that are difficult has challenged me to better understand who I am and grounded me more in my faith. And so I think it's made me a better person,” he said. “I feel like if you're going to enjoy the blessings of a wonderful community, then you have to give something back to that community.”
That’s a belief this year’s King, who is marking his 50th year as a member of the Rex organization, shares with many of his fellow members.
“The Rex Organization is comprised of hundreds of extremely accomplished men that have done enormous amounts of service to make our city a better place to work, live and play. And everything that we do is for the public good - Pro Bono Publico, (the Rex motto) for the public good,” Eastman said.
His queen, Ellie Montgomery, is the daughter of Rex’s official poet laureate. He used his talents to surprise her with the news she would be Rex royalty, writing a poem to reveal the secret.
“On my bed was this little green pillow and it was covered in Rex pins from previous years,” she said. “So I picked up the pillow and I brought it downstairs to my parents and asked them what it meant. My mom looked at me and asked me if I wanted to be part of the 2024 Rex Court. And I was so excited.”
The queen’s father then read her a poem which talked about other family members who had been named to the Rex court. Her family’s roots in Rex go back to the beginning. Her great-great-great-great grandfather, Albert Baldwin, was one of Rex’s founders in 1872 and reigned as King of Carnival in 1876.
Montgomery’s mother, the former Courtney Scott Butcher, was a Maid in the Rex court of 1994. The queen’s great-great-great-aunt, Arthemise Baldwin, was Queen of Carnival in 1896. Her great-great-aunt Amelia Baldwin was Queen of Carnival in 1910 and her great-great-great uncle, Gustave Baldwin, was King of Carnival in 1924.
Growing up in New Orleans, this year’s queen loved parades, costuming and Carnival. “I typically spent Mardi Gras day with my mom and my brother, the three of us, would walk to Napoleon Avenue together to the Rex parade, and we would wait for my dad to go by,” she said. “Mardi Gras is a very special time in New Orleans and I think the most important thing is for everyone to have fun.”