Celebration Begins With A Showcase Of Royalty

Joe Hornaday

There will never ever be another Greensburg 150th celebration, or another Sesquicentennial Queen and Princess Pageant.

On Friday night, 19 local young ladies vied for the coveted titles and the chance to reign over the city of Greensburg for the next 50 years. The event was held at the Greensburg Junior High School auditorium and was emceed by David Fry, of community relations and development efforts for the Decatur County Memorial Hospital.

In keeping with the tradition of the 1959 Centennial Queen and Princess competition, the winners and their court were not named at Friday’s pageant. Instead, the princess and queen will be crowned at the opening ceremonies following the “Then and Now Parade” downtown on the city square.

Ladies contending for the Sesquicentennial Princess crown were: Brittany Blasdel, 14; Brianna Armstrong, 13; Katie Swinford, 15; Kristen Oakes, 14; Leah Root, 13; and Rebecca Koors, 13.

Sesquicentennial Queen contestants were: Shelbi Reed, 18; Cassandra Wagner, 18; Tasha Heaton, 18; Heather Kinker, 18; Jennifer Laczko, 20; Kathryn Troutman, 18; Kayla Smith, 16; Latisha Taylor, 20; Kayla Cunnington, 19; Suzzanna Oakes, 17; Josia Dixon, 17; Alison Smith, 18; and Grace Fiske, 18.

The 2009 pageant was organized by committee co-chairs Miss Tree City Natalie Herbert and Mary Lou Davis.

The 1959 Queen and Princess pageant was done a little different, David Fry explained at the outset of the program. Fifty years ago, the 17 contestants were required to sell tickets to the show, and the young lady who sold the most tickets was the winner.

The Sesquicentennial Queen and Princess contenders were faced with a much more involved process, which included hours of practice and an interview phase with the three judges prior to the pageant program.

When the pageant was underway, the first competition was in “fun wear,” during which time the ladies would showcase a casual outfit they designed themselves and take a few moments to introduce themselves.

Next, the ladies in both the Queen and Princess contests showcased their business attire, the same outfits that they wore during their interviews with the judges. Following that was the evening gown portion of the pageant and the impromptu on-stage question.

Today at the opening ceremonies, the Queen and the Princess will be announced. The Princess will have four court members and one runner up. The Queen will have four runners up. The Sesquicentennial Princess will be awarded the crown and a $500 scholarship from MainSource Bank, the pageant’s biggest sponsor. The Queen will be awarded the crown and a $1,000 scholarship. Each one of the contestants will be involved at the week’s 150th celebration in some capacity.

In between the Queen and Princess pageants, several members of the 1959 Centennial Queen and Princess Court were invited up on stage. In front of everyone, they were given sashes that said “Centennial Court” on them, which they did not receive 50 years ago.

“Those have to be pretty special sashes when you have to wait 50 years to get them,” Fry said.

While the young ladies changed outfits and prepared for their next foray onto the stage, Fry kept the audience entertained by telling jokes, asking trivia questions and plugging future events for the Sesquicentennial.

“It’s going to be a great week in Greensburg,” Fry said.

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