RSS Feed
|
|
|||||||
|
Alice Bloswick Named Island Lilac Queen 50 Years Ago
"I felt pretty special," said Mrs. Bloswick of being crowned queen. Last year, Mrs. Bloswick's niece, Melissa Bunker, was crowned the 2006 Lilac Queen. Just hours before ending her reign Friday, June 8, Ms. Bunker presented her aunt with a trophy recognizing her contribution to the 58-year tradition. When Mrs. Bloswick competed against others for the title, the identity of the judges was kept secret from the contestants. In the weeks preceding the crowning, she said, the girls shared a camaraderie over the mystery, often giggling when they were out in public, not knowing who was watching and judging them. They were very conscious of their behavior, she said. Today, girls in grades nine through 12 can seek the title. Students now vote for the candidates and two former queens count the ballots. This year, 2000 Lilac Queen Tracy Quinter and 1966 Queen Melly Hagenbaugh volunteered to count the ballots.
In 1957, a Lilac Festival ball at the Chippewa Hotel followed the crowning ceremony. "I remember dancing with [Grand Hotel owner] Stewart Woodfill," she said. "He would always call me Queenie after that." Alice Bunker married Frank Bloswick and they reared two sons, Frank and Brian. In 2006, when Ms. Bunker was crowned queen, she knew it before the ceremony. "It was really exciting when the announcement came over the loudspeaker at school," she said. Even though it rained during the festival parade last year, the court had fun on the float, said Ms. Bunker, who just finished her first year at Grand Rapids Community College. For the summer, she is a waitress at Horn's Gaslight Bar and Grill, where she is often asked questions by tourists who are curious about Island life, the Lilac Festival, and the school. "I'm always happy to answer them," she said.
Ms. Bunker has two cousins, Sara Wessel and Jennifer Putman, an aunt, Ellen Putman, and a grandmother, Anna Joyce Andress, who served as Lilac Queens. |
for larger version       |
||||||
)
)