Queen Pageant

Information for the 2024 Lake County Fair Queen Pageants will be posted soon!

Lake County Fair Queen Pageant

Lake County Fair Pageant Directors

1957 - William Schroeder, Grayslake
1958-1959 - Jerry Cray, Waukegan
1960-1961 - Robert Kolb, Spring Grove
1962-1963 - James Lumber, Fox Lake
1964 - Stan Flood, Libertyville
1969 - Don Bowers, Ingleside
1970 - Gladys Warfield, Wauconda
1971-1978 - Dick Raftis, Grayslake
1979-1985 - Larry Leafblad, Grayslake
1989-2000 - John Lynn, Mundelein
2001-Present - Alyce Brownlee, Lake Villa

History of the Lake County Fair Queen Pageant

WHO WAS THE FIRST FAIR QUEEN?

As we begin to explore the history of the Lake County Fair Pageant, we instantly ask, “who was the first Fair Queen, and what was her experience like?” Her name was JoAnne Bielat. She was a 19-year-old resident of Libertyville and an elementary education major at Mt. Mary College in Milwaukee. She joined the contest simply for the experience. JoAnne remembers that there were perhaps 100 contestants in that first pageant. As the preliminary process continued, the finalists were interviewed on WKRS Radio, and then, on the first night of the Fair, the final ten mingled with the judges before JoAnne was announced the first Lake County Fair Queen. She proudly wore clothing that she made herself, although it was not a requirement. There were no swimsuits, no “pageantry,” and her crown was made of cardboard. The prize package included a $100 savings bond and free dance lessons. As Fair Queen, JoAnne led the traditional Fair parade, then proceeded to a tent, where Fair visitors were encouraged to meet the Queen. Two weeks later, JoAnne invited the 7 bachelor judges to her home, where she cooked them a chicken dinner. Today, JoAnne is married to George Boehm. They reside in Libertyville.

CRITERIA

The criteria for the ideal Queen have for the most part remained the same. Young ladies are judged on their communication skills, beauty and poise. In the 1950’s and into the 1960’s, the requirements included homemaking abilities. In 1959 the contestants were awarded extra points if they wore a dress they made themselves. There was even the “baking category” for at least two years and contestants were encouraged to demonstrate their culinary skills - specifically decadent desserts. In 1959, Lynn Geary of Barrington baked taste toffee squares for the judges. And in 1960, Kathy Kostelny from Venetian Village chose to wow the judges with her special strawberry cream puffs. But there was a hitch - she had never made them before. She completed a crash course before participating in this category as a finalist. Kathy’s efforts on that Saturday afternoon of the Fair proved successful, she was crowned Fair Queen the very next day. In a Grayslake Times article in 1961, Queen Contest Chairman, Robert Kolb, was quoted saying, “good looks are only part of the requirements for a Fair Queen. She must also have homemaking talents, personality and poise, and knowledge of activities in the world around her.” The baking category was discontinued that same year, but only because of time constraints. The following section provides a current guide to the selection process of the Fair Queen.

CATEGORIES OF COMPETITION

The categories of competition have been fairly consistent throughout the history of the Fair Pageant. They were developed to mimic the guidelines of the State Pageant and are best described by quoting the State Pageant program. Personal Interviews count for 35% of the score. The four-minute session with the panel of judges is an opportunity to learn about each contestant, her personality, qualities, and attributes. Stage Presence points are accumulated while the contestants appear in their evening gowns. It’s not the gown that counts here - it’s the grace, poise, and confidence the contestant projects that accumulate 20% of the score. The Beauty of Face and Physical Fitness portion also counts for 20%. While the contestants are in their swimsuits, judges look for proportion of figure, bone structure, muscle tone, posture, walk, and facial beauty. By the way, the start of the bathing suit competition can be traced back to 1963. In that pageant, only the 7 finalists competed in this category. The addition of this category was due to the inclusion of it at the State level of competition, as is the reason for its existence today. Solid color, one-piece swimsuits are requested and the Miss contestants are instructed to keep their choice very conservative. During the Speech and Communication Skills competition, each contestant has the opportunity to speak for one minute on any subject they choose. Since the majority of the Queen’s job is to promote the Fair and agriculture, how a contestant speaks and relates to a crowd is very important. This portion is worth 25% of the total score. There are five finalists determined through this process. The preliminary scores are erased and the finalists are individually asked three questions. The judges rate the remaining contestants on a scale of 1 through 5 - 1 being their choice for Fair Queen. A few specialty awards were created in 1983 acknowledging those non-finalists with the highest scores in each category. The process has been conducted similarly for the Junior and Little Miss Pageants, with shorter time frames and age-appropriate subject matter for the Speech and Communication Skills competition, as well as the exclusion of the bathing suit competition.

JUDGING PANEL

For the first few years of the Pageant, there was something unique about the panel of judges used to select the new Fair Queen. It was comprised of seven of Lake County’s finest bachelors. According to the Grayslake Times in 1956, the bachelors asked to select the first Fair Queen were recruited by the “irrepressible” Charlie Wilson, a WKRS salesman and “man about town.” This tradition continued successfully and respectably for ten years or so. In fact, one year in particular was exceptionally successful. In 1962, Pageant Chairman Jim Lumber of Fox Lake, warned the panel of bachelor judges, “keep a safe distance from the young ladies. We are only here to select a new Queen.” Ironically, it was Jim himself who met and eventually married the Fair Queen that year. Jim is now an attorney in Antioch and he and Barbara Johnson Lumber reside in Round Lake. From the 1980’s to present, there has been a panel of 5 judges invited to help select the Fair Queen. And there are criteria is this selection process as well. “Careful thought is put into the selection of our judges,” says Alyce Brownlee, the present Pageant Director. It is mandatory that they live outside of Lake County, therefore avoiding any conflict of interest. And there is consideration in assembling a group with a variety of professional and personal interests, often including some pageant experience. With the infamous panel of bachelor judges in the past, there are both males and females invited to make the selection. “Perhaps the most important criteria of all is to consider a judge’s personality… his or her ability to communicate enthusiastically which, in turn, makes the contestants feel as comfortable as possible in their interview,” added Alyce Brownlee. Judges are reminded that points are to be assigned independently and that their opinions will be respected confidentially.

STATE COMPETITION

The Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs first crowned a “Queen of Queens” during their annual State convention in 1959. It is in January of every year that almost 70 young women from across the State travel to Springfield to represent their respective fairs and compete for the prestigious title of Miss Illinois County Fair Queen. The new State Queen becomes a summer employee of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. She works with the Bureau of County Fairs and Horse Racing to promote the local and state fairs; and help increase awareness of the importance of the agricultural industry in Illinois. Traveling approximately 12,000 miles over the summer, her hectic schedule includes speaking before the Illinois House and Senate, addressing the State FFA Convention and visiting about 30 fairs. She spends the entire 10 days of the Illinois State Fair on the fairgrounds and visits the DuQuoin State Fair as well. The 2002 Miss Illinois County Fair Queen, Jennifer Maurer of Effingham County, helped the Illinois State Fair celebrate it’s 150th Anniversary and the DuQuoin State Fair’s 100th Anniversary of 4-H.

The Miss Lake County Fair Queen has included the task of representing Lake County at the State level since 1959. She also represents her Fair during County Fair Day at the State Fairgrounds in August and the Northern Zone Meeting in November. Presently, the Lake County Fair boasts of two Miss Illinois County Fair Queens, Judith Elfering of Long Lake in 1966 and Theresa Connor of Mundelein in 1981.

PRIZE PACKAGE

The prize package for the Fair Queen is certainly notable. it was around 1959 that the tradition of rewarding the Queen with a week long vacation began. Lynn Geary of Barrington won a trip to Miami that year. The next year, Kathy Kostelny won a trip for two to New York City. She might have even chosen to wear her new fur collar donated by the Blue Ribbon Mink Ranch in Grant Township. In 1961, Diane Check of Grayslake won a trip for two to Miami Beach, flying aboard a jet airliner with a 1961 Chevrolet convertible at her disposal. She also received a wristwatch, radio and a $50 wardrobe. And the 1965 Queen, Judith Elfering, traveled to the New York World’s Fair with accommodations at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The vacation packages were absent from the prize packages shortly thereafter, but the Lake County Fair and area businesses have continued to treat the Queen royally. The initial $500 scholarship awarded to the Queen at the end of her reign has increased to $1000. The 2002 Lake County Fair Queen, Jessica Marro of Lake Villa, received $1300 in cash contributions, a diamond pendant, free hairstyles, makeup and manicures before every event, complimentary dry cleaning of her royal attire, and even free car washes for the year of her reign. Queens from neighboring communities donate to the prize package and area businesses are generous with gift certificates and products.

RESTRUCTURING

In 1979, under the direction of Larry Leafblad of Grayslake, the Lake County Fair Pageant was reorganized. In order for a young woman to compete at the Lake County Fair, she must have first competed in a local pageant. In other words, the County’s communities acted as the preliminary process in the selection of Fair Queen. The transition was a successful one. In 1983, for instance, there were 23 contestants at the Fair from various other towns. It was around 1985 that the At-Large Pageant was created, a Pageant sponsored by the Fair offering competition for those young women who wanted to vie for the title of Queen, but had no local pageant available to them. Remarkably, the 1985 Miss Lake County Fair Queen, Laura Jakubec of Barrington, won at the At-Large Pageant and went on to be the First Runner Up at the State competition.

PARTICIPATION

There have been an impressive number of participants in the Queen contest through the years. The early years brought the most; contestant numbers ranged from 32 to an astonishing 100 in 1964. The Grayslake Times said, “after 30 hours of interviews, cocktail dresses, formals and displaying some clothes she made, Marilyn Nix of Long Lake was proclaimed Queen.” In the 1980’s, when the structure of the Pageant was revised to allow Lake County communities to act as a preliminary process and refer their individual queens to the Fair competition, the number of Fair Queen contestants automatically developed into a more consistent number. The overall interest in the County could still gauge the interest in the Fair competition, however. For example, in the year 2001, there were 15 Junior Miss contestants at the Fair, but they were the “finalists” of over 150 Junior Miss contestants that had competed in their own communities in the months prior to the Fair Pageant.

APPEARANCES

The number of royal appearances made by the Lake County Fair Queen during the year of her reign has increased dramatically over the years. In 1969, a Grayslake Times editorial stated that the 1968 Lake County Fair Queen, Connie Maiman of Waukegan, had put off starting college because she thought she would be busy with an abundance of regal duties. “What a pity,” claims the journalist, “all the talent and beauty embodied in the past Miss Lake County Fair Queens - 14 of them to present" - going to waste simply because no one has gone to the trouble to arrange dates for her.” The 1980’s provided more appearance opportunities not only to the Fair Queen, but to her Court as well. By the 1990’s, the Little and Junior Misses were joining in on the activities. And presently, queens from every community, and every age group, are offered a variety of activities during their reign. Here are some examples: Habitat for Humanity, PADS Crisis Services Food Drive, Veteran’s Administration Statewide “Operation Cheer,” Winchester House Christmas Caroling and Valentine Bingo, Toys for Tots Drive, Fine Dining Etiquette Lessons, Tour of the Fair, and Tour of Golden Oaks Dairy Farm (Wauconda). In October of 2002, a group of over 150 people including Fair Queens, community Queens and family members traveled to Chicago to participate in the Columbus Day Parade. The outing has become a tradition and the Lake County Queens’ Fashion Show Fundraiser began as an annual event in 1999. The Country Squire of Grayslake is the setting with over 45 queens participating as models and hostesses. The guest list tops 300 and thus far, the Lake County Queens have raised over $20,000 for various Lake County charities.

LITTLE MISS COMPETITION

The Little Miss category was added to the Fair competition in 1990. The competition was growing in popularity in other Illinois counties, and many Lake County communities had been adding Little Misses to their own pageants since the mid 1980’s. There were 12 Lake County communities represented at the first Little Miss Lake County Fair Pageant. There were no interviews, but the Littles competed in traditional Fair Pageant fashion, in “Fairwear,” “Swimwear” and “Partywear.” The swimsuit category was deleted in 2001. A Little Miss should be between the ages of 6 and 8. The first Little Miss Lake County Fair Queen was Brenna Wurtz of Vernon Hills.

JUNIOR MISS COMPETITION

The Junior Miss category was added to the Fair competition in 1996. As in the Little Miss category, this title was now growing in popularity across the State of Illinois and had been incorporated into the community pageants. There were 9 Lake County communities represented at the first Junior Miss Lake County Fair Pageant. The Junior Miss contestant should be between the ages of 11 and 13. The first Junior Miss Lake County Fair Queen was Jessica Marro of Lake Villa.

CONCLUSION

The history of the Lake County Fair Queen Pageant is both interesting and entertaining. But more importantly, its long standing presence at the Lake County Fair sends and important message. The position of the Fair Queen has proven to be effective - the Lake County Fair can celebrate future anniversaries with the knowledge that it has included a program where young women are provided the opportunity to serve as positive examples to the public. And their experience helps encourage them to become leaders in their communities and successful in whatever career paths they choose.