Posted by: Joe @ 2:16 pm
OK… a picture… finally! Here’s a Chili Queen group image with a BCH Mardis Gras “Queen” and a couple of Grillmen thrown in for good measure. Have some fun by identifying each one by number. Match some of them up with the names below. Right click on the image, save it to a file, and enlarge it in your viewer for better detail.
Chili Queen Trivia:
- Was the first Chili Queen crowned in 1953? (My understanding from an unknown source is that it started in 1949.)
- Were the first few queens Beloit college students? (Possibly, but probably not.) If so, until when?
- Were subsequent Chili Queens all high school senior girls? (Yes, elected in November/December of senior year.)
- Mimi, the 1955 queen, had her picture published on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal. Anyone know the exact date of that newspaper issue, probably January 1956? (I’ll be checking on some microfilm for this.)
- Here’s a list of Chili Queen names I’ve been able to put together. What are the missing names and are there any corrections? (Can anyone confirm the first one on this list?)
1953 Beverly Ann Tuttle - “Toots” (’54 BMHS)
1954 Virginia Lois Jacobson - ”Ginny” (’55 BMHS)
1955 Mary Alice Winger - “Mimi” (’56 BMHS)
1956 Chrystal Rowene Pearson (’57 BMHS)
1957 Carol Jean Maryott (’58 BMHS)
1958 Karen Durben (’59 BCH)
1959 Christine Laage (’61 BMHS)
1960 Mary Lynn Poole (’61 BMHS)
1961 Sally Bua (’61 BMHS)
1962 Barb Conry (’63 BCH)
1963 Maureen
1964 Patti Choudoir (’65 BCH)
1965 Jenny Pargmann (’66 BMHS)
1966
1967 Linda Dale (’68 BMHS)
- Were there any more after this? (See comment from Bonnie Cheadle below. Also, hamburger-eating competitions started around this time, 1966-67.)
October 9th, 2007 at 9:35 pm Mimi is Mary Alice Winger - Graduated in 1956 from BMHS
October 10th, 2007 at 10:18 am Thanks, Traci. I appreciate it!
October 11th, 2007 at 3:51 pm 1960 Mary Lynn is “Mary Lynn Poole”
October 12th, 2007 at 11:22 pm I was the chili queen of 1957 - note the correct spelling MARYOTT. The new Pop House opened that year and there were lots of pictures in the Beloit Daily News. Karen Durben was the 58 chili queen - she went to Beloit Catholic High. Thanks for doing this - George was a super guy and we were all fortunate to have him and the Pop House. I’m sure it kept lots of kids out of trouble ‘cuz George would kick you out if you misbehaved and that was the worst possisble thing that could happen to a high school kid. :-)
October 14th, 2007 at 8:46 pm Carol, Thanks so much for your comments and for the correct spelling of your name and for providing Karen’s last name! I really appreciate it. Do you remember the name of the gentleman who crowned you Queen? Thanks.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:56 am Oops… somehow, I accidently deleted my thanks to Gerry for providing Mary Lynn’s last name too. So… thanks!
October 17th, 2007 at 2:48 pm I believe that Sally Bua was the Chili Queen in 1961. Mike
October 17th, 2007 at 3:15 pm Thanks, Mike.
October 18th, 2007 at 10:06 am I think 1966 was blank initially because while Nancy Belvedere and Linda Dale graduated in 1967 and 1968 respectively, the actual chili queen crowning occured in December of their senior years. At least that’s what it looks like to me. So, I changed the years for each of them. It appears that earlier chili queens were reported as the year they were crowned, not the year they graduated. Make sense? Joe
October 25th, 2007 at 10:27 pm Joe - Everett Haskell crowned me - the news came over the radio - not sure which station.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:51 am Joe, I think 1964 was Patti Choudoir.
October 26th, 2007 at 10:23 am Patti Choudoir (1964) is the only one on the list above for whom I don’t have a photo. Bummer.
October 27th, 2007 at 10:09 am Don’t feel bad. Patti Choudoir won’t give me a picture either, and we have been married for 38 years. Bob
October 28th, 2007 at 8:20 pm Thanks for the smile, Bob.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:44 pm I think the person with Karen Durben in that picture is the previous year’s winner Carol Maryott. The gentleman with George and Carol Maryott may be the city manager in the 57-58 year range. Hope this helps.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:44 pm Joe - My sister graduated in ‘55 and said that Virginia Jacobson (Ballou) was the chile queen for that year. That would be ‘54.
November 28th, 2007 at 7:31 am Hi Joe, Nobody seems to want to take a guess on matching numbers with pictures. Here’s a start. #1-Jenny Pargman; #8-Nancy Belvidere(Champion);#13-Linda Dale; #16-Tom Roehl; #17-Brad McDonald. Have a great day.
January 12th, 2008 at 11:38 am Bonnie Bliss was Chilli Queen in 1968.
January 12th, 2008 at 1:20 pm Hi Bonnie. Sorry I missed it… There was no photographic record or otherwise among the materials I received. Good to hear from you. Thanks. Joe
March 8th, 2008 at 12:09 am If you go to the following site you will see most of the people who frequented the Pop House in the early to middle fifties. This is my dedication to what I consider the best graduating class ever coming out of Beloit High School “1955″ I also have an album of all of our deceased classmates that I want to do a power point presentation of at our next class reunion. Here it is. www.photoshow.com/members/grnbay4 Enjoy the albums and leave some feedback. I am in touch almost daily with Crystal Pearson the 1956 “Chili Queen” Thank you from Jerry. Class of 1955 Beloit Catholic High School.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:59 am Joe, Sandy Thorpe was “Snowball” Queen in 1970. They changed the winter venue around that time and tied it in with a baseball tournament. No more Chili Queen. I know there were others, but not sure who. Pam
March 16th, 2008 at 5:00 pm Hi Pam. Good to hear from you. I’ll be compiling a list of Softball (”Snowball”) Queens and Turkey Bowl Queens to post over the next few days. Thanks for your comment. It’s the first time I’ve seen the term “Snowball” Queen used. Joe