And the Winner Is...Irony!

                Life has a funny way of working out sometimes.

                Let’s say Sam and his friend, Jim, really want their dream jobs. They try their best and apply to their dream positions. Just in case they don’t get it, they also apply to the job their friend wanted. Out of a weird twist of events, Sam ends up with Jim’s dream job, and Jim with Sam’s.  

                There’s only one word to describe that.

Ironic.

                Now, this exact example didn’t happen, but something similar did to two former Florida Citrus Queens, and one runner up, that might be even more ironic. You see, 1954 Citrus Queen, Ann Daniel, and 1956 Citrus Queen, Dorothy Steiner, wanted more than just their Citrus Queen titles. They tried for the big one.

                Miss America.

                However, they unfortunately didn’t win. They did both make it to the pageant and tried their best, but ultimately, some other beauty took the crown. In the end, Dorothy Steiner came in fourth and Ann Daniel was runner up.

                Here’s the ironic part.

                Though these two women were able to win the Citrus Queen title but not Miss America, there was one who did the exact opposite. Neva Jane Langley ran for Citrus Queen in 1949, but only came in second place. She didn’t let this discourage her, though, as she later ran for Miss America in 1953 representing Georgia.

                Guess what? She won!

                Isn’t that just ironic? Two women were chosen for Florida Citrus Queen, but not for Miss America. On the other hand, another woman was chosen for Miss America, even though she wasn’t chosen for Florida Citrus Queen.

                Maybe the real winner should have been irony!

Written by Selys Rivera

Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Summer Intern

McKay Archives Center, Florida Southern College

For more information on the queens, please visit the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame website Citrus Queens section. You can also go to the Florida Citrus Queens/Miss Florida Citrus Facebook page.

Sources:

"Citrus Queens on Parade Tradition for Half a Century." Florida Citrus Festival '74. Winter Park, 
          FL: Florida Citrus Showcase, 1974. 37+. Print.

To Be or Not to Be a Citrus Queen

                What fascinates me the most from the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame archives at Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center is all of the Florida Citrus Queen/Miss Florida Citrus information. Since I know I’ll be writing about them the most (I mean, the stories are endless!), I thought it’d be a good idea to explain what it was to be a Citrus Queen.

                First, I won’t go into detail about the difference between Florida Citrus Queen and Miss Florida Citrus. All I will say is, though there were some crucial differences between the pageants and the positions, the main goal of a Florida Citrus Queen and Miss Florida Citrus was the same.

                So what was that main goal?

                According to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame website, the role of a Florida Citrus Queen, and later Miss Florida Citrus, was to represent the Florida citrus industry and promote it throughout the state, nation, and world.

                Wow, sounds like a big job.

                Because of the importance of this job, there was quite a selective procedure to choose who the new queen would be. Each year, approximately 20 beautiful young women would compete to hold the title. Every year, only one was crowned.

               

                Let me tell you how the queen was selected.

               

                There was an annual Florida Citrus Queen Pageant where these lovely ladies competed for the crown. The specifics of the pageant changed over the years. For example, in an interview with 1966 Florida Citrus Queen La Voyce Leggett Porter, I was told the pageant consisted of on-the-spot interviews, swimsuit and evening gown competitions, nothing more. However, later that changed.

Despite these changes, though, there was one commonality. Like any other beauty pageant, the contestants tried their best at each part of the competition and were judged on how well they competed. The one who did the best was crowned Florida Citrus Queen.

                 After being crowned, the winner would receive all sorts of perks. These included, but were not limited to, paid traveling expenses, a new wardrobe and luggage set in citrus colors, and even a car by 1976 (“Queen” 31).

                Sounds pretty sweet, right?

                As great as being queen sounds, there were many expectations and responsibilities with the title. For her reign, the queen was expected to devote an entire year to her title (“Queen” 31). During that year, the queen had to work hard to promote the Florida citrus industry.

                In the magazine article “A Contest, a Crown, and a Lot of Hard Work,” by Michael P. Mahoney, 1969 Florida Citrus Queen, Kathy Young, explained what it was like working long hours as a queen. She said, “Practically everything a citrus queen does requires that she begin at daybreak and work well into the evening hours” (16). Ms. Young, like other queens before and after her, had to work long hours for her position.

                Now, what exactly did the queen do during these long hours? The better question is what didn’t the queen do?

                If you could see a Citrus Queen’s to-do list, your eyes might widen in disbelief! There were visits to cities, convention appearances, photo shoots, television appearances, meetings and interviews with news people, and more, all several days at a time in one week (Mahoney 16, 18). There were even publicity stunts. The queen simply always had something to do.

                Hopefully this can help you understand a little more about what a Florida Citrus Queen was and what it took to be one. Fulfilling the role wasn’t easy, but it was a promising one that brought any woman who took the crown a sense of confidence, strength, and many fond memories. The perfect example to show this is a quote from the interview with 1966 Florida Citrus Queen, La Voyce Leggett Porter that I mentioned before, which I will close with:

                “All I can say,” said Mrs. Porter in reference to her reign, “is that it was one of the most positive things that happened in my life because it gave me insight…to further pursue any goals I would have and with that I, you know, hit the ground running!”

Written by Selys Rivera

Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Summer Intern

McKay Archives Center, Florida Southern College

For more information on the queens, please visit the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame website Citrus Queens section. You can also go to the Florida Citrus Queens/Miss Florida Citrus Facebook page as well.

Sources:

"Citrus Queens & Miss Florida Citrus." Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Florida Citrus Hall of Fame,
             n.d. Web. 10 June 2014.

"Interview with La Voyce Leggett Porter." Personal interview. 3 June 2014.

Mahoney, Michael P. "A Contest, a Crown, and a Lot of Hard Work." Citrus & Vegetable Magazine
             Dec. 1975: 16+. Print.

"Queen Pageant Planned." Citrus & Vegetable Magazine Dec. 1975: 31-32. Print.

Jump Right In! The Citrus Is Fine!

Have you ever just sat down and thought about how important citrus is?

            Yeah, me neither.

            At least, not until I started working for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame at Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center.

            When I first got this job a couple of weeks ago I honestly had no idea what I was getting into. I just thought to myself, “An archive center? It must be like working at a library. It’ll probably be boring and simple. I bet anyone could do this job. Oh well, at least I’ll get paid.”

            Well, I was wrong.

            I was overwhelmed with all I had to do (I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say it involves a little bit of everything). There was just so much information, both historical and new. My mind didn’t know how to process everything at first and I didn’t know how to proceed.

            That is, until something happened. I became absolutely…

Fascinated.

Now, I’ve always been a reader from a very young age, so I always enjoy finding out about a new story. Imagine my surprise when I found that working in the archives was like reading one gigantic story (pictures included!).

Beautiful, Southern belles in gorgeous evening dresses fiercely competed for the glorious title of Florida Citrus Queen/Miss Florida Citrus…

Devoted citrus growers and their families suffered as they watched the life being strangled out of their beloved crops during severe freezes…

Intelligent citrus scientists rattled their brains as they studied these fruits that enthralled and puzzled them…

Colorful citrus labels called out for attention, bragging about the delicious citrus products they represented…

And adorable, silly citrus cartoons and mascots brought laughter to citrus lovers everywhere.

The stories go on and on.

I can honestly say that I have never seen citrus in this light before. I really never thought much of citrus other than a glass of orange juice I might have had with breakfast. Suddenly, though, working for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame at Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center has opened my eyes. Now the next time I drink my orange juice, I’ll be thinking about the history behind it and all of the people involved.

I just know I will never see citrus the same way again.

Written by Selys Rivera

Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Summer Intern

McKay Archives Center, Florida Southern College