By MATT PATNEAUDE

Colleen Ridey wanted to get some money in hopes of buying a car. Entering the Miss Greenwood contest in 1987, she didn't realize that the prize money was only for scholastic purposes, or that her life would become a three-month whirlwind of police escorts, parade appearances, community services, and a river rafting trip with the BS 35 Fire Squadron from the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Ridey is just one of many former Miss Greenwoods and Princesses gathering to ride in this year's 50th annual Greenwood Seafair parade, Wednesday, July 26.

Five decades of royalty will be represented as the women take a trip down memory lane.

The Miss Greenwood contest was discontinued in 1998, but for those involved in the past, it is a source of great memories.

"It was an experience of a lifetime," Ridey said of being Miss Greenwood and running in the subsequent Miss Seafair pageant.

For three months, she received police escorts to all of the neighborhood Seafair events and many other public appearances.

One of those public appearances came at the U.S.S. Enterprise where Ridey was invited by the BS 35 Fire Squadron to go river rafting. To her surprise, she was the only woman on the trip that included 80 Navy men. "They were real gentlemen. They treated me like they were my older brothers," she recalled.

Maturity, poise, and confidence are things that Ridey learned from being involved with the Miss Greenwood pageant. She now uses these life building skills as the director of administrative services at Talking Dog Media, a developer of online educational materials.

Donna Bullock remembers being a shy 19-year-old in 1956. She says that entering the Miss Greenwood pageant was for her, "gusty in a way." Riding on a float in the district parades was very exciting and memorable. Bullock remembers seeing movie star Dyan Cannon, who was Miss West Seattle, riding in many of the same parades as her.

At the banquet before the Miss Greenwood pageant, Bullock was served chicken. She didn't know whether to eat it with her hands or not because the judges were there. Afraid of getting marked down for etiquette, she opted to cut the chicken into pieces. "It felt like you were being watched," she said of the experience.

Being a Miss Greenwood Princess is something that Bullock recalls fondly. "It was a nice time. It was a fun time for me," she says. Her grandkids will be at the 50th annual parade to cheer her on.

At the Miss Greenwood banquet in 1969, Shauna Zuger was too nervous to eat.

Later, after being crowned Miss Greenwood Princess, Shauna's parents took her to the XXX drive-in where she could finally fill up on food. "The whole thing was thrilling," she says.

Zuger says that the experience helped her public speaking skills and put her at ease in front of crowds. This helped later in life as she became the head of trade relations for the Alaskan Fishing Industry. She currently works as a national sales manager for Cascade Fresh Yogurt.

Janice Jarman says that being a Miss Greenwood Princess in 1962 was a reward for her efforts to live a healthy, natural life. She likens the experience to a pat on the back for her and the other girls who were making good choices in their life. "It was splendid and exciting," she says.

Jarman went on to earn a business administration and economics degree from the University of Washington. She became the president of Pacific Supply Company and now is a facilities manager who owns commercial property.

Most recently, Jarman spent a semester at sea with the University of Pittsburgh as she sailed around the world for 100 days. Countries that she visited include Kenya, India, Cuba, Brazil, Japan, South Africa and Malaysia.

A lack of business support and declining interest led to the discontinuation of the Miss Greenwood pageant after 1998. There have been discussions about a new scholarship pageant that would be available to both high school boys and girls, but as of yet, nothing is planned.

For past Miss Greenwood royalty, it is an experience they will never forget.

"It is something you put in your memory bank and just say 'wow,'" says Ridey.