Miss Wedgwood feature



	Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 8, August 2003 Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article and photos below in your research. Be sure to quote the Seattle Sun as your source.
	Wedgwood's Princesses By VALARIE BUNN Before World War Two, the Wedgwood neighborhood was a nameless semi-rural area outside the Seattle city limits. Wedgwood's identity was established during the post-war housing boom. In 1946 a community club was formed and defined the neighborhood as the area from 75th to 95th Streets, 25th to 45th Avenues. The club took its name, Wedgwood, from a housing development by builder Al Balch. Proud of the developing community, the 1955 Wedgwood Community Club (WCC) president, J.J. Jackson, noted that "princess" candidates from various neighborhoods competed each year to be chosen "Queen of the Seas" at Seafair. Jackson proposed, "let's have a 'Miss Wedgwood" contest!" The idea took off quickly. A committee was formed to advertise the Miss Wedgwood contest, take applications and set up a selection process. On June 16, 1956, the annual President's Ball was held at Sand Point Country Club to honor incoming WCC officers, and the featured event of the evening was the crowning of the Miss Wedgwood finalist. Judging was by Mrs. Murray Lichtman, Wedgwood School PTA representative, Josef Scaylea, chief photographer for The Seattle Times, and J.J. Jackson, outgoing WCC president. The first Miss Wedgwood would receive a trophy from Albert Balch, the builder, and a check for $100 to defray expenses of her wardrobe for Seafair activities. The committee selected Janet Lorraine Michelson, who at the young age of 20 was a career girl, head of the tax department of the Lawyers Title Insurance Group. The new Miss Wedgwood took time off from work to enter into a whirl of Seafair activities that summer. Although Janet did not win the title Queen of the Seas at Seafair, the very first Queen of Wedgwood appeared on three local television interview programs and a radio program, represented Wedgwood in summer Seafair parades, and posed for pictures on an outboard cruiser that the Lions Club was using as a fundraiser. Mr. & Mrs. Mylo Lindgren and Mr. & Mrs. Al Thorson formed the selection committee in 1960. It was a subjective process of trying to decide who had the most sparkle and the best smile. The girls themselves were having fun and not taking the contest too seriously. The candidate selected in 1960, Jolene Robertson, had not even submitted her own application her parents had done so on her behalf. Jolene was not expecting to be chosen, and was munching on a mouthful of popcorn when the announcement was made that she was the new Miss Wedgwood. The Miss Wedgwoods, after a fairy-tale summer with the title of Princess, went back to being just "girls from the neighborhood." They went on to pursue careers, or married and became housewives and mothers. Margo Kruzner '57 and Candy Soules '67 both became airline stewardesses, married and settled in California, where they still live. Barbara Ann Burton '59 and Joleen Robertson '60 still live in the Seattle area * * * Wedgwood Reunion This fall all the Miss Wedgwoods will be invited to the Wedgwood Community Council's annual reunion of Presidents and Princesses, and the Council is asking the public's help in contacting them. If you know any of them, please ask them to contact me, Valarie Bunn, at 367-2934. Miss Wedgwoods 1956 Janet Michelson 1957 Margo Kruzner 1958 Bonnie Carlson 1959 Barbara Burton 1960 Jolene Robertson 1961 Gerri Derig 1962 Cheryl Berdan 1963 Karen Sellers 1964 Norma Stansbery 1965 Randy Magruder 1966 Mary Bogaard 1967 Candace Soules 1968 Teresa Wyman