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| 1939 Miss Romeo and Peach Queen, Nancy Barber |
The Peach Queen is an ambassador of Romeo and her duties include representing the local peach harvests and bringing attention to the orchards and the Peach Festival.
In the photo below, Nancy Barber is sharing a basket of peaches with Brig. General Edwin W. Watson, Secretary to President Roosevelt, in Washington D.C.
In a letter from 1939, the Peach Festival Association described the Peach Queen Pageant as "...in previous years, a reigning queen, maids of honor, and a queens court, will be selected from candidates representing five counties--Lapeer, Genessee, St. Clair, Oakland, and Macomb.
Preliminary contests for community representatives will be held not later than August 11--county winners will be chosen August 18, and the final contest, from which will emerge a 1939 queen and her court, will be held in Romeo, August 25th."
In 1939 there were 11 contestants representing Mount Clemens, Macomb County, Romeo, Port Huron, St. Clair County, Flint, Genessee County, Lapeer, Lapeer County, Pontiac, and Oakland County.
Nancy Barber, having won the Miss Romeo title, competed and won the Peach Queen title for 1939.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Romeo Peach Festival Collection, 1939