The Romeo Peach Festival is four weeks away. You know what that means. For this month, we will once again cover one past Peach Queen each week until September 3, when the festivities began.
Let's start with Mozelle Cravens - one of the earliest Peach Queens. In 1936, the 16-year-old from Flint was crowned with that title.
This is another case where we don't know what made the judges select Mozelle. There's not a description of her looks. Even Marion Lapish - the 1935 Peach Queen - was called a stately brunette.
The only two things that we can rely on are the the judges themselves and the criteria. The names of the judges were listed in the August 26, 1936 issue of The Romeo Observer which announced Mozelle as the winner. They were John Coppin, illustrator and painter; Lee F. Redman, a photographer; and John Woodruff, illustrator and art director. All were from Detroit, and Coppin and Redman judged the Peach Queen pagaent for the last two years at that point.
As for the criteria, the contestants were evaluated based on beauty, poise, and personality. The judges must have seen all three in Mozelle to select her as Peach Queen. Looking at the photo, she is beautiful with a big, toothy smile. Maybe that grin won them over. In addition, the Romeo Peach Festival Collection contains more evidence as to why members of her court like Gertrude Parscenski - Miss Macomb County - and Katherine Bruso - Miss Mount Clemens - were chosen for their respective titles than Mozelle for Peach Queen. Whatever the reason, Mozelle still won the crown.
Like in the years prior, Mozelle carried out her duties by representing local peach harvests as well as bringing attention to the orchards and the Peach Festival no matter how big or small the audience was. She and her court visited Mayor Frank Couzens at Detroit City Hall; attended the races at the Detroit Fair Grounds; and were special guests of Harry Reser, a nationally famous band leader, at the Westwood Symphony Gardens in Dearborn as well as at the Firemen's Field Day in Detroit. She even traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and deliver Romeo peaches even though he wasn't available when she arrived. Instead, she gave samples of those peaches to "the secretary of the Chief Executive," likely refering to Marvin H. McIntyre who held that position during that time.
Also like the year prior, she went to Chicago to broadcast her radio appearance on the National Farm and Home Hour for a nation-wide audience. While in that city, she met with Chef Risser of the Chicago Merchanise Mart. Photos of this interaction were taken. One shows the chef teaching Queen Mozelle how to cut a peach, and the other depicts her shoving a peach into his mouth.
Queen Mozelle and her court ended their travels by visting Cleveland to be the guests of honor at the Great Lakes Expedition.
While it's unknown how many people atteneded the 1936 Michigan Peach Festival, newspapers like The Romeo Observer and The Detroit News reported big crowds. Kendrick Kimball of the former provided a photograph of a mass of people watching the Floral Parade.
On the Saturday of the Peach Festival, Queen Mozelle received the key to Romeo, which was presented by Fire Chief Willard A. Pickering. At her coronation, she was crowned by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Thomas Read. Helen Starkweather designed the crown.
With all of things we know, it sounded like the 1936 Peach Festival was a resounding success.
This would be the point, where I would discuss what Mozelle did after her time as Peach Queen. However, little is actually known. For instance, the papers never mentioned her age. I was only able to determine that through various records on Ancestry, which listed her birth in September 1919 and death in 2005. In addition, when the Peach Queen reunion was announced in 1976, she was the only one who couldn't be reached. It's a shame because it would be nice to know what she thought of her time while holding that title.
Luckily, I found out that she moved to California by 1940, appeared in a few films in 1943, and got married twice. One of her husbands was John Hyde - a talent agent who developed Marilyn Monroe's career until his death in 1950. He actually left Mozelle to marry Marilyn, but the latter turned down his proposal. Furthermore, Mozelle was played by Micole Mercurio in the 1996 television film Norma Jean & Marilyn.
Moreover, we have her autograph as well as the ones from members of her court. They include Katherine Bruso - First Maid of Honor, Elsie Everson - Maid of Honor, Dorothea Hammond - Miss Genesee, Gertrude Parscenski - Miss Macomb County, Dolly Campbell - Miss Romeo, Barbara Lewis - Capac, Leone LeBlond - Miss Oakland County, Marie Mahar - Miss Pontiac, Theresa Roseski - Miss Lapeer County, and Mary J. Pakala - Lapeer City.
Regardless of what little information we got, we are thankful to know at least something about Mozelle Cravens and her time as the 1936 Peach Queen.
To learn more about Mozelle Cravens, other Peach Queens, and the Romeo Peach Festival in general by locating the Romeo Peach Festival Collection here and/or contacting the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org to see said collection in person.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Romeo Peach Festival Collection, 1934-1936 and 1976; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, September 2, 1936, p.4; Ancestry.com, and IMDB.com