The Romeo Peach Festival may be over this year, but the Romeo Community Archives conducts oral history interviews about the cherished event all-year round.
All interviews will be apart of the digital Romeo Peach Festival Oral History Collection. Each will contain the audio and transcript. We interviewed 2005 Peach Queen Jessica Foltz-Goike in August 2025, and we recently added her interview to said digital collection. In our conversation, she shared why she wanted to become Peach Queen, the highlights of her reign, and her work as Peach Queen chaperone and pageant director.
Back in August 2025, I wrote an article about Jessica and her time as Peach Queen for that year's festivities. It was only afterwards that I had the chance to sit down and talk to her about those experiences.
Jessica grew up in Romeo, and her family has been an integral part in the village for decades. Her grandfather John Foltz was a fire chief and a member of the Village Council. It was him who sowed the seeds for her dream to become Peach Queen. He always told her that she would become a Peach Queen from a young age. Jessica added, "We would watch the parade go by and he would say, 'That's going to be you one day.'"
Unfortunately, John passed away the year before she was able to run. When she did secure the crown, her dad took the newspaper up and put it on John's grave, so the latter was able to see it. In addition, Jessica's grandmother went to several events with her, including the photoshoot at Westview Orchards. When I spoke to her, she wore a crown-shaped necklace with diamonds that her grandma gave her after she won. It can be seen in the picture above.
Jessica first competed in the Peach Queen Pageant in 2004 under her maiden name, and she became the runner-up to Peach Queen Fallon Bojanowski whom she remains best friends to this very day. In 2005, she ran again and was able to secure the crown that time. Regarding both years, she mentioned that it felt good that her name was called. Since she was a child, she always looked up to the Peach Queen. This turned into a full-circle moment when during her Peach Queen reign, a little girl "came running over and she’s like, 'Are you gonna go back to your castle now?' And it was just the sweetest, most innocent thing."
She still has a picture with that girl in her scrapbook. To her, it was a "sweet moment of seeing it through their eyes and knowing I was that child at one point. And now I have my daughter who’s four, and now it’s like seeing it through her eyes all over again."
One of her highlights as Peach Queen included seeing family and friends while she was in the parade. As Jessica explains, "I have a ridiculous amount of family who still lives here, a lot of friends, and I was freshly out of high school too. So, it was really cool up and down the parade route to see people, to see family and everyone’s cheering you on. That was just such an awesome experience, so that was really amazing."
Another high point was going to Michigan State University to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of their agricultural program. Jessica had not seen Peach Queens before or after attend an event like that, which made it all the more special to her. She got to experience the agriculture, be the program's guest of honor, and cut the cake for them.
One other highlight was riding on a big slide with a sack in New Baltimore. Jessica explained, "When you’re Peach Queen, you’re doing all the things and that includes the rides."
Every Peach Queen has to go on at least one ride at a festival, and Jessica recalled going down fun house slides sideways while wearing her crown and sash. She specifically remembered the one in New Baltimore because she was in a full gown. To her, it was the funniest moment of her reign.
When asked how being Peach Queen influenced her life, Jessica replied that it enhanced her ability to articulate anything. She always joked that she could talk her way out of a paper bag, but there's a truth to that. Jessica recalled that as Peach Queen, there were plenty of moments where she was writing down something and someone would hand her a microphone. This also gave her more opportunities to think on her feet and to become more poised. With the latter, she elaborated, "I think it teaches you how to maintain your composure in all of those different situations."
Since her time as Peach Queen, she graduated with her undergraduate degree in boardcast journalism in hopes of becoming the next Katie Couric. As of 2025, she works with technology and products supporting Human Resources. She also has been married to her husband, Matt, for nearly 20 years, and they have two children. Their son Blake, was Mr. Peachy King in 2019. They are actively involved with the Romeo Junior Bulldogs organization and with the Peach Queens.
When I wrote my article on Jessica last year, I mentioned that she assumed the position of chaperone to the Peach Queen in 2013. Her involvement actually started the year prior. As she explained, "So, it was about mid-2012. I got the call to help supporting the Romeo Peach Queen. So, it was right before Peach Festival, they just needed a game plan essentially of like, 'What should we be doing?' And because I had had the experience, I said I’d be willing to help. And everything went really great, so they were like, 'Okay, would you want to do this all the time?' And I was a lot younger and I didn’t have kiddos yet and didn’t even have my puppy yet. And so, my husband and I were like, 'Cool, let’s do it!' You know, we’ve got all the free time. And I’ve spent a lot of time in my mind, I think, rebuilding a little bit of what it means to be Peach Queen."
Since Jessica took over, she has been working on the reputation outside of the community. She's making sure that the Peach Queens are out there and they’re visible at other events, so they can advertise for the Peach Festival and for the area. But, her big focus is on community. Two of the things she's done are community-based. They include the food drive. Jessica elaborated, "So, we ask all of our contestants who are running to, you know, gather, you know, nonperishable items. We also do not charge an entry fee to the pageant and just ask for people to bring canned goods in and all of that goes to the Samaritan House. So, it’s really cool. Every year, the Tuesday after the pageant, I show up at Samaritan House, or sometimes my dad, because he helps out too, with usually a truckload. And that’s just a really cool visual representation of how we can help the community."
The second piece she introduced is the Queen’s choice of charity. Jessica clarified, "So, every year the Queen gets to pick a charity that she is very passionate about, and it’s really whatever she wants to do. And it’s been cool, so we’ve had Veterans Return Home [Vets Returning Home], Make-A-Wish [Foundation]. I mean, so many that I could name, and they’ve all done different things. We had a bowling fundraiser, we had a concert in 2019 when we had a Peach Queen [Isabella Wallace] who was a really amazing singer. There’s been smaller things, you know, just like drives to learn more about organ donation. But through funds and awareness each year, it’s just really cool to see the Peach Queen come into her own of finding that passion and then using her whole year to raise that awareness or raise that money and see what she can do by the end of her reign."
We can thank Jessica for allowing the pageant and the Peach Queens to actively to make a difference in the Romeo community.
We also discussed the Peach Queens' sisterhood. When she took over in 2012, Jessica knew all the girls before because they were her age. She admitted that it's wonderful to be a part of this sisterhood, especially when there's someone she can call on if she had questions or needed help covering an event. She jokingly called it the Sisterhood of the Peach, but in seriousness, she loved that she has connected with Peach Queens in different places in their lives. Jessica said, "So, I have so many of my past girls who will come and be like, 'Hey, I know you’ve been a recruiter. Can you help me with my resume? Can you do interview prep and things like that too?' So, it’s just cool that we can continue to support each other even once it’s outside of the pageant itself. We’re truly just supporting each other, just like as people, not as Peach Queens.
Before we ended our interview, I asked Jessica about her advice for anybody looking to compete in future Peach Queen pagaents. She answered it with the following, "Yeah, I think the biggest thing you can do is, if you can find a former Peach Queen, which they’re all very open, ask questions. I think the people who come forward with questions are the ones who come in most informed. And it helps you really to learn about what the expectations are. I think there is still a little bit of a misconception of like, oh, it’s the Peach Queen, it’s a pageant, you’re pretty and you sit on a float. And don’t get me wrong, every Peach Queen we’ve had is absolutely beautiful. But it’s so much more than that. And so that’s where I think those who take the time to really understand what the foundational belief system is of being the Peach Queen and how important it is to the community, and truly that you’re a part of the fabric of the history of our community...I think those who have that real passion, it’s really important. But the pageant is all really about being you. The majority of the questions are about the girls themselves. Like what have they done? What are their future aspirations? How are they involved in the community? What would they do if they were Peach Queen? You know, there’s nothing crazy that’s being asked. And that’s why I always tell the girls, it sounds super cliché, but the best thing you can do is show up as the best version of you that day."
This is a beautiful piece of advice.
Jessica and I had a great time talking about the Romeo Peach Festival and her experiences as Peach Queen. The Romeo Community Archives looks forward to talking to more people about their memories of the Peach Festival and what it means to them.
It doesn't matter if you're young or old. We want to hear all of the stories about the festival.
To check out the 2005 Peach Queen Jessica Foltz-Goike interview, you can go to the Romeo Community Archives online catalog. More will be uploaded in the near future.
If you're a former Peach Queen, member of the Peach Queen court, or a festival attendee and want to participate in the Romeo Peach Festival Oral History Collection, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890. We can also conduct interivews outside of Romeo Peach Festival weekend if you feel more comfortable that way.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Romeo Peach Festival Oral History Collection, 2025