RCA Photo of the Week - August 27, 2026

We are now ONE WEEK away from the annual Romeo Peach Festival, so let's continue celebrating the Peach Queens of the past!

Today, we'll talk about Lauren Kloock - a Peach Queen with a family history tied to the Peach Festival.

In 2006, the 18-year-old from Romeo was crowned with the Peach Queen title for that year, and it was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. As a little girl growing up in Romeo, she always aspired to be a part of the parade's royalty. She added, "I've seen every parade since I was a little kid and I've always wanted to be a Peach Queen."

How did she do it? The answer lies in the August 30, 2006 issue of The Romeo Observer. In it, staff writer Ryan Loftis cites a quote from Peach Queen chaperone Sue Hatton-Vagi, who said that the judges were impressed with Lauren's attitude. She further explains in the article, "The judges were overwhelmed with her enthusiasm...They were just so taken with that."

That enthusiasm came from the fact that Lauren was a hometown girl. Vagi confirmed this by pointing out how Lauren's familiarity gave her an advantage as Peach Queen. She clarified, "You don't have to be a hometown girl to be Peach Queen, but when they are hometown girls, I think there's a little more enthusiasm...When you've got the people here it does give a little more plus to the girls because they're around people they know and who know them."

Additionally, Lauren graduated from Romeo High School the same year she competed in the Peach Queen Pageant. While at school, she was a member of the high school women's golf team, a student mentor, and a member of the Students Enriching Romeo through Volunteer Experience (SERVE) program. She also worked at the Romeo-Washington-Bruce Parks and Recreation in the Tot's program. At the time, Lauren was planning on attending Oakland University to major in education or public relations.

What most likely allowed her to claim the Peach Queen title was the family history with the Peach Festival itself. Her great-grandmother, Dorothy Compton, attended the very first Peach Festival in 1931 and went there every year by 2006. She still had her 1931 program, which cost a dime at that time. Her grandmother, Ruth Kloock, was in the 1935 Children's Parade as a child.

Lauren and Ruth even "set up chairs in the same spot every year to watch the Peach Festival parade."

Lauren, her father, and siblings also participated in the previous Peach Festival parades. While there has never been a Peach Queen in the family, changing that was a topic of conversation with the Kloocks. Lauren said, "We've always talked, me and my cousins, about how one of us should do it for my grandmother."

That's why she wanted to become a Peach Queen - for her grandmother and great-grandmother. The family provided a photo of Lauren, Dorothy, and Ruth for the August 30th issue of The Romeo Observer to emphasize that point.

2006 marked the 75th anniversary of the Romeo Peach Festival, so the judges were certainly looking to the past as well as to the future. They also wanted their Peach Queens to be good role models in the community. Given her educational, work, and hometown background, Lauren certainly fit that bill and deserved to be Peach Queen.

Her duties were similar to that of previous Peach Queens. Queen Lauren promoted the Peach Festival by attending various parades in Port Huron and Algonac and the first annual Romeo Victorian Festival. She even signed copies of The Romeo Peach Festival book along with author David McLaughlin at Miller's Big Red Orchard in October 2006. The book came out earlier that year.

In addition, there was a charitable opportunity for Queen Lauren. She originally planned to donate the $200 she "received for a dress to the Gilliam family in Armada. After the Gilliam family had a new house built for them courtesy of ABC's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,' [she] decided to donate the money to another family that was in the running for a new house from 'Extreme Makeover.'"

There's no doubt that the Romeo Peach Festival has played a major role in Lauren Kloock's life. With her love of family and tradition, I wouldn't be surprised if a future member of the Kloocks participates in the Peach Festival in a similar way she did. We shall see.

To learn more about Lauren Kloock, other Peach Queens, and the Peach Festival in general, you can locate the Romeo Peach Festival Collection here and/or contact 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, 2006 and Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, May 3, 2006, p.1-A and 12-A; August 30, 2006, p.1-B; and September 27, 2006, p.7-A

RCA Photo of the Week - August 20, 2026

We are now two weeks away from the annual Romeo Peach Festival, so let's continue celebrating the Peach Queens of the past!

Today, we'll talk about Susan Marie Berg - America's Bicentennial Romeo Peach Queen!

In 1976, the 21-year-old from Utica (Shelby Township as it was reported early on) was crowned with that title. The July 29, 1976 issue of The Romeo Observer noted many things about Susan. These included that she was in her third year at Michigan State University majoring in advertising and public relations, how she was a dramatics major for two years, her looks (green eyed brunette), her height (five feet, six and a quarter inches tall), and her weight.

In addition, it mentioned Susan's background in music and drama. From sixth to ninth grade, she was enrolled in a summer acting school and played the lead role in the musical Mame at age 15. Later on, Susan performed in high school plays and worked with the Macomb Theatre At-The-Barn. She was also voted Most Musical by her high school classmates and won the Most Promising Actress award for work done in community theatre. On top of that, she received a $300 acting scholarship from her high school, "the first time an award like [that] had been given."

Susan put those skills to the test when she performed a number from the musical The Fantasticks for the Peach Queen Pageant that year.

For her future ambitions, she wanted to keep being "active in community and semi-professional theatre, and [to work] as a public relations agent or promotional director for a large agency."

Furthermore, she had prior pageant experience since she was a former Miss WBRB and Miss Utica.

In other words, the judges were so impressed with Susan's beauty, educational background, talent, pagentry credentials, and future goals that they gave her the Peach Queen title.

Like the other Peach Queens before her, Susan carried out her duties to represent local peach harvests and to bring attention to orchards and the Michigan Peach Festival. The Romeo Observer listed her schedule, which included trips to Washington D.C. to spread the word about the Peach Festival, Lansing to visit Governor William Milliken, and the Ford Proving Grounds. Her court also attended several sporting events at the Tigers Stadium, Pontiac Stadium, and the racetrack (likely referring to the Hazel Park race track) for promotional purposes along with several media appearances.

Although it's unclear if Queen Susan actually met President Gerald R. Ford in Washington D.C., she was able to deliver a basketful of peaches to Carl Albert - Speaker of the US House Representatives at that time. She was accompanied by congressman James O'Hara - representative of the 12th District of Michigan during that period. The Romeo Observer snapped a photo of the three of them for its September 9th issue, which can be seen below.

1976 was a special year for Romeo. Not only was the United States celebrating its 200th birthday that year, but also the Peach Festival decided to host a Peach Queen and Miss Romeo Homecoming Celebration at the same time! The September 2nd edition reported that 21 former Miss Romeos and 23 former Peach Queens were planning on attending said homeocoming. Some Peach Queens even participated in the Mummers Parade. On Labor Day, many of the women rode in the Grand Floral Parade. The former Peach Queens had one float, while the Miss Romeos had another. And of course, Queen Susan rode on her own float.

Reports of the 1976 Michigan Peach Festival concluded that it was well attended. How well? Police Chief Joe Parrotta said that about 50,000 or more people were present for the Floral Parade on that Monday alone, while more conservative estimates were closer to 30,000. Regardless, it was a big celebration for a special year.

Local newspapers sadly didn't mention Queen Susan a whole lot, most likely due to the publicity with the Peach Queen and Miss Romeo reunions. However, she did get to meet the oldest living Peach Queen at the time - 1932's Helen Cheeseman. The Romeo Observer took this picture after Helen placed the crown on top of Susan's head during her coronation for the front page of the September 9th edition.

Since her time as Peach Queen, Susan has performed at several theatres like the Meadowbrook Theatre, Henry Ford (Museum and Greenfield Village), Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Michigan Opera Theatre, and Northville Marquis Theatre. She also toured nationally with the North American Auto Show and the children's theatre troupe, Prince St. Players. In addition, she wrote several original scripts with many of them being performed by the Marquis children's theater in Northville. She continues to act and write.

Romeo didn't forget Susan in the years after she held the Peach Queen title. In 1996, The Romeo Observer reported that she premiered her first adult play A Hot Time in The Old Time as a dinner and theatre event at the Van Dyke Park Hotel on Van Dyke in Warren. Then, in 2001, Susan appeared as First Ladies Frances Cleveland, Grace Coolidge, and Jacqueline Kennedy in a 45-minute one-act play entitled, "My Life as First Lady" for people at the Romeo Community Center. It was part of a program presented by the Romeo Historical Society. Jim Wallington and Karen Hamilton snapped photos of Susan in costume in those years respectively.

Just like 1946, it was a great success for the festival in such an imporant year, and Susan played a huge role even if it wasn't noticed all the time.

To learn more about Susan Marie Berg, other Peach Queens, and the Peach Festival in general, you can locate the Romeo Peach Festival Collection here and/or contact 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, 1976; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Obsever, July 29, 1976, p.1-A; September 9, 1976, p.1 and 2; October 30, 1996, p.9-A; November 6, 1996, p.8-A; and January 31, 2001, p.1-A; and Susanmarieberg.wordpress.com