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Queen’s Breakfast Brings Together Past and Present Tournament Royalty

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Published on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 | 11:54 am
 

The Pasadena Jaycees hosted the 75th annual Queen’s Breakfast at the Langham Hotel on Tuesday, bringing together current and former Tournament Royalty from nearby and from as a far as England.

The Queen’s Breakfast, in collaboration with the Tournament of Roses is one of the longest standing traditions for the city of Pasadena and the Pasadena Jaycees. President Scott Pool was struck by the momentous anniversaries including the 125th Rose Parade and 100th Rose Bowl Game.

“Those milestone years really struck me, when you start to think about numbers like 75 and 125, I think that’s really impressive, especially considering Pasadena is only 127 years old. These projects have grown up with the city and are now a part of its fabric, part of the community itself,” Pool said.

However, one anniversary Pool did not know about was the 50th year reunion of the 1964 Royal Court.

Four former Rose Princesses celebrated their 50th anniversary of being part of the Royal Court. They had not seen or heard from each other since the 1964 Tournament of Roses Parade and flew from around the continent to be together at the Queen’s breakfast after 50 years.

Their Queen has since passed away, but Shan Williams Carlson, Carol Otten Baumer, Suannah Carver Young (from England), and Susan Talcott Andrew, who brought the four together, remembered fond memories of the year they all spent together.

With Dwight D. Eisenhower as the Grand Marshal, the 1964 Royal Court had plenty of fun stories including eating lunch with Ronald Regan at the Hollywood Derby, meeting John Glenn, and being featured on the Bob Barker show.

“Eisenhower was late on the morning of the parade. He had locked himself in the Tournament of Roses Bathroom. They had to help him out. To this day they call that Eisenhower bathroom,” Andrew remembered.

They also shared difficult memories together. At the beginning of their reign, all seven were riding to an event together when JFK was assassinated. Although they were not wearing the outfit that day, Baumer said they had the exact same pink suits with a pillbox hat that Jackie Kennedy wore.

Yet another big anniversary, the breakfast marked 1966 Rose Queen Carole Cota-Gelfuso’s 48th consecutive attendance of the Queen’s Breakfast. She has not missed a breakfast since her reign began and also shared she is married to the young man she was dating when she was named Queen.

Although she could not make it to the breakfast, Pool read a letter from the 1940 Queen Margaret Huntley who attended the 2nd Annual Queen’s breakfast and had memories of it being THE social event that everybody who was somebody attended.

With trumpeters announcing their arrival, the 2014 Rose Queen Ana Marie Acosta entered the breakfast to piano music behind the Royal Court and the mothers of Rose Princesses Sarah Elizabeth Hansen, Kayla Diyana Johnson-Granberry, Jamie Ann Kwong, Katherine Diane Lipp, Elyssia Hadi Widjaja, and Elizabeth Katie Woolf.

A longtime friendship on the court was exposed by Emmy Award winning co-anchor for ABC7 Eyewitness News David Ono who served as the Master of Ceremonies. Katherine Lipp and Elizabeth Woolf have been best friends since 1st grade.

“First grade, this blondie-locks down here, Princess Katie Lipp, she and I instantly became best friends. We have been best friends since first grade. We tried out for the pep squad together, we served on three wonderful squads together and then we tried out for the rose court. It always was one of us would make it; it was remember me when you’re famous. And then they announced both of our names. I will never remember the feeling,” Princess Eliabeth said. Then looking at Princess Katie, “I love you.”

Queen Ana said that she wanted to be remembered for being part of the fulfillment of the 2014 Rose Parade theme ‘Dreams do come true.” Her lifelong hard work has paid off and has confirmed that she will go on to achieve her dreams she said.

Ono not only interviewed each member of the royal court, he also took the microphone into the crowd and asked previous queens who they had a crush on and advice for the current court. Fun memories spilled out from the time John Wayne was the Grand Marshall to several Queen’s dating the football star of the game.
Being sung to by Danny Williams, and had a date with the quarterback of the visiting team, Wisconsin, “didn’t win the game but won the queen

Attendees included five past Tournament of Roses Presidents and current President Scott Jenkins, sixteen past Pasadena Jaycees Presidents, Jaycee alumni, Mayor Bill Bogaard, Police Chief Phillip Sanchez, Fire Chief Calvin Wells, City Manager Michael Beck, 13 former Rose Queens and 22 former Rose Princesses.

“I am very pleased so many people were able to partake in one of Pasadena’s most time honored traditions,” Event chair Stacy Wood said.

Queen Christina Farrell of 1999 attended to fulfill a promise she had made to Scott Pool. Pool had come to the Queen’s breakfast with Christina when she was Queen as a supportive friend. Later she promised Pool if he was ever the Pasadena Jaycees President she would attend the breakfast. Well as the theme of this year is dreams do come true, through hard work Scott Pool is this year’s Jaycees President and Christina Farrell, who is now an attorney, came to the Queen’s Breakfast.

The Pasadena Jaycees give professionals, age 21-41, leadership training through community service. The Jaycees are involved with a variety of community, social and networking projects year-round such as selling programs at the Rose Bowl, throwing parties for Five Acres, supporting an exchange student program with Kasukabe, Japan, Operation Gobbler, and Operation Santa.

For more information on the Pasadena Jaycees call (626) 792-5146 or visit us at www.pasadenajaycees.org

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