Jacktown Fair Queen continues legacy
Marissa Rode
Marissa Rode, 16, is crowned 2015 Miss Jacktown Fair Queen Tuesday night by the 2014 Miss Jacktown Fair Queen Tabitha Schiller.
Marissa Rode has continued her family’s legacy by being crowned the 2015 Miss Jacktown Fair Queen Tuesday.
Her mother, Sheila Rode of New Freeport, could not help but become nostalgic as she watched her daughter accept the same title she held back in 1979.
“It brought back a lot of feelings and memories,” Sheila said. “It’s a mother and daughter thing.”
There have been other times when both a mother and daughter have won the title of queen, and now Marissa and Sheila are a part of that.
For Sheila, she never wanted to pressure her daughter into competing.
“I didn’t really push it, but we had talked about it,” Sheila said. “When I was pregnant with her, the thought crossed my mind that maybe my daughter would be fair queen someday.”
Even though Sheila won and also helped to organize the event for 16 years, she wanted her daughter to decide on her own if this was something she wanted to do. And this year, Marissa told her she wanted to compete.
Marissa said she’s always dreamed of following in her mother’s footsteps and was ready to participate in the pageant when she turned 16 years old.
“I’m really honored and I know my mom has wanted this ever since I was a little girl,” Marissa said. “Here I am with a crown on my head. She’s really proud of me.”
Marissa said she began to tear up when they asked for her mother to join her on stage.
“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh!'” Marissa recalled of the moment. “She almost started crying, too.”
Sheila said that her daughter did most of the preparation on her own. She wrote the 300-word essay and she practiced her speech until she had it completely memorized. The only part her mother helped her with was the conclusion.
“She made this experience her own,” Sheila said.
As she watched her daughter prepare for the competition, she realized how much things have changed and yet still feel the same. Back in 1979, she did not have to give a speech, nor do the evening gown section that are now key parts of the competition. She recognized how much the fair itself has changed over the last couple of decades, but still among all the change, how the true feeling of community remains.
“I can’t believe it has been 36 years. It just seems like yesterday,” Sheila said. “I mean even though the fairgrounds have changed, the competition has changed and the fair has changed it still remains the same in a way.”
She said that the main thing that has stayed the same is the view from on stage looking out to the crowd, and the feeling of hearing Rode being called as the winner.
“How do you explain a feeling like that,” Sheila said as she began to tear up for the first time since her daughter was named queen. “I guess I’m just really proud of her.”
Marissa was crowned Tuesday by the 2014 queen, Tabitha Schiller. Marissa received a $1,000 scholarship in honor of Joe Behm.
Also during Tuesday evening the first-place float in Tuesday night’s Jacktown Fair Parade was a horse-drawn wagon driven by Phillip Prevost Jr. Second place went to Cub Scout Pack 1600; third place to the Harveys-Aleppo Grange; and fourth place to the Greene County 4-H Goat Club.
In the mini-float division, first place went to the Longstreth Family Reunion and second place to Erin Harbarger.
The winners of the house decorating contests were Jordan Karvan, first place; Martha Lee Dinsmore, second place; and Mary Jane Kent, third place.
The winners of several baking contests also were announced.
Katie Lynn Gapen of Greensboro won the Pennsylvania Preferred Chocolate Cookie, Brownie or Bar Baking Contest, youth division, and Kayla Patton of Graysville won the Pennsylvania Preferred Chocolate Cake Baking Contest.
Nora Rhome of Wind Ridge won the Blue Ribbon Apple Pie Contest and Betsy Haas of Vanderbilt won the Pennsylvania’s Incredible Angel Food Cake Contest.
Staff writer Bob Niedbala contributed to this story.