NAF Asparagus Queens

Parker’s name and fame was spread far and wide soon after her crowning. Had not one of the judges, Jim Mencarelli writer for Grand Rapids Free Press, written an article about the pageant, had it not been read by John Mann, a restaurant marketing agent in the Fort Wayne, Ind. area and had it not been shared with one of Mann’s customers, Denis Ellis of MacTavish’s Restaurant in Ft. Wayne Ind., Mrs. Parker may not have had the honor of reigning over a two-day Asparagus Festival at McTavish’s Restaurant in Ft. Wayne Ind. It was a hectic promotional tour where she met with several news outlets, appeared in numerous locations throughout the city and visited with hundreds of people, most of whom asked her “How did you get to be Mrs. Asparagus?”

Mary Ann Carey, of Shelby, was crowned Mrs. Asparagus 1981 at the Shelby High School cafetorium. Mrs. Dorothy Fischer, also of Shelby, was crowned runner-up. Carey, who was already very involved in the Shelby community, made it her mission to bring back the Asparagus Kids. The first troupe under the direction of Jean (Burcon) Scheerer was formed in 1975. Carey formed this second troupe who participated at various events during the festival, a few local parades, the Bozo Show on TV-13 in Grand Rapids and the noon show on TV-9 &10 in Cadillac. Carey was also involved in numerous radio interviews, including a station in the Upper Peninsula where she was originally from. Following her reign, Carey stayed involved with the festival for many years.

1982-2000

Carol Waller of Shelby, Mrs. Asparagus 1982, along with Runner-Up Dennise Saugren, were crowned at the annual banquet held that year at the Shelby Optimist Club. She recalls attending 10 parades including the Indy 500 Parade in Indianapolis, Ind. She, along with the 2nd group of Asparagus Kids and the Asparagus Stalkers, a modern dance troupe that had recently formed, visited senior living facilities and granges and were featured on Channel 8 news. Her most memorable parades included the NAF parade through Shelby and the National Cherry Fes- tival Parade in Traverse City. She also attended the Michigan State Fair as Mrs. Asparagus. An artist, as well as a queen, Waller was instrumental in painting all the fruits and vegetables in a huge cornucopia featured on the float that year.

Mrs. Asparagus from 1983-84 were Denise Crum and Barbara

Schultz.

Our 1985 queen Becky Isley, accompanied by local law enforcement officers, was the first queen to visit local campgrounds and state parks and pass out asparagus to campers. Prior to this promotion,

Continued on pg. 6 queens and local police would initiate traffic stops at the off-ramps to Shelby and Hart and hand out one-pound packages of fresh asparagus. It was decided that visiting people in the local campgrounds was probably less traumatizing than using flashing lights and a police car.

After Mary Ellen Rapes won in 1986, Lynn Glaser of Whitehall was crowned in 1987 and was the first out-of-county queen. She first became acquainted with the NAF when she participated in one of the festival talent shows. Glaser, a “song parodist”, would later write and sing songs especially for the 20th and 40th Mrs. Asparagus banquets. She remembers attending the National Restaurant Food Show in Chicago, meeting one of the Pittsburgh Steelers and presenting asparagus to Dennis Conner, skipper of the “Stars and Stripes” and winner of America’s Cup. When on a family trip to Washington D.C. she wore her crown and sash everywhere she went. Even though her children were slightly embarrassed, Glaser enjoyed talking to everyone she could about asparagus.

Recipients of Mrs. Asparagus from 1988-1992 were as follows, Barbara Sheren, N. Joy Hamilton, Kathy Carter, Tina Collier Houser and Stacia Andres-Mooi.

Mrs. Asparagus 1993, Lorena Lindgren, was the oldest queen ever selected. At 70 she was still picking asparagus on her farm as well as running the business end of it. Her business motto was “Quality over Quantity”. Michelle Moore was Mrs. Asparagus in 1994.

1995 Mrs. Asparagus, Cheryl Arcello, the only queen to also be crowned the Oceana County Cherry Queen as well, enjoyed taking the Badger to the food show in Chicago and riding on the NAF float in the St. Ignace Antique Auto Show Parade. Beth LaPorte took home the crown in 1996.

Mrs. Asparagus 1997, Kathy Grantz, will probably go down in history as the festival’s most funny queen. With her comedic, outgoing personality and can-do spirit she was game for whatever that year threw at her. Despite thinking she was “too busy”, she dared herself to go for it, as a way to celebrate her 50th birthday that year. Runner-Up was Geri Wentworth. She recalls while waiting for the Holland Tulip Parade to begin, walking around and placing her crown on little girls’ heads and seeing their reaction. She loved interacting with people. At a 4th of July parade in Westphalia, Mich. 45 minutes before the parade, the car she was to ride in would not start. At the last minute, former classmates of hers got a red wagon and made cardboard signs and taped them to each side that said “Mrs. Asparagus”. They all walked the parade pulling the wagon - and had a blast. She also took the story of Oceana asparagus “down under” when she held a 20-minute phone interview with the

Australian IBC radio network where she talked about her jobs on the farm during harvest and shared a recipe with their audience. Starr Yoder won in 1998.

Susie Tubbs, of Hart, Mrs. Asparagus 1999, remembers her prizes including an emerald necklace from Gale’s Jewelry, funds to purchase her parade attire and photos from Hegg’s Studio. One of the questions they asked during her onstage interview included how would she promote asparagus jello! Her most memorable event was attending the National Cherry Festival where her in-laws, Fred and Dianna Tubbs, were honored as the “Cherry Couple of the Year”. Because of that connection she was able to represent Oceana County as Mrs. Asparagus at many events with many notable representatives in the fruit and vegetable industry.

Linda Jonseck of New Era and Eileen Carlson of Hart were the 2000 Mrs. Asparagus and Runner-up, respectively. That same year Beyer Auction Service held a fundraiser auction the night of the banquet. During her reign, Jonseck was focused on the younger generation. While she enjoyed cooking on WZZM-TV 13 and attending the many parades, she especially remembers visiting the pediatric ward at Spectrum Hospital and going to New Era Elementary School to talk to the students about nutrition. She even held an asparagus essay contest for the 8th graders in Shelby Middle School. The essay had to feature ways they would get someone who had never had it or didn’t know what it was, to try asparagus. She recalls the theme for the festival that year was “Veggie of the Millennium.”

2001-2012

From 2001-2003, Mrs. Asparagus were as follows, Sarah Short, Sonya Hernandez-Joslin, December Saucedo-Gonzalez. Kendra Masunas, Mrs. Asparagus 2004 kept a busy schedule during her reign, even adding the Gizzard Festival in Charlotte to her itinerary! Masunas was also the author of a creative story entitled “Farmer Cultivate” about the asparagus industry.

Mrs. Asparagus royalty from 2005-2007 were Stephanie Wildley, Ann Dold and Heather Green.

Mrs. Asparagus 2008, Michele Amstutz of Mears and Runner-Up Valene Rabe, were crowned at the annual Ag Banquet at the New Era Christian School. (The Mrs. Asparagus banquet was combined with the local Dairy Banquet and queens were chosen at the annual Ag Banquet from 2006 - 2012.) One of the newer events at the festival the year she was queen, was a rodeo featuring performances by Dwayne Spaw. That year she enjoyed cooking on WZZM-TV13 and remembers being given a bouquet of asparagus by a bystander at the Coast Guard Parade. Members on the NAF board during her reign were Leroy Glover, Judie Burmeister, Linda Jonseck,

Kathy Walicki, Jim Silvis and Lolita Silvas. 2009 Mrs. Asparagus, Beth Riggs, was a very community-minded queen. Close to home she baked up asparagus cookies and delivered them to downtown merchants and would often sing at community events. Taking the asparagus story outside the county, she was featured on WGVUTV preparing an asparagus recipe and was the first Mrs. Asparagus to attend the Empire Asparagus Festival in Empire, Mich. Kimberly Morden was Mrs. Asparagus in 2010.

Megan Roskam, Mrs. Asparagus 2011 and Runner-Up Christine Merten, were also crowned at the annual Ag Banquet at the New Era Christian School. Roskam’s most memorable moment of the evening, besides being crowned, was watching her grandmother, Phyllis Slocum’s excitement afterward. Slocum was queen in 1977. Other memorable moments included visiting the state capitol and passing out asparagus to legislators and judging the Silver Lake BBQ Festival Apple Pie contest. “It took me a long time to be able to eat apple pie after that,” she said. 2011 was also a memorable year for the entire board as it was the year Chef Lynn Crawford of the Canadian television show “Pitchin’ In”, visited and filmed at the festival. Crawford also invited board members and Roskam to join her at a cooking demonstration and meal in their honor at an asparagus farm in Big Rapids a few days later. The footage of both events became the 6th episode of Season 3.

2012 would see the festival’s only “Ms. Asparagus”, Del Merrill. With fewer and fewer women available and willing to run for the “Mrs. Asparagus” title, the NAF made the decision to open the opportunity to any young woman, single or married. Only two candidates had applied, with the second candidate dropping out prior to the pageant, giving Merrill the title.

2013-2022

The first “Asparagus Queen,” Amanda Dodge, was crowned in 2013, with Janelle Johnson named as Runner-Up. During her reign, Amanda wrote a monthly column about all of her experiences to help others to understand what being the Asparagus Queen entailed. She also was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in January of 2014, and had multiple television appearances, including picking asparagus with former WZZM 13 weatherman Aaron Offseyer. She credits earning her crown to her knowledge of the late Gordon Lightfoot, who passed this year, 10 years after Amanda was named queen. She also said she enjoyed her outgoing speech, when she taught the audience how to wave with the “wax on, wax off” method. Danielle Kokx earned the crown in 2014, with Erin Fisher as her Runner-Up. Danielle was the first unmarried woman to have the crown after the rules were changed in 2012, and promoting how delicious asparagus is ranked as Kokx’s top memories. She enjoyed making Asparagus Salad in Parmesan Cheese Cups with locally and nationally-known food blogger, Gina Ferwerda on WZZM 13 and Asparagus Hummus on the Fox 17 Morning Mix. Trying Asparagus Wine at Fox Barn & Winery and promoting various local farmer markets were also highlights. Kokx especially remembers and enjoyed passing the title of 2015 Asparagus Queen on to her younger sister, Courtney Kokx, the following year.

In 2016, Mary Harris of Mears was crowned with Mandy Achterhoff as Runner-Up. Harris enjoyed attending Ag Day in Lansing and sharing a booth with Michigan Pork Producers where she shared ham and asparagus roll-ups with attendees. Other highlights of her reign included the Cherry Festival and dancing with the Scottville

Clown Band after the NAF parade. That year was also the first year queen candidates, graduating high school or older, were allowed to participate in the pageant. The same year the committee awarded the queen a $1000 scholarship for a charity of her choice. Harris was happy to present her winnings to the local Future Farmers of America organization.

The following year Vicki Platt and Valerie Fedewa were crowned Queen and Runner-Up respectively. Platt vividly remembers the day of the festival parade. Sadly her brother passed away the same day, but she holds the memory of him seeing her in her gown with her crown and sash beforehand. She also remembers how her husband drove her to every parade that summer. “He thought his weekends would be “open” for fishing!” she laughed.

Kendra Larios-Mendez was crowned in 2018 as Asparagus Queen. Larios-Mendez could share the title of funniest “Asparagus Queen” along with Kathy Grantz. She says she can still hear her girlfriends screaming when it was announced that she had won the title. After the Princess Tea, Larios-Mendez was thrilled to surprise a friend’s daughter who was too sick to attend the event. Laughing with the board members any and everywhere they went and attending the Cherry Festival were the biggest standouts of her reign she said.

Alysha Sullivan (2019) was crowned the following year.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic no new queen was crowned in 2020. The only event held was a virtual Spear-It 5K run.

In 2021 although the possibility of spreading the coronavirus was still a concern, the committee did decide to hold a coronation event.

Tara Oomen of Hart was named queen and Grace Huffman was named Runner-Up. Oomen says that visiting legislators in Lansing was one of her best memories. She loved getting to educate people about asparagus and Oceana County. Despite the lack of events she was able to attend in 2021 she did get to meet Michelle Miller, aka “Farm Babe”, an international keynote speaker, online influencer and writer and columnist for AgDaily. com. Grace Huffman won Asparagus Queen in 2022. Depending on who you talk to or where you get your information it can be debated whether Oceana County is technically the Asparagus Capital of the Nation. As well, the National Asparagus Festival isn’t the only asparagus festival held in the United States. Festivals in Stockton, CA, Windsor, CT and Empire, Mich. are all held during the month of May. But one thing is for sure, Oceana County’s National Asparagus Festival is the longest running asparagus festival nationwide, the only event to use “National” in its title and the only one to crown an asparagus queen!