CULLMAN – The 2015 Cullman County Fair will be in town soon and my curiosity about the fair’s history has had me researching. In the midst of my quest for the fair’s history, I was contacted by a very special lady. Her name is Mrs. Pattie (Swann) Miller and she holds the title of Cullman County’s very first fair queen. The two of us sat and talked like old friends from the very first moment we met. Eventually we began to talk about how Cullman was back in the day and it wasn’t long before she reminisced about that first fair pageant so long ago.
“To be honest, I don’t know how I got selected for the pageant,” Miller began with a big smile. “I know I received a call from Dr. Below, the chiropractor’s office. They asked me to come down and talk with him. So when I went down to talk with him, he wanted to know if I wanted to be in the Miss Cullman County Fair Pageant. I said, yes, and so my school, of course, represented me and I was sponsored by the Lion’s Club.”
Pattie competed against five other girls for the crown. They were Virginia Garmon from Cold Springs, Martha Baker of Hanceville, Sarah Tucker of West Point, Peggy Turner of Holly Pond and Reba Kilpatrick of Fairview. The girls became fast friends as they came together and competed for that special title.
“Because there was no place to dress, I would assume that the other girls did the same as I did and came to the pageant already dressed in their gowns,” Miller said. “My dress was a light aqua and it was sheered at the bottom. It was strapless and my mother had made it for me.”
“The pageant itself was done on a flatbed truck,” she continued. “They had a little tent in the back of the truck – behind it. We all waited in the tent and when it was our turn, we would climb up the steps and walk across the truck bed, turn around and walk back. There were no chairs or anything for the audience to sit in, they all stood around the flatbed. From what I remember there were quite a few people standing there watching.”
In 1956, the Fair Queen Pageant was fairly basic. It consisted of a handful of lovely ladies and a lot of nervous energy.
“The whole thing was a blur,” Miller explained. “We were all very nervous, especially while walking across that stage. We didn’t have to do a talent; I’m sure we had to say something, but there was no talent competition. I know the first two years, talent wasn’t part of the pageant; I’m not sure about the third year. All I can say about that is thank goodness,” she giggled.
The 2014 Fair Queen received a $1,500.00 scholarship from the Fair Association, along with a hand-finished, natural-color portrait by Photography by Theresa Burns of Cullman and a diamond pendant from Doug Doggett Jewelers of Cullman. Back in 1956, the prize was not nearly as extravagant.
“I got a trophy for winning the pageant. I’m sure the school (Cullman High) got a hundred dollars or something; I’m really not sure what the school got. My picture was also in the annual either that year or in 1957.”
I truly enjoyed my visit with Mrs. Miller and I appreciate her sitting down and telling me about her involvement in the Cullman’s first Fair Queen Pageant. Every now and then good things happen to good people. Pattie didn’t go looking to enter the pageant; it was a member of the community that recognized something special in this young girl and asked her to compete. The title was a first and the prize was simple, but the memories have lasted a lifetime.
