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| Bunny Wight, Queen of Fort Thomas Centennial |
As we approach our city’s 150th anniversary
it’s only natural that we reminisce and there are plenty of people in Fort Thomas who can remember all the way back to the city’s last big birthday, the centennial
in 1967. Bunny McCrae has more memories of that time to look back on than most
because back then she was named the city’s Centennial Queen.
Bunny recalls “It was
so exciting, a huge honor.” The city ran a contest, Fort Thomas girls had
to sell tickets to the event, which was held at Highlands High School football
field and the one who sold the most was to be named Centennial Queen. Bunny,
then Bunny Wight, worked hard, selling tickets to family and friends and won
the contest. “My whole family all lived
here and I’d just graduated from high school, so I had plenty of friends to
sell them to.”
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The entire city turned out and the field was packed for the
coronation, which made the experience of being in the center and among the
dignitaries somewhat nerve wracking. “It
was overwhelming, as you can imagine for an eighteen year old, very
overwhelming. There were usually a lot
of people there for football games but there were even more that night. Everybody
was there to celebrate the city’s birthday. The Governor of Kentucky came up to
Fort Thomas and he was the one who actually crowned me.”
Bunny and her court, which was made up of the runners up in
the ticket contest, wore dresses that were from the era of Fort Thomas’
founding. On Independence Day they rode on a float in the parade through the
town. “It was a big deal, to the best of
my knowledge that was pretty much the beginning of the Fourth of July parade
in the city.”
Throughout the festivities, which ran for a week from the
end of June through the Fourth of July, Bunny was center stage. She
carried out the role of Centennial Queen at many events. There were articles in
the newspapers and her grandmother took clippings and made her an album that
she still treasures to this day. “It’s
made every move with me for the last fifty years, it’s a little dog eared and
it got wet when we had a leak in the basement one time but it’s always been
there.”
As the banners go up and the town prepares to celebrate
another huge anniversary, Bunny will no doubt be reminded more of the
centennial. “It brings back memories of
being young again. It was a big honor but I really did work hard for it selling
those tickets!”
Bunny has lived in Fort Thomas all of her life and she is
unsurprisingly proud of her part in the city’s history. Along with the rest of
the town, she’s looking forward to celebrating the sesquicentennial this year. “It’s a good place, a real family
orientated city. We celebrate our city, that’s just what we do.”
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| Centennial Queen Bunny Wight on the Campbell County Chamber of Commerce float. Court: Donna Jo Dudderer, Pam Kuhnhein, Laura Pogue |