September 18, 2009

When Queens come calling


In 1896 Alice Haigh, the Second Floral Festival Queen made a regal stop at our home, 227 North Street. That is indeed our house behind the coach. What could the Queen possibly have wanted? I guess you could say it is the kind of house that a real Queen, with a tiara and everything, would want to drop in on. Perhaps Mrs. Marshall had vital information that only the Queen could hear. Perhaps the royal jewels were delivered into the hands of Mrs. Marshall to be protected and cared for. Perhaps Mrs. Marshall buried the treasure on the land as the ultimate protection. Hmmm, anyone want to meet at midnight to go digging? Holly at the Healdsburg Museum was gracious enough to send this photo to us moments after identifying our house. Below is a picture of Alice and the Royal Court courtesy of OurHealdsburg.com.


The second Healdsburg Floral Festival held in May, 1896, included the May Day Queen, Alice Haigh (Dixon) and her court. Others pictured include: seated left to right' Zoe Bates (Fuller), Nettie Barnes (Chisholm). Standing, left to right: Violet Lvedke (Smith), Edna Biddle (Stone), Nellie Petray (Lawrence), and Lena Zane (Purvine). Pages (left) Bert McDonough and (right) Van Whitney. Princess is Julia Mehrtens. Ourhealdsburg/festivals
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In the vein of the Disney Movie "Holes" we shall now dig holes all over our property until we find that courtly treasure.
Queens Rule!

5 comments:

  1. I will send massimo over with a shovel and he will dig for hours and hours...the HES garden has wonderful trees planted complements of massimo's hole digging.
    So can we re-institute the Floral Festival in our neighborhood next year?...I know Holly and Fran and I would totally get into it costumes and all. A horse and carriage can be rounded up pretty easy and being around the corner from the museum and their lovely garden...

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  2. A new May Day celebration. Sounds kind of fun!
    But we will need a queen and a royal court, and they will have to do courtly things. Perhaps its time to bring Mister Healdsburg out of the gutter and join him with the Queen of the City and do some good, community oriented, tasks.

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  3. Oh, Mark, you are so funny! I love your posts. Maybe you'll choose to run for Mr. Healdsburg or you'll start your own new courtly contest each year. I enjoy your blog. It's a hoot.

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  4. Mister Healdsburg... Why thank you Miss Shonnie for the nod, but no way, no how, no where. I have seen a taping of the proceedings, its kind of like a Drag Queen pageant with out the great cloths, hair, and make-up. Actually now that I think about it, Mrs Healdsburg (but the entrants have to be Men) would be HYSTERICAL! Thats a festival we would definitely we would buy tickets for!

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  5. Hi, I have a landscape painting by Alice Haigh Dixon which I am looking to sell. I will sell it for a very reasonable price. It would be neat to have it in a house with a connection to the artist! Please let me know. Brian

    dckbrn@aol.com

    ReplyDelete

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