Sunell Rogers Comfort, relaxes on the front porch of a refurbished barn that is made from historic
wood, and reflects on her memories of being named the first Hopkins County Dairy Festival Queen
in 1959, which began a tradition of almost one-half a century.

 

"It's relaxing to sit out on the porch of a morning, on property that my
parents and grandparents had a dairy farm, and drink my coffee and
reflect on my rich dairy heritage in Hopkins County. It's like connecting
with them and the rich legacy they've left me with!"

~ Sunell Rogers Comfort, 1959 Dairy Festival Queen ~

 

 

Sunell Rogers was crowned the first Hopkins County Dairy Festival Queen, on May 8, 1959.

"It was a yellow dress with a beaded queen's stole....a lovely moment!"

~ Queen Sunell's reflection on winning the crown!"

 

First Dairy Festival Queen Reflects
On How It All Got Started

by: Sunell Rogers

 

"I guess I'm the logical place to start, when one looks for the beginnings of the Hopkins County Dairy Festival, as I was the first Dairy Festival Queen, back in 1959," expressed a lively and gregarious, Sunell Rogers Comfort, from the garden of her home on College Street. "I just wish my mom, Lena Mae Rogers, could be here to help me out, as she was one of three people who helped start the Dairy Festival!"

"They thought Hopkins County needed a way to honor the county's dairy farm families and celebrate the prosperity that we enjoyed here in this area, in the late 1950's," remembers Sunell. "Folks in Hopkins County were beginning to get 'fat and happy' because of the milk business, by then!"

"Back in the 'olden days,' it was much more of a county wide celebration, than it is today, because the dairy business was truly the industry that drove Hopkins County," expressed Sunell. "Almost every other family milked cows and we would brag that Hopkins County was the top milk producing county in the state. There were more registered Jersey cows and Grade-A dairies here than in any other county and we ranked first in the South for registered Jeseys. Hopkins County had the largest evaporated milk plant in the South, North Texas Producers Association, and an active milk hauling, dairy supply, and feed industry, that employed almost everyone in the county!"

 

"I can truly say that I just wish my mother, Lena Mae Rogers, had lived to
observe the 50th Anniversary, as she was one of the orginators of the Dairy
Festival. But, I know she will be here in spirit to shine down on the festivities!"

 

"The way I remember the first Dairy Festival Queen Contest, is there were eighteen girls competing that first year," expresses the First Queen. "Each of us were sponsored by a local social or civic club in town. Of course, there were many more clubs in town, in 1959, because most women didn't work and participation in clubs was much more common!"

"To participate you weren't required to be a junior in high school, for the first contest. You just had to be attending high school and 9th grade wasn't a part of high school, back in 1959," remembers Sunell. "One contestant was to be crowned queen and the other members of her court were called 'ladies in waiting,' for the pageant. Eight neighboring towns sent representatives to the pageant, and I can remember girls here from McKinney, Pittsburg, and Mineola. After I was chosen queen, I can remember representing Hopkins County in each of those town's festivals, especially going to the Miss Peach Festival in Pittsburg!"

"Judging was quite different in the first pageants, also," reflects Sunell. "We attended an afternoon tea and the judges observed the way we conducted ourselves and how personable and conversational each girl was. I imagine that looks had some influence, but the main factor in who won was the girl who sold the most tickets to the pageant. It was that aspect of the contest that I still remember the most!"

 

"I'm truly honored to participate in such a rich tradition as the Dairy Festival's
50th Anniversary, and look forward to honoring our town's great citizenry, once
again, as the tradition continues!"

 

"I remember working so hard to sell tickets and sitting down with my parents and studying a map of Hopkins County, and then going down every road, door to door, selling tickets for one-dollar each," bemused our first Dairy Festival Queen. "I can't remember how many tickets that I sold, but I do remember my grandmother buying ten tickets and that being the most that any one person bought. However, the ticket selling aspect of the contest taught me skills that I have used many times since then and resulted in me feeling like I knew everyone in Hopkins County! It was a valuable life lesson that I garnered from the contest!"

"We didn't ride on floats in the first parade, either," recalls Sunell. "Each of us borrowed someone's convertible, so that we could sit on the back seat and wave to the crowd, as we made our way through the parade route. Convertible cars were popular then, so you tried to find someone that had a car the color to match your dress! And, I can remember most of us were 'sun-burned" for the pageant that night, as we had rode in the parade earlier in the morning!"

"The high school gymnasium was transformed into a colonial garden for the pageant and we were all dressed as Southern belles," remembers Sunell. "Our waists were 'girded-up' so tight in what we called "waist cinchers," that we couldn't take a comfortable breath, until the contest was over. We were dragging around yards and yards of tule and satin, but my parents owned an evening gown manufacturing business, so business was good, that year!"

"Little girls, who hoped to some day become queen, served as flower girls and scattered petals, as they walked about the colonial setting," remarked Sunell. "And, there were little boys, in white coats, that brought the scepter and crown to me, when I was named the winner! I don't remember who any of those children were, but I'm quite sure some of them still live in Hopkins County! Some community leader crowned me queen, as they sang 'Miss America,' and I was the first queen."

"The crown was another piece of history," expresses Sunell. "We didn't have glue guns back then, and each of the jewels, collected from numerous homes throughout the city, were sewn onto a large base, to make the first crown!"

"Small town traditions can sometimes be viewed as trival or obsolete, but the precedent that was set in 1959, with the forming of the Hopkins County Dairy Festival, has blessed many young women, by making us feel special and confident," relates Sunell, when asked about the benefits of serving as Dairy Festival Queen. "My experience led me to being in the semi-finals of the University of Texas Beauty Pageant and the Miss Texas Pageant. I've been asked to judge numerous events and to this day, can still spot a young woman who carries herself with confidence and exhibits a personality that can be mentored into a stage presence. Some lessons in life, just never leave you!"

"I can still say that I'm most proud to have served as the first Hopkins County Dairy Festival Queen and represent my hometown," declares Sunell Rogers Comfort. "I'm looking forward to the fiftieth anniversary observance and will be most honored to participate in all of the many events,  that commemorate this historic event. How many communities can say that such a tradition has carried forward and continues to be a major influence in their town, after fifty years? Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County is truly a unique place!"

Contestants in the First Annual Hopkins County Dairy Festival Pageant included: Charlotte Binkley, Barbara Bell, Annada Elliott, Edith Jane Estes, Phyllis Faulk, Nan Irvin, Linda Kellum, Erlene Kennimer, Sarah Lilly, Pat Marts, Linda O'Dell, Mary Ann Phillips, Harriet Reed, Sunell Rogers, Sharon St. Clair, and Judy Thornton.

Flower girls were Janetta Branscome and Emily Murray. Dub Cannon and Joe Arnold served as crown bearer and scepter bearer, and Jeff Massey, Larry "Buck" Booker, Jr., Frank Wright, and Hal Morris served as train bearers. Gene Chamberlain and Cynthia Johnson were the placard bearers.

 

 

A true Hopkins County Dairy Festival Queen always promotes real dairy
products and Sunell encourages everyone to use fresh cream in their coffee.

 

Sunell Rogers was from a pioneer dairy farm family. Here, her grandfather, Lester Waits delivers milk
door to door in Sulphur Springs, with his horses and milk wagon.

 

Downtown Sulphur Springs looked quite different in 1959, when Sunell Rogers was named
Hopkins County Dairy Festival Queen.

And, dairy farming in Hopkins County has seen many changes in the past 50 years.