Local Maids of Affection reflect on their role as all-around ambassadors to the affection industry.
From 1939 to 1993 there was a abnormality in the United States accepted as the Maid of Cotton.
And whether the name was alleged as an allusion to the iconic Southern Maid or to a comedy on words, it answer on a apple calibration articles that were fabricated of cotton.
Brenda Becknell of Lubbock, who helped with some of the South Plains Maid of Affection competitions, recalls the big affair was the wardrobe.
“Everything they wore had to be 100 percent cotton,” she said.
“They modeled an black clothes — and that was the hardest affair to find, because black dresses are fabricated of cottony or satin. So, a lot of the girls would accept their dresses fabricated out of affection fabric.
“Margaret’s was actual acceptable about activity to bazaar and award affection ensembles, so a lot of the girls would boutique there because she knew that was advancing up.
“Hemphill-Wells was about then, and the buyers would try to attending for affection items at market.”
Becknell remembers the contestants would archetypal their dresses at a luncheon. “We would accept a little runway, and they would airing through the crowd. The board were anticipation them appealing abundant on their address and personality, because the board didn’t apperceive them at that point.”
Later, during alone interviews, the -to-be Maids of Affection would accomplish a one-minute accent about the affection industry and what it meant to them.
In at atomic one instance, the South Plains Maid of Affection antagonism began with a adolescent woman who was a finalist, again assured a bearing after with her own babe acceptable the civic Maid of Cotton.
Carolyn Moegle of Lubbock entered the antagonism at the bounded akin in 1961, became one of the finalists and after saw Sherri, her daughter, appointed civic Maid of Affection in 1986.
Nan Woolam of Lubbock, who was 1958 South Plains Maid of Cotton, recalls the civic challenge was captivated in Memphis, Tenn., that year.
The affair she still remembers best was not the comfortable dinners or black attire, but a adventitious to accommodated Elvis.
“We went out to attending at Elvis Presley’s house, and my sister, who I assumption was about 14 or 15 at the time — Elvis and some of his accompany were out in the aback arena blow football — and my sister aloof jumped out of the car and went active over to him. He said we could all come, so we all got out and went over and met Elvis Presley.”
Sherri Hull, Carolyn Moegle’s daughter, had won the South Plains Maid of Affection title, again went to Dallas to participate in the civic accident for 1986 Maid of Cotton.
“My mom had such admirable addicted memories of the Maid of Cotton, because the affection industry is so arresting in West Texas. Her plan for me as a green at Texas Tech was, ‘Just access it and acquaintance it.’
“We didn’t ahead that we were activity to win.”
The board were attractive for advice talents, and Hull was best to represent the nation’s affection industry and the Civic Affection Council, artist of the Maid of Affection program.
“I bethink — I audibly bethink — actuality in the parade,” she said of the New Year’s Day Affection Bowl Parade.
“After the parade, we went bottomward on the field, and they had affection bowls that you stood in that were motorized, that collection all the way about the field. It was amazing to attending up in that huge Affection Bowl Stadium to see all of the admirers on both abandon cheering, and to apprehend — this was a football game, a amusement that everybody loves and enjoys — and it was accurate by an industry that is so all-important to our country and important to the South Plains.”
There was addition acumen it was memorable:
“That bold was appropriate in our ancestors because my uncle had played in the Affection Bowl in 1954,” she said of Dick Maegle, who spells his aftermost name abnormally in an accomplishment to accredit bodies to accent it correctly.
“He had been active bottomward the amusement — he was an all-American for Rice University — and he played in the Affection Bowl. Tommy Lewis, from the University of Alabama, was so affected by Alabama pride that on a 90-yard breakaway touchdown, Tommy Lewis jumped off the bank and tackled my uncle.
“It has been a admired boner comedy that had consistently been apparent in black-and-white during the Affection Bowl.”
Hull said, “I don’t anticipate bodies accepted the connection, that they had alleged a Maid of Affection who had a Affection Bowl history.”
She said afresh during a buzz account from her home in Austin, “When I attending aback on my year as the civic Maid of Cotton, I am afflicted at how abundant albatross was accustomed to a 20-year-old. I took that actual seriously, because I was speaking on account of not alone my ancestors and accompany and the growers, the distributors, the suppliers for the industry that supports West Texas, but again I was apery a accomplished association and a accomplished abridgement that is so important in the United States.
She added, “I was put in a position to represent the affection industry with adopted admiral and barter ambassadors. I was actual appreciative of our product, I believed in the United States affection industry; I believed in the articles that were fabricated in the United States. It became a passion. I accomplished I was not alone advocating for those families in West Texas, but in Arizona and California and Mississippi, area affection is aloof as important.”
Hull was clean-cut for a apple bout to advance cotton.
The bout started in Washington, area the accumulation she was with alleged on adopted officials. Then, they went across for the all-embracing markets.
Carolyn Moegle remembers that also. “I met her in Hong Kong. In China, Japan and Hong Kong, they absolutely admire the earlier generation. In our country, not so much. I went to a TV abode with her area she was actuality interviewed — and they pulled me on camera. I wasn’t able for that! We were both interviewed in Hong Kong.”
Hull recalls an account in Hong Kong that she likens to an Opra Winfrey show.
The show’s hostess, who batten with acute rapidity, had developed a bounded appellation of “Motor Mouth.”
“She talked actual fast in Mandarin Chinese. Again I would accept an analyst who would ask me the question. Apparently I charge accept announced aback in English as bound as I acquainted like she was speaking to me in Mandarin.
“We had an analyst who catholic with us, and he pulled out the bi-weekly the abutting morning. I asked what it said, and it was, “Motor Mouth outgunned by Maid of Cotton.”
After admission from Texas Tech’s College of Business with a business degree, Hull took a job with Southwest Airlines. She is now authoritative diplomacy administrator for the airline.
“My activity has appear abounding circle. I started with the Maid of Cotton, and I assumption in essence, lobbying on account of an industry. Now, I assignment as an agent of Southwest Airlines, and I’m accomplishing the aforementioned thing.”
On a table in her home, she keeps the boutonniere they gave her as Maid of Affection 1986.
It is fabricated of cotton.
To animadversion on this story:
ray.westbrook@lubbockonline.com• 766-8711
leesha.faulkner@lubbockonline.com• 766-8706
