Dorcas Speer Interviews Jim Jorgenson for the Rose Festival Parade (WOI News Clip 382)

Tomorrow the 12th annual Iowa rose festival opens in state center Iowa it does run tomorrow through Sunday and there are some special features this year we are going to have an opportunity to meet the 1970 Rose Festival queen candidates in a minute and the 1969 Queen but before we do that let's hear more about the festival from Jim Jerguson he's the parade co-chairman and I think we want to know a little bit before we even get into this year's activities as to how the festival started the flowers around us the garden Dorcas yes this started about in 1959 this was the brainchild the idea of a Mrs W Norcross from Cedar Falls having visited state center and also being a member of the Iowa Rose Society it was decided and thought to be a good idea that we should have a town in state center named as the rose capital of Iowa and it was through the efforts of mrs. Norcross and the Iowa Rose Society that bestowed that title on state center and so this it started at that time I assume that you are adding roses to it continually and perhaps to other parts of town oh yes and every year we have to replace some of the roses that don't make it through the winter and through the efforts of organizations here in town and individual efforts why I think the whole community takes a pride in our Rose Garden and our roses and and I think this year probably has been hard on them at various times because some of the storms have not been the simplest thing but they have been worked on and well taken care of what else is involved with the in addition to just being able to see the flowers as far as the Rose Festival is concerned well we've got quite a quite a deal plan for us now starting tomorrow Saturday and Sunday tomorrow night we have the a horse show out at the city park we have a team dance and we have a 2-bit review this is the put on by some teenagers from a high school in Cedar Rapids they were here last year and they put on a marvelous show just really great Saturday of course we've got the parade at 10:30 which I am co-chairman of and we're gonna have a real good time we've got some outstanding drum and bugle course coming in from as far as Clinton and later that afternoon they're gonna put on an exhibition at the local high school as to an exhibition drum and bugle corps contest now this is the first time you have had this isn't it yes this is kind of a result of putting together the parade and we find that it's somewhat difficult in the summertime in as much as high school bands are not shall we say functioning in the summertime uniforms are at the cleaners and the band directors on vacation so we find that a parade is outstanding if we can have marching units and so we solicited and we've got these drum and bugle cords that are gonna come in and help us make an outstanding parade along with other local drill teams and local efforts from the community as far as floats and bands and kids and gonna have a good time well now how many units are in that I think about nine aren't there we have approximately eight or nine drum and bugle corps and color guard units that belong to the Iowa uniformed groups Association now hopefully next year we can get perhaps twice as many of these units in here and hold an official sanction Iowa uniform groups drum and bugle corps contest along with our Rose Festival that would be real nice I hope so now going on to Saturday evening and the activities we will have a band concert Saturday evening we have a speaker in the Rose Garden Saturday afternoon after the parade we will have the coronation of the 1970 Rose Queen that Saturday afternoon as I said four o'clock we have the drum and bugle corps exhibition at eight o'clock we will have the Iowa string quartet which will perform at the st. Paul's Lutheran Church here in town this is a group of or gentleman from I believe it's Iowa City and they have been on a world tour and it's something different we hope to offer something to everybody so the Iowa string quartet will be here on Saturday evening and then on Sunday it seems like these tractor pulls are beginning to be real exciting to people so the central Iowa JC's here in town will be putting on the tractor pull at one o'clock on Sunday so there's gonna be a little everything for somebody right and we have just I think slightly going over a part of the things are important because I think there's probably a carnival and if I see that there's a square dance and some of these things and so they'll have to get the program when you come to get the rest right right now I'm wondering if we shouldn't go ahead and beat some of the girls but before we do just in case I don't get back it's very nice of you to invite us over and I hope that the parade goes well thank you very much thank you and the 1969 Rose Queen is Erin Maui and she is from State Center and your reign is almost over yes it will be on Saturday and what have you been doing this last year I've been in four or five parades we had an unsuccessful attempt at one just Friday afternoon an unsuccessful attempt at dr. max and all kinds of things right now where do you go to school I go to Iowa State University names mm-hmm and your parents mr. mrs. Dan Weiss state center and so that actually Saturday afternoon you will be giving over your crown to one of the other girls that we're BT and I'm sure that you have had a good year and will be glad to pass it off I have it's good now these are the five finalists and then no one knows at this particular point which one will be the Rose Queen but our five final start with Janet Jackson yes that's right from Melbourne yeah your parents mr. and mrs. Sam Jackson now what are you going to be doing next year well I hope to find a job makes money any particular field or just secretarial well lots of luck and lots of luck tomorrow thanks right and Lynn Shepherd che fever and you are from State Center and your parents mr. and mrs. Rubin shaper of state so now what are you going to do next year I'm gonna be going to nursing school on Des Moines Methodist I'm a Methodist actually all of you are seniors yes you have to be seniors to be able to enter the contest we don't have to be but they usually are mm-hmm well again I say good luck to all of you then there's a Becky Cooper right and where are you from I'm from Melbourne and your parents mr. mrs. Gary Cooper and what are you going to do next year I'm going to go to Marshalltown Community College it's a small ginger college there and you have any idea what you want to study eventually or not not really maybe some sort of journalism and then you'll see whether you have an active here depending on what happens on a Saturday right and thank you and then it's Patti great yes and now State Center happens to be your home yeah well I live outside of State Center on a small farm and your parent mr. mrs. Roger gray and what are you going to do next year I'm going to go on to Iowa State and major in psychology uh-huh and so do you anticipate working this summer in addition to the hopes of the Queen no I'm just staying at home working for my dad oh just stay home with your dad good and then finally we have Becky Davis right right and you from state dinner and your parents mr. mrs. ed Davis and what are you doing next year I'm gonna go to Iowa State studying what psychology and as far as part of your activities of the summer are you working what are you doing yeah I teach swimming lessons and lifeguard how did you get off but now you're not really and do bad as well as far as that's I hope that or I know that at least one of the five of them will be and they just we just all got because the wind puts the fountain in this direction but that's part of the hazards of it I'm going for Queen there's nothing about their young they can take it it's warm enough I don't think I make any difference now do you have the listing there of actually the drum and bugle cards or should we the other thing is are there any of the roses that you are real aware of as far as the names that people might want to look for a special ones well when it comes to the actual names of the roses in their derivations Dorcas I'll leave that up to some more experts that are a little more qualified than I although we have roses here that are replaced every year and they're donated by nurseries from all over the United States and so we get just a vast variety of roses that many people don't have that can be seen here right and I noticed that many of them have a sign on them of the all-american selection so that if you want to see some of those I'm sure that you can in addition to seeing the Queen's say the drum and bugle corps exhibition on Saturday afternoon and thank you very much Jim Ferguson parade co-chairman for the Rose Festival that will be held in state senator beginning tomorrow afternoon thank you thank you bye Thank You girls you