Rose Festival Court Mentor Program

Over the years, the Crown of Rosaria has graced the heads of more than eighty young women, among them businesswomen, students and even a place-kicker for her school’s football team. In 1924, Edith Daily, a 29-year-old Women’s Club member, was selected by the Rose Festival board to serve as queen, in part to thank the club for its donation of the crown. Edith was the manager of a downtown office building, and her identity was kept secret and only hinted at in photographs where her face was obscured by a veil or behind a hedge, until Coronation day at Laurelhurst Park when she was revealed to the cheers of 35,000 spectators.

In 1931, Rachel Atkinson Hancock officially opened the new St. John’s Bridge by leading a special parade of Rose Festival floats across the beautiful, green structure. Fifty years later Rachel was quoted as saying, “My scrapbook is yellow with age, the ribbon faded, the pressed roses long gone, but each Rose Festival I recall those exciting days when, so many years ago, I shared the special affection and pride the people of Portland extend to each new court.”