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Shmw MWlo Group Iff Fair Guido--Pay 55 V c : ; , ; - Y V Continued from page 54 in place of the queen should that become necessary. Among themselves, the girls also choose one of their peers as "Miss Congeniality." The girls first meet at an orientation session held for them, their parents and their sponsors who supply the can­ didate's entry fee for the county contest used to meet pageant expenses. From the fair each year, one girl goes on to county fair state competition the following January in Springfield. Asked why she continues to un­ dertake this tremendous task year after year, Kleckner said, "I enjoy doing it. There's so much excitement and wonderment. It really gets my adrenalin going. "I think the candidates gain self- confidence, and it helps them develop a good competitive spirit," she added. A native of Harvard, Kleckner teaches first grade at Dean Street School in Woodstock. She and her husband, Lyle, superintendent of postal operations at the Harvard Post Office, have two children. Looking back on past pageants, Kleckner recalled the candidate' who nearly walked on stage with knees blackened from kneeling while off stage, the contestant whose straps broke on the back of her formal forcing her to hold the straps in place while on stage and the participant whose dress zipper broke and who was literally sewed into her dress by Ingrid Oost. Kleckner also recalled when Judi Ford was scheduled for final judging for the pageant but was forced to cancel when selected as Miss Illinois, a title which later led her to the Miss America crown. Ford, who had participated in the preliminary county judging, was replaced as a final judge by her mother. Kleckner said the worst experience was when the pageant was rained out at the fairgrounds, necessitating a hasty departure to the Woodstock Opera House. Girls who have held the Miss McHenry County title during Kleckner's tenure include, con­ secutively from 1964: Judy Conley of Crystal Lake, who had uan 18-inch waistline," Cheryl Setser of Woodstock, Noreen Sanders of Richmond, Verita Froula of Crystal Lake, Carol Parrish of Crystal Lake, who had "beautiful long red hair," Debbie Brady of Har­ vard, "who had dimples," Cindy Bird of Crystal Lake, whose family members answered the telephone by saying, "Birdhouse," Jeanne Kristensen of Woodstock, Juanita Leanna of Wood­ stock, Karen Borhart of Huntley, Donna Humann of McHenry, Barbara Tymec of Woodstock, Lauri Fisher of Woodstock, Cherie James of Algonquin, Suzette Rezab of Algonquin, Denise Lindley of Algonquin and the current reigning queen, Jane Titus of Cary. Ten years ago, Jeanne Kristensen Axelson was crowned Miss McHenry County. Today she serves as manager of the Dairy Queen in Woodstock, and she and her husband, Howard, an engineer for the Chicago & North Western Transportation Co., have two children. Axelson, who also reigned as Miss VFW and Miss Woodstock, remem­ bered her pageant days as "a thrill. I think the pageant gave me more self- confidence, and people knew me Continued on page 14 ' •" Atss McHENRY COUNTY AS THE FAIR ITSELF! STOP AND SAVE ON YOUR WAY TO THE FAIR TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONS WOODSTOCK RTE. 47 & COUNTRY CLUB RD. (ACROSS FROM FAIRGROUNDS) . McHENRY 4400 WEST RTE- 120 DAILY 9 to 9 SUNDAY 10 to 6 i i