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2007 Showboat Queen Alycia Vondrasek gave a speech impersonating 1957 Queen Handy on the night of her crowning-and almost six months later hugged the Queen in last Sunday's sweltering heat.

Marilene Beardslee (formerly Handy) rode atop an antique convertible in Sunday's parade in celebration of 50 years of Showboat queens. And, she says "Times are different."

Showboat has been loyal to its slogan: "Old Boat, New Attitude." The event Beardslee reigned over boasted artists such as Peg Leg Bates, a dancing comedian; the Five Julindas, a family trampoline act, and Jac, Jo & Joni, a group that appeared on Ed Sullivan's TV Show-compared to this year's selection of hit-makers old and new including The Beach Boys, Hinder, The Oak Ridge Boys and Michael W. Smith.

"That's what I remember-the color and vibrant stands of people excited and that sort of thing. It was festival time," Beardslee said.

Fifty years ago, Showboat tickets ranged from one to two dollars apiece, a record of 3,000 attended opening night, and the net profits were estimated around $19,000. That year, strong currents from a rain storm almost pulled the Shiawassee River Queen sideways in its trip to the stage.

"Things have definitely changed theses past few years even," Vondrasek said. "Now we have the concert in the park and carnival."

Beardslee spent 1957 Showboat Week riding aboard the prominent boat and attending club lunches.

While Vondrasek was crowned in theChesaning Middle School Auditorium, Beardslee competed in the Peet Center filled with around three hundred people in July and received her homemade crown during the festival over two weeks later. You couldn't just buy a crown, Beardslee recalled. Mrs. Robert Swiss (a singer from the 1937 original showboat) made her crown with adhesive tape and rhinestones.

The pageant boasted a ten-foot runway for the contestants to walk out into the audience, where at least five judges, whose identity was unknown to both contestants and audience, considered the contestants' personality and poise. The 2007 pageant included a group dance and local celebrity judges. Vondrasek was awarded a scholarship; Beardslee was awarded a $100 check and a pair of tickets to the Michigan vs. Michigan State game.

The two queens both said they enjoyed the parade despite Sunday's heat. "[The parade] has been a fun deal. I didn't realize how there was this many queens that would be coming together," Beardslee said. Vondrasek and Beardslee attended the Queen's Brunch Sunday morning with the other parade royals.

"[Because of the pageant] A lot of us became friends that probably wouldn't have if we had not done the pageant together," said Vondrasek. "It was a blast... I've met a lot of new people. I never would have met [Marilene] if I hadn't done this."

Beardslee was the first to turn in an application for the first Chesaning Showboat Queen Pageant, and according to a 1957 issue of the Chesaning Argus, "If future candidates measure up to Miss Handy, our contest will be something to write home about." Fifty years later, she had her first Showboat Parade, as the tradition did not begin until after her reign.

Beardslee, at the time of her crowning, was a 21-year-old nurse from Saginaw who also held the title Miss Saginaw for the Michigan section of Miss Universe. Now, she continues to work as a certified registered nurse anesthetist and plans to keep doing so. In 1961, she married Kenneth Beardslee-who was a scout for the Pittsburg Pilots and a writer. Together they had two sons-one now has a PhD in Psychology, the other owns several prominent restaurants. Kenneth passed away in March of this year.

The pageant, she said, not only gave her memories, but confidence. "I was a real timid girl," she said, "[The pageant experience] allowed me to be able to step out in front of people."

Vondrasek will attend Lansing Community College in the fall to take her basic courses, then plans to transfer her sophomore year to Central Michigan University or Emerson in Boston to Major in English/Writing and minor in Drama/Photography. She is considering entering the Sugar Queen Pageant next year.

This was the first year the pageant included a speech about a previous queen, as a celebration of the pageants 50th anniversary. Each contestant drew a year out of a hat and gave a speech as the queen while donning a sash naming the year and a tiara. "The symmetry in all of this is just astounding," Beardslee said.

The meeting of the two queens was not planned by the pageant committee-rather Beardslee, curious about the festival, called a Showboat representative and her parade ride on the antique convertible was organized.