By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
In December, Wynford Homecoming Queen Hannah Crabtree sought help to attend the Autozone Liberty Bowl to take part in the America’s Homecoming Queen festivities.
Through the generous help of family, friends, and a fundraiser, Crabtree made enough for the trip. Crabtree utilized a gofundme campaign to help pay for the homecoming queen ticket package, and a bath bomb fundraiser through H and K Watkins out of Galion to help with the rest of the trip.
With the funds in place, Crabtree travelled to Memphis, Tennessee a few days ahead of the game to check into the hotel and meet with the other homecoming queens participating in the event.
An early start to the next day for practice at the stadium gave way to a tour and luncheon at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital which was one of Crabtree’s favorite parts of the trip.
“It was my favorite part because it wasn’t like any other hospital where you walk into,” Crabtree said of the tour. “It wasn’t bland, it was so much energy and the kids had so much hope, and they just were so kind, and there were smiles everywhere, so many colors, and it was just really cool to see something like that, because you wouldn’t see that in a regular hospital. It was just amazing.”
After the luncheon at St. Jude’s, Crabtree and the other homecoming queens went back to the hotel to prepare for the parade.
“It was very cool to get to wave at everyone and see the smiles on the girls’ faces, and even the adults I will say. I had a lot of people scream ‘Ohio’ at me,” Crabtree reflected about the parade.
After the parade, Crabtree spent the evening seeing the sights and sounds of Memphis.
“It was so cool, it was just a lot of art, so much art. I saw rock and roll, which I am a big fan of Elvis Presley. It was great,” Crabtree said. “There are a lot of shops with that, with Marilyn Monroe. We went to Beale Street, we went down that, it was so cool. We went down at night and it was all lit up.”
Crabtree also visited the Bass Pro Shop while on her tour of the city.
“What they have there was like nothing you have ever seen before. They have this giant pyramid in the middle of the city for the Bass Pro Shop, and we go in and there is a hotel at the top. So there is like kind of houses hanging from the top of the pyramid, and then when you walk in there are decks where you can see under it and they have big old fish, almost as big as me,” Crabtree described. “I was afraid to fall in. They have alligators there and an aquarium, there was just so much stuff it was amazing.”
With enough experiences to last a lifetime, Crabtree still had the Liberty Bowl itself to take part in. Arriving to the stadium bright and early, Crabtree participated on the field during the pregame ceremonies, as well as during the halftime performance by classic funk/soul band The Commodores. Crabtree spoke about the experience.
“We got escorted onto the field for the pregame by men and women of the National Guard, Marines, and Air Force. We got to meet the real Miss Tennessee, she was very, very kind. We did the half-time show, it was very, very cool,” Crabtree said. “There was a lot of movement and stuff. So I was in heels trying to run across the field, but it was ok, I didn’t trip and that is what counts right?”
In between the pregame and half-time Crabtree took in the game itself between Georgia and TCU
“I loved the game. We had front row seats which was very, very cool,” Crabtree said. “It was very exciting. The girl next to me was from North Carolina, and she was very, very into the game. She was up and rooting during the game and freaking out over it.”
After halftime Crabtree didn’t stick around for the rest of the game, rather, she made her 10-hour trip back to Ohio. Prior to coming back to Ohio, Crabtree spoke to the current Miss Autozone Liberty Bowl to see how she had got into her position.
“She said that the state, which I will get a notification in about two months through the mail, that they will either hold a pageant, or they will just pick from the applications that we sent in for the Autozone Liberty Bowl, to select Miss Ohio Homecoming Queen,” Crabtree said.
“Right now I am just at regions, there are three other girls I will be competing against,” Crabtree continued. “I met them. They are lovely ladies, but the competition is tough, but we will compete for that, and then whoever wins that will go in July back down to Memphis and will do another pageant down there competing for Miss America’s Homecoming Queen, which is a title tied with the Autozone Liberty Bowl.”
Crabtree, thrilled with her experience, advised future homecoming queens to apply for the America’s Homecoming Queen so that they could have a similar adventure.
“Any girl who gets homecoming next year, definitely apply,” Crabtree said. “Because every homecoming from any school gets the letter, and if you get the letter, I recommend definitely, definitely applying to it. Because it is just such an amazing experience.”