Princess American Style

 

by Dorrie, May 9, 1963 (age 13 years)

 

 

Have you ever tried to be a princess? I have.

 

Every year around Christmas time on the "Queen for a Day" television show, there would be a "Princess for a Day" show instead. It was in 1959, when I was 9 years old, that I got my chance.

My cousins were staying with us for Christmas. We had a couple of tickets for the show so my mother, aunt, and uncle took my best friend, who's name was Sandy Piercy, and myself to Hollywood, Calif., which was only 120 miles from my home.

 

Sandra Pierce

 

It was pouring cats and dogs outside and we almost didn't get to go. Just the same, my friend and I watch the rain through the car window and sang songs like "Under a Waterfall" and "Somewhere over the Rainbow". Sometimes it rained so hard that we couldn't see out the windows.

 

When we reached Hollywood, the rain turned into a slight drizzle. We found a parking place near the "Moulin Rouge" where the show would be presented. We showed our tickets at the door and the man there tore off the part of the ticket that had my wish on it, for it was the wish that determined who would be the princess. It was crowded inside, but we were lucky enough to find seats in the front.

 

There wasn't a person in the whole place who could wait for the show to begin.

 

About 15 minutes before the show was to begin, a woman came out and told us about how the 5 girls for the show would be picked. First, she would read the numbers of 20 girls. Those girls were brought on the stage and had to fill out these papers. From those 20 girls, the final 5 were picked. My luck didn't hold out. I missed being one of the 20 by only 1 number!

 

When the show started, one at a time the girls went into a little room and told the star of the show, Jack Bailey, what her wish was. One girl wished for food and clothing for some neighbors who were poor, another wished for a seeing eye dog for her blind mother. I can't remember what the other three girls wished for.

 

When each of the girls had told her wish, it was time to determine the winner. Each girl's name was called and the one who got the loudest applause from the audience was the princess.

 

The girl who wished for a seeing eye dog for her mother won. She was brought to the front of the stage and a beautiful crown was placed on her head. She was than seated on a throne and given a bouquet of roses. They then told her what her prizes were. She won a playhouse, a giant doll, and many other gifts. Besides the seeing eye dog for her mother, she also received a little puppy of her own. Then Jack Bailey announced that each of the five girls would get her wish!

 

How I wish I had been chosen!

 

Note from 2005:

Can you believe I still have the ticket from the show? Well, here it is (front and back):

 

 

 

I can't remember now what my wish was... I think it had something to do with my brother's asthma. I still remember being in the very front row, elbows resting on the stage. Unfortunately we didn't have video recording of the show back then. I wonder what ever happened to Jack Bailey?