In 1898, Dr. David Fairchild became the first chief of the Sections of Plant and Seed Introduction for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He invented the system of indexing plants still used today. He tried to grow Japanese flowering cherry trees on his own land in Maryland and they flowered. He spoke on the topic of beautificatiion of Washington, DC with cherry trees and inspired Eliza Scidmore of the National Geographic Magazine to lobby for trees for Washington.
Eliza Scidmore worried over the poor appearance of the marshy swamp at the foot of 17th Street, NW. There was then no stone wall for a Tidal Basin. She lobbied for the planting of flowering Japanese cherry trees in Washington since early in the century. She was an editor and writer for National Geographic Magazine.
Dr. Jokichi Takamine, the famous Japanese chemist who discovered adrenaline, contributed his own money to help purchase flowering cherry trees as a gift for the city of Washington, DC.
On November 9th, 2003, former NCSS President Paul Sweet and his wife Jodi Sweet traveled to Ise City, Japan. At the invitation of the Japanese Cherry Blossom Association, they participated in the dedication of a memorial to Ozaki Yukio Gakuda. Mayor Ozaki, originally from Ise, served simultaneously as Mayor of Tokyo and as a representative to the Diet from Mie Prefecture. When he was mayor of Tokyo in 1912, he was responsible for the gift of the first Cherry Trees to Washington, DC. In the past several years the United States Cherry Blossom Queen has been the guest of the Ozaki Foundation in Mie Prefecture.
Mayor Ozaki and Mrs. Ozaki of Tokyo are pictured about 1912. Mayor Ozaki was instrumental in organizing the gift of 3,000 flowering cherry trees to the city of Washington in 1912.
On April 8, 2007, the 95-year old daughter of Mayor and Mrs. Ozaki, Mrs. Yukika Sohma, spoke to an audience of 600 guests of NCSS and the National Park Service at the annual Lantern Ceremony on the Tidal Basin.
Mayor Ozaki served 63 years in the Diet including during World War II. He was briefly put in prison for his opposition to the war policies of Prime Minister Tojo. Both before and after the war he was known as an advocate of peace and a friend of the United States. One of his granddaughters lives in the United States and another is director of the Ozaki Memorial Foundation.
This article is from The Washington Post on March 28, 1912, the day after Mrs. Taft planted the first tree.
Dr. David Fairchild, the botanist for the Agriculture Department who grew trees on his own property in Maryland, and Mrs. Taft, both envisioned a grove of cherry trees along The Speedway. The Speedway was a road called that because horses could pull carriages at a fast trot and could "speed" along an area now roughly equivalent to Independence Avenue from 17th Street, SW to the area of what is now The Lincoln Memorial. But in 1912, there was no Kutz Bridge over the Tidal Basin and there was no finished Tidal Basin stone wall. There was a watery lowland that attracted insects. Now the stone wall of the Tidal Basin is just about 40 feet south from the first tree planted by Mrs. Taft.
There was no large ceremony the day Mrs. Taft planted the first tree. According to this article, the planting was "unofficial" and only Mrs. Taft, the Japanese Ambassador and his wife--Count and Viscountess Chinda, Col. Cosby, and Eliza Scidmore were the five notables present.
Mrs. William Howard Taft planted the first flowering cherry tree along the carriage speedway at the end of 17th Street on March 27, 1912. It was still bearing blossoms in April 2007. A second tree was planted by Vicountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador to the United States. The planting was about three weeks before the White Star Liner Titanic sank on its maiden voyage from England to New York. Later that year, Arizona and New Mexico entered the Union to put 48 stars on the flag.
Col. Spencer Cosby was supervisor of the planting of 3,000 cherry trees in 1912.
The first four Cherry Blossom Queens were selected by the Cherry Blossom Festival Committee of the Washington Board of Trade for the years 1939, 1940, 1941, and 1947. NCSS started selecting Queens with a random spin of The Wheel of Fortune in 1948. There was no Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC for the years 1942-1945 due to war with Japan.
The pre-war festival did not resume until April 1947. During World War II, the style editors of Washington newspapers did not refer to the "Japanese" Cherry Blossom Trees. Instead, reporters had to use the term "Oriental" Cherry Blossom Trees until the end of the war in August 1945.
The picture above was taken in May 2006 of the noted sculptor and artist JIMILU Mason. In 1948, she was the first cherry blossom princess to represent the Illinois State Society of Washington, DC in the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Her father L.B. Mason was a Chicago attorney who served as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission under President Harry Truman. Jimilu and her parents were members of the Illinois State Society. Two of Jimilu's sculptures are on display at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Sixteen-year old Doris Sheldon of Delaware points to the Wheel of Fortune after she has been selected as the Cherry Blossom Queen for 1948 during the second festival after the end of World War II. The age for princesses included high school students in the late 1940s but quickly shifted to college age in 1949.
In the late 1940s, festivals were only three days and organized quickly to try to be timed when the blossoms were in bloom. The 2008 festival is two weeks long.
Fashions have changed a great deal over the sixty years of the princess program from 1948 to 2008. Shown here is the 1949 Nebraska Cherry Blossom Princess, Vanita Brown.
Festival Chairman Edward Carr invited President and Mrs. Truman to attend the 1949 Cherry Blossom Ball at the Mayflower Hotel and they attended briefly. In 1950, the President gave a speech at the opening ceremony on the Tidal Basin on April 1. Re-establishment of peaceful relations with Japan and bringing democracy to that former enemy nation were important policy items for Mr. Truman. On April 3, 1952, President Truman signed Public Law 82-293 giving a congressional charter to NCSS.
Joan Russell of Hamden, Connecticut had to wait another day for better weather to be crowned by the Secretary of the Navy Frances P. Matthews.
A Cherry Blossom Queen as yet unidentified from the early to middle 1950s joins the D.C. Princess to host a reception at the historic Mayflower Hotel. If you can identify the people in this photo please send an email to photo editor Mark.Rhoads@statesocieties.com.
This photo is possibly from the early 1950s and possibly taken at the old Almas Temple in the 1300 bock of K Street, NW. In some early years, a presentation ball was held to select a Queen and a banquet was held later in the week. Unlike today where a two-week festival is scheduled years in advance, Washingtonians in the 1940s and 1950s held a two-day festival at the Jefferson Memorial and other National Park Service grounds for only two days including a night parade with lighted floats and open stores on K Street in the shopping district. The festival was hastily called together when the Park Service said the blossoms were ready to bloom.
Maldi Tarris represented the Wyoming State Society in the 1951 Cherry Blossom Festival. She is shown here in this photo from The Washington Evening Star pointing the the spot on The NCSS Wheel of Fortune with the word "Wyoming" on the card. At that minute, Maldi became the U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen. The Wheel of Fortune method has been used since Doris Sheldon of Delaware was chosen as the Queen in 1948.
(Photo courtesy of DC Public Library collection)
Virginia Bender, daughter of Congressman and later Senator George Bender of Ohio, was escorted to the 1951 Cherry Blossom Ball by Marine Corps 2nd Lt. D. Joe Bartlett. The couple married and were active members of the Ohio State Society of Washington, DC for many years. Between 1941 and 1979, Joe worked as a page, a page supervisor, a reading clerk, and clerk to the minority in the U.S. House of Representatives and advanced in rank to Brig. General in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Two of the Barlett daughters would later become the Ohio Princesses for 1973 and 1977.
1951 Ohio Princess Virginia Bender at right, now Mrs. Joe Bartlett, is shown in the 1970s with her two daughters at their home in McLean, Virginia. On the left 1973 Ohio Princess Linda Louise Bartlett (Mrs. James L. Hobgood) and in the middle is 1977 Ohio Princess Laura Lee Bartlett (Mrs. R. Wade Perkins). There have been several other examples of mother and daughter princess teams from Kentucky, Oregon, Virginia and other states.
This picture from April 1953 shows the 1952 Cherry Blossom Queen from the previous year, Elizabeth Ann Meyers of Pennsylvania, flanked by Cherry Blossom Princesses from 1953 before the 1953 Grand Ball. From left to right are Janet Bailey of Ohio, Katherine McVey of Illinois, Elmera Elizabeth Smith of Oklahoma, 1952 Queen Elizabeth Ann Meyers, Louise Armstrong of Missouri, Mimi None of New York, and Esther Ann Gorman of Virginia. Just two hours after this photo was taken, the wheel of fortune landed on Ohio to make Janet Bailey, shown at far left, the new Cherry Blossom Queen for 1953.
A Cherry Blossom Queen is selected by the Wheel of Fortune at the historic Mayflower Hotel Ballroom in the early 1950s. The presentation ball did not include a sit-down dinner in those days but a buffet and reception.
First Lady Maimie Eisenhower places a crown on the head of Ohio Princess Janet Bailey as she starts her reign as the 1953 Cherry Blossom Queen. Janet was an 18-year old freshman at the University of Akron majoring on home economics who was an Alpha Gamma Delta pledge. Her escort was U.S. Air Force Capt. Gerald J. Urpschot of Cleveland. The Wheel of Fortune was spun by the new Attorney General of the United States, Herbert Brownell.
The Mayflower Hotel was a favorite venue for princess activities in the 1950s but eventually the size of the presentation ball became too large for that hotel. Here is the 1954 class. Mrs. Pat Nixon came to the Fashion Show Lunch. At the ball, Frances Mae Fischer of Kentucky was made queen after Chief Justice Earl Warren spun the wheel.
Tatsuko Iguchi, daughter of Japan's Ambassador to Ottawa, Canada, came to Washington, DC in March 1954 to light the 300-year old Japanese Stone Lantern on American soil for the first time. The six-ton eight and one-half feet-tall lantern was taken down in Ueno Park in Tokyo where it has stood since 1651 and shipped to America as a gift to the people of Washington, DC.
Mrs. Patricia Nixon, wife of Vice President Richard Nixon, joins Illinois Cherry Blossom Princess Nancy Rainville and New York Princess Ellen Dillon at the 1954 NCSS Fashion Show Luncheon held at the Mayflower Hotel.
Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren spins the Wheel of Fortune and rules that their is no appeal from the decision to make Kentucky Princess Frances Mae Fischer the 1954 U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen.
Maine Cherry Blossom Princess Jeanine Raymond reacts when she learns the Wheel of Fortune has stopped on her state to make her the 1955 Cherry Blossom Queen.
Maine Princess Jeanine Raymond was selected as the 1955 Cherry Blossom Queen after Vice President Richard M. Nixon spins the wheel and it lands on Maine.
Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay crowns the 1956 Cherry Blossom Queen Barbara Lyman of Montana.
Original caption: Thinking she had been selected Cherry Blossom Festival Queen, Mae Allen, Miss New Hampshire, grabs her head in excited surprise. But the huge carnival wheel, with the names of the 48 states and the 3 U.S. territories, had stopped on a blank space next to New Hampshire. After a second spin, Miss Montana was selected. Oh, what a letdown there must have been! April 7, 1956 Washington, DC, USA
At left is Gen. David Sarnoff, Chairman of RCA, and the 1956 Cherry Blossom Queen Barbara Lyman of Montana. Gen. Sarnoff was a radio and TV electronics pioneer. About two weeks after the first cherry trees were planted in Washington in 1912, Sarnoff was a young wireless operator for the Marconi company who was one of those who monitored distress calls from the White Star Liner Titanic. In this 1956 publicity photo at an NBC studio in Washington, Gen Sarnoff gives a sash to Miss Lyman making her an honorary colonel in the Army Reserve of Washington, DC.
Gen. Alfred Grunther, former commander of Supreme Headquaters Allied Powers in Europe (SHAPE) and current president of the American Red Cross presents the ceremonial and priceless Mikimoto Pearl Crown to Jean Marie Lee of Alaska, the 1957 U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen.
In 1956, the Mikimoto Pearl Company of Tokyo created this magnificent ceremonial crown that is only used once each year to crown the U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen at the NCSS Grand Ball in April. Mr. Mikimoto presented the crown to the Washington Board of Trade to be first used fifty years ago during the 1957 National Cherry Blossom Festival.
(Photo courtesy of MIKIMOTO)
The crown has 1,585 pearls personally selected by Mr. Mikimoto and they are set in a frame of 14K gold. The crown has a 6-3/4 inch base that is encircled with a band of ermine. Above the base is a coronet of perfectly matched pearls and delicately crafted gold blossoms, scrolls, and leaves. The most recent appraised value of the crown in 2005 for insurance was $300,000 but in reality the crown is priceless because of its unique design and history.
Due to the weight of the crown, it is not practical for a young woman to actually wear the crown except for the few minutes it takes to crown the Cherry Blossom Queen while pictures are taken. It is then removed and the Cherry Blossom Queen is given a smaller crown, also a gift from Mikimoto, that is hers to keep.
The smaller crown is brought to the U.S. by representatives of the Japan Cherry Blossom Association and the small crown matches the one worn by the Japan Cherry Blossom Queen while the matching sashes are made in the United States.
Washington Post March 10, 1957. First Lady Mrs. Mamie Eisenhower spins the Wheel of Fortune at the 1957 Cherry Blossom Ball and it lands on a territory not yet officially admitted to the Union--Alaska. This was also the first year that the ceremonial Mikimoto Pearl Crown was used to crown a cherry blossom queen. It was valued at $100,000 in 1957. Mrs. Eisenhower and Mrs. Nixon attended several fashion shows sponsored by the Conference of State Societies from 1953 to 1960.
Mrs. Pat Nixon, wife of the Vice President, spins the Wheel of Fortune at the 1958 Grand Ball as Chairman John Logan looks on. The Wheel landed on Maine.
Carolyn Drigotas of Maine was selected as the 1958 Cherry Blossom Queen. Placing the Mikimoto Pearl Crown on her head is film actor William Bendix, star of the TV series, "The Life of Riley."
The Lantern Ceremony on the Tidal Basin is now part of a 53-year tradition. Here the Cherry Blossom Princess for the Embassy of Japan lights the 17th Century Stone Lantern.
Carolyn Marie Harris, 21, was the daughter of Rep. Oren Harris (D-Ark.) and Mrs. Harris. She was a senior at the University of Arkansaa. It took two spins of the wheel of fortune to make her queen. At right is Attorney General William P. Rogers who spun the wheel. On the first spin, Rogers spun too hard and the wheel actually fell over on Carolyn. On the second spin, the wheel landed on Arkansas to make Carolyn the 1959 U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen.
Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Mrs. Kennedy were patrons for the 1959 Cherry Blossom Grand Ball.
Marjorie Holmes was a popular author who was born in Storm Lake, Iowa and graduated from Cornell College in Iowa in 1931. She lived in McLean and Manassas, Virginia for many years and she wrote a column on family life for the Washington Evening Star and another column for Woman's Day magazine.
According to the archives of the Des Moines Register, Holmes wrote hundreds of articles for such magazines as McCall's, Ladies Home Journal, Reader's Digest, Better Homes & Gardens, Today's Health and Daily Guidepost. Holmes' first novel, "World By the Tail," was published in 1943. Her books often were geared to teenagers as well as women confronting modern issues. Today, Holmes is known best for her biblical trilogy that started with the novel "Two From Galilee" (1972), a love story about Mary and Joseph. That was followed by "Three From Galilee: The Young Man from Nazareth" (1985) and "The Messiah" (1987). In 1981, Holmes, who had been widowed after 47 years, married Dr. George Schmieler and moved to Pennsylvania, but returned to the Washington area after his death in 1992. Holmes died March 13, 2002, at a nursing home in Manassas after a series of strokes.
In the 1950s, she wrote many books for teen age girls called "Malt Shop novels." In 1960, Westminster Press published her book "Cherry Blossom Princess" about a young woman from Iowa who breaks up with her boyfriend and gets a boost to her fragile ego when she comes to Washington, DC to represent her state in the National Cherry Blossom Festival. For many years, this book popularized the cherry blossom princess program with many teens. The book was published a second time in 1982. Although the book is rare, it can sometimes be found on Amazon, Ebay, or other book sites.
The woman at left is Broadway and film star Helen Hayes who was known as "the First Lady of the American stage." Helen, a native of Washington, DC, was asked to spin the wheel of fortune and the wheel stopped on New Jersey.
In the middle is the 1960 Cherry Blossom Queen Roberta Bretthaver who was from Princeton, New Jersey and was a nursing student at Catholic University.
On the right is Perle Mesta, the legendary hostess and leader of Washington, DC's top social circles in the post-war era. Perle was Co-Chair of this 1960 ball along with John Logan. Perle was appointed Ambassador to Luxembourg by President Truman. She was also the inspiration for an Irving Berlin musical starring Ehel Merman titled "Call Me Madam." Becuase so many top officials and press attended parties at the home of Perle Mesta, newspapers called her Washington's "hostess with the mostest," a title that was also attributed to her rival hostess Elsa Maxwell in New York and Hollywood.
Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall places the heavy Mikimoto Crown on the head of Elizabeth Howard who represented Kentucky during the festival. Age 19 at the time of her selection, Betsy was a student whose father was a Kentucky native worked for the Treasury Department as director of gold and silver. She raised two sons and today she is Betsy Howard Jefferson and lives in Vienna, West Virginia.
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, at right, spins the Wheel of Fortune at the Cherry Blossom Ball and it lands on Kentucky to make Elizabeth Howard the 1961 U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen. Ball Chairman John Logan is at left as he prepares her new sash.
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was very active in both state societies and the cherry blossom festival. When he was Senate Minority Leader and Majority Leader, he served a two terms as President of the Texas State Society of Washington, DC. 1953-1955. The society was at first known as the Lone Star Society in 1891 and was re-organized by Dr. Oscar Wilkinson and his wife in 1905 as The Texas State Society. The year after this ball, the Vice President's daughter Linda Johnson represented the Texas State Society as the 1962 Texas Cherry Blossom Princess.
Lady Bird Johnson plants a Japanese flowering cherry tree on the Tidal Basin just a few feet from a tree planted in 1912 by Mrs. William Howard Taft. The ceremony was in April 1965.
(Photo courtesy of LBJ Presidential Library)
Vice President Hubert Humphrey shook hands with almost every guest in the rain at the 1965 Lantern Lighting Ceremony.
Linda Gail Quase of Pennsylvania, 1965 U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen, carried a letter from President Lyndon Johnson to the Prime Minister of Japan in one of the early visits to Japan.
This photo was taken on the back stairs of The White House on The South Lawn on April 9, 1970. President and Mrs. Nixon's oldest daughter Tricia posed with 53 Cherry Blossom Princesses representing state and territorial societies. Image courtesy of Bettmann/CORBIS photo library.
1970 Cherry Blossom Queen Sharon Tooley poses with TV child star Johnny Whitaker of the show "A Family Affair."
(Photo courtesy of The Grand Land Singers, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)
