The berry queen, the trophy and the garbage man

Jim Green’s Uncle Arnold put into practice the notion that one person’s trash is another’s treasure.

Arnold Green, who died in 1989, had worked for Rubatino Refuse Removal Inc., Everett’s garbage collection business. Through the years, his nephew said, the older man had “brought home from off the truck” all sorts of things others discarded.

“My uncle was always on the lookout for something. He was a product of the Depression,” said Jim Green, who lives in Snohomish.

Late last year, after his aunt had moved to a nursing home, Green was going through his late uncle’s garage. There, he found something he knew had been treasured by someone.

“We found the trophy for the 1961 Strawberry Festival Queen,” Green told me by e-mail. “Her name is Kathy Harper, and I was wondering if you might put a blurb in your column in hopes of reuniting the loving cup trophy with its owner.”

With help from Marysville Strawberry Festival volunteers and from Dexter Holmes, a 1961 Marysville High School graduate, I was able to do more. Festival folks, busy with this weekend’s parade, had no contact information for Kathy Harper. They suggested I ask Holmes, who organizes class reunions.

Holmes did a day’s detective work to find a phone number for the former queen. Listed among past royalty as Kathy Harper Graves on the festival Web site, she’d been married again and had moved away.

Friday, I drove to Arlington to deliver the engraved, silvery cup to Brenda Beeman, the daughter of Kathy Harper Garretson. Queen Kathy was a 16-year-old junior at Marysville High the year she wore the crown. Beeman was to give the cup to her mom this weekend.

Reached at her home at Birch Bay, near Blaine, Garretson was amazed by the tale of Green’s discovery. “That’s pretty cool,” the 63-year-old said.

Thinking back, Garretson suspects she’s the culprit in the disappearance. After graduation in 1962, her parents moved to Everett. She lived with them for a time before marrying and moving to Seattle.

“I probably got rid of it in my early 20s,” she said. “I also had a little tiara,” she said. The tiara is still missing.

“I don’t think you value those kinds of things when they happen,” Garretson said. “As you age, you think back. That was one of the highlights of my life.”

Today’s Strawberry Festival court is selected through an application process, and a pageant that includes talent and public speaking competitions.

“Back then, it didn’t have anything to do with beauty or talent. I wasn’t ugly, but I wasn’t a beauty – of course my mother thought I was,” Garretson said. “The winner was the one who sold the most raffle tickets for a trip to Hawaii. I think I ended up selling 992 tickets.

“My dad wanted me to do it. He said I could have a new wardrobe. I was so shy,” she said.

The day of the parade, the court was to ride on the Strawberry Festival float. “It was beautiful. It had seahorses and all the princesses sat at my feet. I was in a big clamshell,” she said.

Lovely to look at, the float was cursed with mechanical problems. The Strawberry Festival girls rode the parade route on an Everett float.

Her reign took her to Seattle, where the court delivered berries to the big-city mayor. They also went to the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, B.C. “They flew us by jet up there. We got to spend the weekend in a nice hotel,” Garretson said.

Marysville has changed so much, it’s only in memories that kids walk a bit north of town to pick berries. “I picked berries every year to earn my school clothes,” Garretson said.

She can add to her memories and keepsakes a cup meant only for her – Kathy Harper, Marysville Strawberry Festival queen, 1961.

“When I saw it, I knew it needed to be reunited with this person,” Jim Green said.

Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

Everett
Judge sentences man, 73, for intending to have sex with ‘teen’ in Everett

The Arizona man sent explicit images to an agent posing as a 13-year-old. Investigators found images of child sexual abuse on his phone.

State’s draft of climate action plan open for public comment

Residents can submit public comments or climate-related stories online through Aug. 22.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

The Edmonds School Board discusses budget cuts during a school board meeting on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds school board approves 2025-26 budget

After facing an estimated $8.5 million shortfall earlier in the year, the board passed a balanced budget Tuesday.

A wall diagram shows the “journey of the ballot” at the new Elections Center on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County Auditor: No need for feds to meddle with state or local elections

Garth Fell’s comments were in response to a report of Justice Department mulling criminal charges against election officials.

Edmonds Police Chief Loi Dawkins speaks after the city council approved her appointment on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds City Council confirms new police chief

Assistant Chief Loi Dawkins will begin in the role Aug. 1. She has more than 23 years of law enforcement experience, including three years in Edmonds.

The Edmonds City Council discuss the levy during a city council meeting on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds votes to place levy lid lift on the ballot

By a vote of 5-2, the council decided to put the $14.5 million property tax levy lid lift to voters in November.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.