‘Going To Be Odd Being A Nobody’ srwar
MEYERSDALE (Somerset
Co.) “It is going to be odd
being a nobody again,” said
Somerset County Dairy Princess
Missy Powell, who on June 26 in
Berlin will crown a successor to
the title and relinquish the
responsibilities it reflects.
“It will be odd not to pass out
ribbons (at dairy shows),” she
added, looking ahead to summer
activities.
“I hate to see it end. I’ll miss
the people, but not the running,”
she reported, relating how gen
uinely she has enjoyed the dairy
princess role.
“It is something every little
girl dreams of being and I actu
ally am one.”
Surprising revelations came
out of the promotional experi
ences required by the princess.
For one, she fell under the spell
of radio. Now, the young woman
who is entering her senior year
of high school at Salisbury-Elk
Lick next fall, is wondering if
radio can fit into her future.
All this time her plans have
leaned toward the physical ther
apy field. Although she still
means to pursue the profession,
she also hopes to retain a place
in her life for the broadcast
media,
Television is another matter
for the camera-shy teen.
“The most nerve-wracking
experience I had was last Friday
when WJAC, Channel 6 called
and asked for an interview,” she
said. “I’m really camera-shy.”
Dairy Month puts Missy into
the fast lane as far as appear
ances and duties. These are
averaging more than one a day.
Small wonder that she speaks of
a welcomed break from gala
vanting all over the scenic coun
try.
Missy says she chose, when
visiting schools, to talk to all
classes rather than just one. She
could cover a wide area of dairy
material using the Super Moo
dummy from her skit. It got a lot
of wear she said.
Kids were fascinated with the
cow, a role assumed by her moth
er, Kim Powell, who donned the
black and white suit to assist
the eldest of four children.
With Charles Powell, the par-
ents’ other children are Ben, 15;
Nikki, 14; and Christopher, 11.
There also were some firsts
for a county dairy princess when
Missy talked to homeschool
groups. There was a Bible School
as well.
Senior citizen groups invited
her company and she made
numerous trips to Women,
Infants and Children (W.1.C.).
Missy says her greatest
struggle with self-confidence
usually occurred when she knew
her audience or addressed farm
groups. With farmers, the con
cern was their superior knowl
edge of dairy topics and their
greater experience.
On the other hand, she was
comfortable enough with non
farm groups and made presenta
tions with ease.
Interestingly enough, the
pencils, erasers, and magnets
that are always passed out at
these affairs are every bit as
popular with senior citizens as
they are with elementary kids,
noted Missy.
Her services, when the reign
has concluded, will be needed in
Her year as the Somerset County Dairy Princess has
fattened a scrapbook for Melissa Powell of Meyersdale.
the small dairy operation the
family runs. And the dairy
shows to prepare for are looming
ahead,
As Casselman Valley 4-H
members, Missy and her siblings
are all dairy exhibitors. Missy
plans to show two animals in the
Jersey breed
Ben will show a Holstein and
a Jersey; Nikki, two Jerseys and
a Holstein; Chris, two Holsteins
and a Jersey.
“You gain so much from the
dairy princess experience,”
Missy says, offering advice to
interested young women.
“I will tell them it is a big
commitment but worth it in the
end,” she said. “It is a commit
ment you have to stick to.”
“June is here,” she states with
a bit of melancholy detected in
her voice, “but I’m not ready to
let go, yet. It is like I’m just get
ting warmed up.”
There are other avenues
where Missy would be welcomed
to lend herself to the dairy
industry and to these she may
follow her mom’s example and
volunteer to serve
At some time, she anticipates
an opportunity to judge a state
dairy princess pageant, she
reported.
“The state pageant is really
neat,” she observed.
Missy found the state train
ing was most helpful, as were
the incentives Allied Milk
Producer’s Cooperative, Inc. pro
vided for her achievements.
A dairy princess is not her
own person. Her visibility for
the dairy industry will label her
“special” for years to come.
Never a “nobody,” she will
likely continue to promote dairy
products longer after her crown
has become little more than
memorabilia.
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