Reporter: William Henderson
On Friday, December 19th, current Rose Princess Keiko Rakin visited the Alhambra Historical Society’s Story House to meet Barbara Beckley, a former Rose Princess and Alhambra High School alumna. Despite the 59-year gap between their election to the court, Rakin and Beckley bonded quickly by sharing their incredible experiences of representing their hometown.
“It’s amazing, I didn’t know that there was anyone previously from Alhambra because it just wasn’t in the geographic location for so long… I was so happy to come out and meet someone from Alhambra,” shared Rakin. “We go to a lot of different events in different areas, and princesses on the court will see people who are from their school, and they could talk and have somebody to look up to and converse, but I never had that because there wasn’t somebody from Alhambra in such a long time. It was really nice to see someone who represents the community so well.”
It was just last year that the Rose Court eligibility opened, allowing students from Alhambra High School to apply. While Beckley was an Alhambra resident and attended Alhambra High School, she was allowed to apply to the court only after she began attending Pasadena City College. The geographic eligibility is not the only change since 1967, as Beckley shared. “When I was on the court, around 750 women applied, and because the internet wasn’t around, you got your letter in the mail. Even now, I get goosebumps now and then remembering how I felt waiting for my parents to get the letter.”
The Alhambra Historical Society organized the meeting through the efforts of Vice President Chris Olson and President Michael McCollum. Olson shared, “The older I get, the more I recognize that there are parts of history that are not fully told. This was an opportunity to talk about all of the princesses from Alhambra.”
