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Neighborhood report

Strawberry Queen savors the moment

A Plant City teenager says it's always been a dream to represent the industry and her city.

By JESSICA KLIPA
Published March 3, 2006

Now that she has become the 2006 Strawberry Festival Queen, Hannah Hodge wants to look her best - even when she's prettying up her pig, Shamess. Adorned in her Strawberry Queen sash, a black cap and strawberry charm bracelet, Hodge groomed her pig Saturday before she sat down to speak with the St. Petersburg Times.

Hodge said Shamess is just like a dog, waiting for her when she returns home. The pig wiggles her tail, rolls in the dirt and even bites Hodge's ankles.

At the Florida Strawberry Festival this month, Hodge plans to show and sell her Hampshire pig at an auction.

The daughter of Mallory and Bridget Hodge, the Durant High School senior lives on a small farm near her grandparents and her aunt and uncle. We spoke with her about her dreams, her pig and her experience with Bell's palsy, a condition that temporarily paralyzed her face.

TIMES: What's your favorite subject?

HANNAH: TV Productions. I've always had a dream of being a sports broadcaster. At Durant High School, we have a morning show and it's called D/News. It's kind of like ABC or FOX of my high school. I've been doing that since my freshman year, and it's fun to be the anchor on D/News.

What have you learned?

It's really prepared me to be Strawberry Queen because it has helped me be comfortable answering questions like this and just sitting in front of a camera. The first week after I was crowned, I had to do an interview at ABC. And Miss Sandee (a pageant coordinator), who I went with, was like, "Are you nervous?" And I was like, "No, because of TV Productions."

Why did you choose to be in FFA? To show my pigs - and I've even shown steers - you have to be in either 4-H or FFA. A lot of people, when they look at me, are like, "You're in FFA?" And I'm like, "Yeah. I love going out and playing with the animals and learning about them." I just think it's fun.

Was entering a beauty pageant something you've always dreamed of doing?

Well, yes. My parents actually got me involved. The pageants go from Little Miss Plant City to Junior Royalty to Strawberry Queen. So I did all of those different pageants here in Plant City. I was always a really good sport about it.

If I didn't get in the top five or queen, my mom was always amazed because I was like, "Oh, well." I get to get a pretty dress and dress up. I was 7 and didn't even care.

Then I went for Calendar Girl last year, and I got Miss August. This year at my school, I got Cover Girl. Becoming Strawberry Queen has always been a dream.

I've spent so much time at the festival showing my animals. I've seen the queens at the festival doing everything like going to the strawberry shortcake-eating contest, introducing all the artists and polka dancing. So when I was crowned queen, it was really an honor.

How old were you when you entered the contest for Strawberry Queen?

I was 16. That's the first year you can do it. A month before, I was diagnosed with Bell's palsy, a condition that paralyzed the left side of my face. So I decided . . . to withdraw because I really didn't want to go onstage with half of my face not looking anything like the picture in the program. And I just knew that it would be really traumatizing because I couldn't blink, I couldn't smile, I couldn't do anything. Then I started getting better through shock therapy and going to the chiropractor, massages and working my nerves. I knew that by this year I'd be ready. Winning was even better because I knew that I really worked hard.

When you first realized you had Bell's palsy, what was your reaction?

Honestly, now that I look back I didn't even get scared. The first thing they told me is that most people get (their normal facial expressions) back within two weeks or a month. So I didn't really see it threatening my chances to become Strawberry Festival Queen.

I got it on the last exam day before Christmas break, so I didn't have to go to school for three weeks. Then, for about three months, it just got worse. I never let it get me down. I never missed a day of school, but I think it's because I had such a good family and friends.

They helped me to know I was going to be okay. My boyfriend, for example. People would ask me, "He didn't break up with you?" And I was like, "No, it's not all about that."

I think I cried once, and it was when I decided that I had been preparing so long to become the Strawberry Festival Queen and I wasn't even going to be able to compete in the pageant. Now that I look back, I feel like a stronger girl.

For the next year, you will be representing the strawberry industry and Plant City. What responsibilities will you have?

I can't go out not matching, my hair looking horrible. I have to look like I'm representing Plant City at all times, knowing that there is a spotlight on me.

At the festival, I'm going to have the responsibility of introducing every artist that comes. There's going to be a lot of people at those shows.

What are you looking forward to the most?

Since this is my last pig, I'm really looking forward to showing and selling her. I've shown since I was 8. Knowing that is the last one I'm going to get the opportunity to show in the arena - and I'm going to do it as queen - is really a dream come true.

Why is showing your pig, Shamess, your favorite thing to do?

This year, I just knew that if being named queen didn't work out, I was going to be at the festival with my pig. I'm not going to get to do this ever again.

There's been a few queens in the past that have shown steers, but I don't think there is ever been one that has shown a pig.

Will it be hard to part with Shamess?

No, because of how many pigs I've shown in the past. By selling her, I'll get a good reward by helping my parents pay for college. I know that the time I had her, she lived a better life than she could have had on a pig farm.

[Last modified March 2, 2006, 13:55:05]