THOMASVILLE, Ga. — Thomasville’s annual Rose Festival attracted a surprise special visitor to the community as Jane Jay Still returned home to, in her own quiet way, enjoy the festivities once more.

Still, who grew up on an unpaved Gordon Avenue and reigned over the 1949 Rose Festival as just the second young woman chosen as Rose Queen, spent several days in Thomasville, seeing her hometown as a tourist for the first time.

A resident of Jacksonville, Florida, for most of her adult life, it was her first return to Thomasville in a number of years. Staying at the historic 1884 Paxton House inn, she took a tour of Thomasville given by Mike Bozeman, stopped by to visit the 97th annual Rose Show downtown and visited the Thomasville History Center, where she was able to see the actual copies of the April 25, 1949, edition of the Thomasville Times-Enterprise that announced her selection as Rose Queen.

A tour of Pebble Hill Plantation, serendipitously led by 1971 Rose Queen Cathie Oglesby Campbell, eventually led to the discovery of Still’s own Rose Festival legacy, and word quickly spread around town that she was home.

That subsequently led to applause and a standing ovation when she arrived at Liam’s Restaurant for dinner Thursday night and an invitation to participate in the Thomasville History Center’s Rose Festival history event Friday morning, serving on a panel with 1958 Rose Queen Celia Chesnut Lockerman, longtime festival coordinator Ruth Willett and former festival chairman and pageant coordinator Tom Faircloth to discuss their festival memories and answer questions. Mary Jo Smith Beverly, the 1965 Rose Queen, was also on hand to share her experiences.

Still recalled that, in the early days of the Rose Queens, it wasn’t a pageant or competition that selected the winner, but the senior class at Thomasville High School by means of a popular vote.

Still brought an entourage of friends with her to the Rose City, and, after seeing the community’s response to rose royalty of the past, at least one of her fellow visitors remarked, “We would love to have been in her court back in 1949, but at least we all get to be in her court today!”

Upon seeing the dress worn by the very first Rose Queen — 1948’s Doris Gothard — displayed at the Thomasville History Center, Still expressed her disappointment that her own gown has been lost to history.

“We had time after my selection to have my Rose Parade dress made, and it was wonderful — layers and layers of white lace,” she recalled. “After I graduated from the University of Georgia and got married, my mother had my Rose Queen gown and my wedding dress preserved and stored, but, years later when I went to get them, they were gone.”

She recalled an exciting Rose Festival ball at the Three Toms Tavern, where she was escorted by Ed Kelly and danced to the music of Guy Lombardo and his band. She and her court of 10 rode down Broad Street not on a traditional float in the 1949 Rose Parade, but on a wagon draped with Spanish moss.

“I’ve always absolutely loved Thomasville, but to have had a chance to see it now as a tourist makes me appreciate it even more,” Still said.

It was clear the visit was particularly poignant and meaningful for the former queen, her travelling companions and the many Thomasville residents who thrilled to a brief brush with Rose Festival history. With 2019 marking the 70th anniversary of her reign, several are already floating the idea of welcoming her back for a return ride down Broad Street next April.