PORT TOWNSEND — One of Louise Barcelou’s childhood memories is standing in line Saturday morning to receive castoff clothing.
For socks, she recalled, you held out your closed fist, and a sock would be put over it.
If the sock fit your fist, it would fit your foot.
Clothing at the orphanage was distributed by size and gender. What you got, you wore.
“It was whatever people donated,” she said.
On Saturday, Barcelou, 89, will walk down the aisle of the Chimacum High School auditorium, where she will be crowned the Tri-Area’s Senior Rhododendron Festival queen.
The Port Townsend Senior Association also chooses a senior king and queen for the Rhododendron Festival; this year, they are Bill and Sandy Dengler.
For the occasion Saturday, Barcelou will wear an outfit specifically picked out for her at Working Image clothing bank at Mountain View Commons, 1925 Blaine St., Port Townsend.
On May 19, she will wear another outfit as she rides in the Grand Parade in a convertible, giving the royal wave.
“I’d like to throw candy to the children, but they don’t let you do that anymore,” she said.
Working Image, which provides apparel free of charge, had previously provided Barcelou with a suit and shoes for her appearance at the governor’s mansion in the spring of 2009.
That’s when Barcelou, a longtime volunteer at the Tri-Area Food Bank, received a Volunteer Service Award, one of 53 given in the state.
Barcelou, who lives in Irondale, has worked at the food bank for 20 years.
Her speciality: collecting toys to give to children of the families who come to the food bank.
“They didn’t have any toys in the orphanage,” she said.
Born in 1923, Barcelou lived at the Washington Children’s Home from birth until she was 13 years old.
The only party she remembers attending as a child is when the Navy came and took the children aboard a ship at Christmas time.
As she grew older, Louise helped take care of the younger children and learned to darn socks.
When she was 13, a family adopted Louise to be a companion for their daughter, who was about Louise’s age.
Luckily, the girl was not her size, and the family had to buy Louise new clothes.
“I never knew of anything new until then,” she said.
While the clothing at Working Image is not new, much of the inventory is like-new suits and separates donated by women who buy designer or high-end labels.
Dressers help clients choose outfits.
On Tuesday, Ellen Peterson and Cajsa DeGregorio met with Barcelou and talked with her about what type of clothes she needed and colors she liked.
Then they roamed the racks, pulling out suitable pieces for her to try on.
Barcelou, making plans for being crowned at the coronation Saturday and riding in the Grand Parade in May, chose floral-patterned linen-look jackets, one in blue and the other in coral colors, along with a coral top and khaki pants.
The dressers also found an embroidered yellow cardigan to layer under the coral jacket and a white knee-length coat in case more layering was needed.
“I feel rich, rich, rich,” she said.
Although Barcelou originally thought she needed just one outfit, they prevailed upon her to try on and take two more, plus scarves and jewelry.
Aislinn Germaine, a friend who drove her to Port Townsend, helped Barcelou try on shoes.
“We’re her ladies in waiting,” Germaine said.
Peterson said Working Image provides clothing for women pursuing a wide range of career paths, everything from office jobs to truck driving (for the latter applicant, they provided interview clothes and jeans).
They also outfitted two women who came to Port Townsend after surviving Hurricane Katrina and needed clothing.
Barcelou requested pants for her Rhody outfits in case she is still limping.
On the day before Thanksgiving, she fell going down the basement steps at the community center, breaking her leg above the knee.
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s were a wash, she said, but she had recovered by Jan. 29, when friends threw an 89th birthday party at the center.
“I hope I get rid of the cane by Easter,” she said.
Her escort, Harold Rennick, also was sidelined by injury and was in a wheelchair but is back on his feet washing dishes in the kitchen, Barcelou said.
Barcelou said she doesn’t know why she was chosen senior queen — and if anyone finds out, be sure to tell her.
When she mentioned at her church in Irondale that she didn’t know what she was doing, a teenage friend, Rosie Wilcox, told Barcelou she had all she needed to fill the role: a beautiful smile.
Barcelou did decline Peterson’s offer of a hat to go with her outfits, saying she would be wearing her tiara.
But she accepted a pair of white gloves and, resplendent in one of her new outfits, tried out her royal wave.
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Jennifer Jackson is a freelance writer and photographer living in Port Townsend. To contact her, email jjackson@olypen.com.
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THE RHODODENDRON CORONATION ceremony is at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Chimacum High School auditorium.
Admission is $5 or $20 for a family of four or more.
Two 17-year-old high school seniors are competing for the queen’s crown.
Either Briel Kilham of Port Townsend High School or Krista Hathaway of Chimacum High School will be crowned queen of the 77th annual Rhododendron Festival, while the other will serve as festival princess.
Junior royalty from elementary schools, the Queen’s court from middle schools, as well as the senior kings and queens, have been named before the coronation.
The Rhododendron Festival will begin May 12 with the Rhody Bike Tour and end May 20 with the Rhody Run.
Events include the Trike Race on May 16, Pet Parade on May 17, Kiddie Parade and Bed Race on May 18 and Grand Parade on May 19.
For more information, visit www.rhodyfest.org.
Peninsula Daily News
