Former Rose Queen shares her story
By Sharon Makokian
Acorn Staff Writer
Do you remember what you were doing on New Year’s Day, 1967?

If you’re like many Southern Californians, you probably got up early to watch the annual Tournament of Roses Parade on television. Maybe you were even lucky enough to be sitting along the parade route in Pasadena to see the majestic floral floats firsthand.

Calabasas resident Barbara Hewitt Laughray was at the parade that year, but she got to see it from a totally different perspective— atop a major float— because she was the Queen of the Royal Court that year.

"The morning of the parade, they pick you up at 3 a.m.," said Laughray, as she reminisced about that chilly morning long ago.

Although she rode on one of the first heated floats, she still wore long underwear.

Barbara Hewitt in 1967

"It was a very tall float. They had to hoist me up with a crane," said Laughray, who still awakens early every New Year’s Day to watch the parade on television.

At the time, Laughray was a 19-year-old Pasadena City College student living at home with her parents in Alta Dena (a community adjacent to Pasadena).

"Growing up, my father was always impressed with the Rose Parade and worked in Pasadena … I thought that this could be like a gift back to him," she said.

Indeed, Laughray made her parents proud when she tried out for the royal court with about 1,000 other girls and was eventually chosen as queen.

"It’s not a ‘cheesecake-bathing- suit type of competition," she said, noting that the queens and princesses are chosen for their good grades and citizenship, as well as community activities.

While being the Rose Queen gave Laughray the excitement of a whirlwind year of personal appearances and meeting famous people, it also gave her more––a sense of self-confidence, strength and spirituality—which eventually led her to become a minister.

"The year that you’re Rose Queen teaches you a lot more than school," she said.

Ironically, Laughray was the first (and possibly only) Rose Queen to elope four days after the parade (the rules permitted the girls to marry after their appearance at the parade). She still lived with her parents afterwards, but remained a secret bride.

After her year as Rose Queen, Laughray tried modeling for a while, but "thought it was ridiculous." She then opened her own modeling agency to teach aspiring models about inner beauty and spirit, not just makeup application, she said.

As Laughray eventually settled down and started her family, her spirituality increased, especially after her two younger brothers died from cancer.

"It’s not the situations in life that either make you or break you, it’s what you do with them," she said.

She spent the next 10 years studying theology and went on to become an ordained minister and co-pastor with her then-husband, David Laughray, who now is a pastor in Long Beach.

After divorcing her husband 10 years ago (they still remain good friends, she insists), she "decided that running a church wasn’t (her) cup of tea" and she started her own ministry. She created a wedding business in which she marries and and counsels couples and families. Remaining in touch with her clients, she often baptizes their babies and performs memorial services when necessary.

"All of this is an overflow, the outcome of being Rose Queen," she said.

Now, at 53, she’s remarried to Chuck Boyd and busy with her ministry and her blended family of six grown children and two grandchildren.

But she’ll never forget her year as Rose Queen.

Past members of the royal courts are like a sorority, she said. She recently attended an annual breakfast, in which former crown winners brought their families and caught up with each other.

"Being a Rose Queen is a lifetime experience ... Once you have that year, you’ll always be the Rose Queen of that year," she said.