Ms. Lake Lemon Pageant: Bennett tops field of 16 in contest featuring firewood, nails, mud puddles

Holli Bennett is now recorded in the Monroe County history books as the first Ms. Lake Lemon.

The pageant was held Saturday afternoon on the shore of the lake at the Port Hole Inn. Under mostly sunny skies and a temperature of around 70°F, the 16 entrants competed in events like: glove embellishments; pet/child calling; firewood stacking; clearing obstacles out of a roadway; fishing lure casting accuracy; nail hammering; beverage chugging; inflating a beach ball; trivia questions; and mud puddle jumping.

Runner up was Liz Jourdan. Taking third place honors was Virginia Lauterbach.

First prize as a crisp $100.

Other contestants were: Tricia Baker; Tessa Stevens; Stephanie Perry; Nicole Whitaker; Mollie Lemon; Mandy Entrom; Kathy Luessow; Jo Strong; Heather James; Denise Fulton; Beth Chitwood; Amanda Waits; and Alison Zook.

The event was organized as a fundraiser for the Monroe Fire Protection District. Firefighters from the district were out until the early hours of the morning checking residents and doing damage assessments from the tornados that blew through on Friday evening.

The pageant was conceived and organized by Kel McBride, who described it on Saturday as the outcome of a conversation with a friend. Her friend had asked what she'd dressed up as for Halloween, and McBride had answered: Mrs. Lake Lemon! McBride reported that the conversation continued like this: "She dared to say, 'Wouldn't that be fun? I wonder what that would look like.' And here we are!"

The event was supported by several lanyarded volunteers, who handled the logistics of running three events at a time, with contestants divided into three groups.

Girls born after Saturday will have to wait until the 2062 edition of the pageant to compete—entry is open only to those over the age of 37.

Photos: Ms. Lake Lemon Pageant (2025)