Taylor Covert (center) of Piggott was crowned Miss Pollard 2008 Saturday night. Taylor is the 14 year old daughter of Randy and Patty Covert of Piggott. First alternate this year was Katy Strickland of Piggott (left) the 15 year old daughter of Shawn and Lori Parker and Scott and Amy Strickland. Second alternate was Sarah Fannin of Rector (right) the 18 year old daughter of James and Michelle Fannin. Pageant organizers also offered a special thanks to Piggott State Bank for providing an additional prize of $100 to this year's winner. (Times photo/Tim Blair) [Click to enlarge]

The 76th edition of the annual Pollard Picnic was held Saturday in that community and a good crowd gathered in support of the continued upkeep of the New Hope Cemetery and the picnic grounds.

Despite the festive mood of the occasion, there was an air of sadness to the event as this year's picnic was the first held since community activist Grover "Goob" Baker had passed away. That was compounded by the fact that Baker's widow, Winona Baker, sustained a serious head injury the previous week while cleaning the dining room at the picnic grounds. According to Pastor Loy Culver, Baker is continuing to recover at Mid-South Rehabilitation in Jonesboro from the injury, but was unable to attend this year's celebration. Those gathered at the picnic grounds Saturday took time to remember both the Bakers, and their years of dedicated service. The opening ceremony also included a moment of silence for Grover Baker, as the community remembered him for his devotion and effort.

Following the usual opening ceremonies the crowd heard from State Rep. Mike Patterson of Piggott, State Sen. Robert Thompson of Paragould, State Rep. J.R. Rogers of Walnut Ridge and Clay County Judge Gary Howell. Afterward, Patrick Patterson and Cole Thomas entertained the crowd with the first of several appearances on the main stage.

Other entertainment provided during the course of the day came from The Dooleys, and later from the Hoot-N-Nanny quartet and musicians. There was also entertainment featured during several of the pageants that day.

Saturday afternoon the usual prizes were handed out. Oldest woman at the event this year, as she was last year, was Veda Bell Smith of Piggott, while "Peck" Adams took home the award for being the oldest man in attendance. Meanwhile, Sammy McEacheren won the prize for traveling the farthest after making his way to Pollard from Nova Scotia.

A good group of kids took part in this year's bubble gum blowing contest, which came down to two sisters as the finalists. In the end, Brittany Hobbs took the win over her sister Elizabeth, though both girls took home a prize. The two finalists are both from Piggott.

The evening's activities included the annual auction of donated items, which drew a large crowd, followed by the Miss Pollard pageant, which featured 40 entries. Afterward, the drawings were held for a quilt and cash prizes. The quilt winner was Brody Jade, the $50 prize went to Kenny Green and the $100 prize went to Olivia Cloninger.

The photos and names of all the pageant winners can be found elsewhere in this week's edition of The Piggott Times.

Picnic organizers offered their thanks to everyone who attended, and all those who donated their time and efforts to make the event possible. They also noted that the early figures indicate that this year's picnic was a big success.