Queens from all across the nation will come to Ames in April to help celebrate the 75th anniversary of Veishea.

The Veishea special events committee has contacted about 25 past winners of the “Queen of Queens” pageant, a Veishea tradition that lasted until 1970, to take part in this year’s festivities.

Kathryn Witaker, special events committee co-chair, said there are no plans to reinstate the tradition, but the committee is inviting past queens to return to ride in the Veishea parade as honorary dignitaries.

“We don’t have any plans of reviving the contest. We just thought it would be a good idea to incorporate the past into this year’s 75th anniversary,” Witaker said.

The contest started in 1938, and was first called the “May Queen” contest. The following year the contest was named the “Queen of Veishea,” and after 1940, the contest was called the “Queen of Queens” pageant.

The women nominated for the court were chosen by the student body and the queen was crowned at a ceremony during Veishea week by a celebrity.

“Cary Grant, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were just a few celebrities who came to crown the queen,” Witaker said.

While researching, the committee found the queen’s main honor involved serving as hostesses for the celebrities that came to campus each year.

“I received a letter from the queen of 1955, and she said she went to dinners with Ronald Reagan and got to show him around campus during her Veishea,” said Damon Boettcher, co-chair for the special events committee.

Three women have committed to coming back for the parade.

Boettcher said the women were also asked to send any photographs or memorabilia from the coronation ceremonies.

“Since this committee is focusing on the 75th anniversary, we decided to have a display of photos and other things to show what the past Veishea celebrations were like,” Boettcher said.

The display will be in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union during Veishea week.

“We just wanted to show how Veishea has evolved over the years,” Boettcher said.