West Lafayette Homecoming court honors 1950 queen
The West Lafayette Homecoming court surprised 1950 queen Janet Smith Howell with a new crown and sash. Howell is a resident at Lafayette Pointe Nursing & Rehabilitation Center where the court has been visiting. Contributed | Beacon
WEST LAFAYETTE – Jadn Lindig and her West Lafayette Homecoming Court recently discovered they weren’t the only royalty spending time at Lafayette Pointe Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
Lindig and her court had been visiting residents there for a few months when they discovered the 1950 queen, Janet Smith Howell, lived at Lafayette Pointe.
“When we started we weren’t allowed to take pictures that showed the residents’ faces,” Lindig said. “They wanted us to be able to do that so they sent the families papers to get approval. When her son (Kent) sent her paper back in, he said she was the 1950 queen.”
The current court used its April 17 visit to Lafayette Pointe to surprise Janet.
“Her son brought her down (to where we were) and she said if she had known we were coming she would have gotten dressed up and dolled up, but she was already gorgeous,” Lindig said. “She asked where we were all from and told us how pretty we were. She also said she missed riding in cars in parades and told us how much fun it was to do that.”
The visit, however, wasn’t the only surprise the court had for Janet.
“Her crown was made of cardboard and tinfoil,” Lindig said. “We bought her a crown and made her a sash.”
Janet was 14 and a half when she won her crown. She is 84 now and the court members were told she was still talking about her new crown the next morning.
The young ladies started making their visits to Lafayette Pointe in December and have tried to go once a month since then.
“Some people don’t have visitors that come in to see them,” Lindig said. “During the holidays, I thought it would be nice to go sit with them and hear their stories.”
In February they brought Valentine’s Day cards for the residents and Lindig hopes at future visits they can paint the residents’ nails, make crafts with them and have an ice cream party.
“I enjoy talking to them (the residents),” Lindig said. “It’s important they have people that come in and visit them. I didn’t realize how many people don’t have family who come in or don’t have family at all. I hope this continues after I’m done with my reign.”
Lindig’s mom Jen is proud of her for giving back to the community.
“She’s always been about community service,” Jen said. “She likes being involved with people. For her being homecoming queen is about more than just the sash and crown.”
Category: People & Places
