Duchess of the Texas Rose Festival Annie, seated, is surrounded by her family: Ellen, sister; Dr. & Mrs. John W. Ferguson Jr., parents; and Emma, sister.(Courtesy James French Photography) 

Since Ann Caswell Ferguson was a little girl growing up in Tyler, the Texas Rose Festival has been a part of her life.

Her grandparents, parents, siblings and many other relatives have proudly taken part in and contributed to the success of the city’s longest-running and most cherished community celebration. 

This year, Ferguson, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jay Ferguson, of Tyler, is following in their footsteps by filling the role of Texas Rose Festival duchess. 

The 85th Texas Rose Festival takes place Thursday through Sunday. This year’s theme is “Rock the Rose.”

After being introduced as the festival duchess by Texas Rose Festival Association President William Bradly Curtis during a news conference in January, Ferguson wasted little time in speaking from the heart about what participating in the festival means to her and her large, close family.

“When children are little, most grandparents tell their grandchildren fairy tales,” she said with members of news media, family and friends looking on.

“Growing up, my grandmother told me stories of the Texas Rose Festival. My grandmother, aunt, sisters and father have all played roles in this celebration over the years, and I am so grateful to also have the opportunity to serve the city I love.”

As a child, Ferguson took part in the 2007 festival as an attendant to Rose Queen Grace Ramey. Being an attendant who gets to participate in the Queen’s Coronation and other high-profile festival events fueled her dreams of what it would be like to be one of the young women in the Royal Court. 

“The Rose Festival was part of my life growing up,” Ferguson added during an interview later. “We looked forward to it so much. For my grandmother (Margaret Marsh Mebus), it was like the Super Bowl.”

FAMILY PARTICIPATION 

Two members of Ferguson’s extended family, Diana Taylor Smith and Elizabeth Marsh Smith Ortega, have had the honor of reigning as rose queen, in 1984 and 1997 respectively. 

Her mother, Ashley Hurst Ferguson, has held many roles as a volunteer in the festival. When her father was in college, he was one of the young men who served as an escort. Later he was the president of the Order of the Rose, the volunteer organization that presents the annual Rose Ball. 

Ferguson’s two older sisters also have been in the festival. Emma Rebecca Ferguson was one of the attendants to the queen in 2006 and was a lady-in-waiting 10 years later. Ellen Winston Ferguson was an attendant to the queen in 2011.

Her grandmother, Margaret Marsh Mebus, was a queen’s attendant and a lady-in-waiting and her grandfather, John Winston Ferguson, was an escort. Two of her aunts, Susan Ferguson McConn and Elizabeth Mebus Greenwood, were duchesses.

Other relatives who have been in the festival include Elizabeth Marsh Ellis, lady-in-waiting; Evans S. Smith, escort; MaGee Smith, lady-in-waiting; Henry Marsh Smith, escort; William Henry Marsh, escort; Audrey Louise Marsh Wharton, lady-in-waiting; Henry Marsh Bell III, escort; John Allen Bell, escort; Kingsley E. Smith, escort to the queen; William Harold Marsh, escort; and Lucy LeBaron Marsh Breedlove, lady-in-waiting.

This year, one of Ferguson’s cousins, Margaret Marsh McConn, is in the Queen’s Court as a duchess. 

PROMOTING TYLER

Ferguson, an apparel merchandising major at Baylor University in Waco, said she enjoys promoting the festival and her hometown.

“Over the years, whether I was away at (summer) camp in Missouri, on vacation in Florida or attending school at Baylor, whenever someone asked me where I was from and I responded Tyler, they’d immediately light up,” she said during a news conference earlier this year. “No matter what else our city is known for or takes pride in, nothing takes the place of the beautiful flower that gives Tyler its nickname (Rose Capital of the World).”

Each year, several thousand people visit Tyler to take in one of the Rose Festival’s events. City leaders estimate the festival helps pump millions of dollars into the Tyler economy by attracting tourists.   

The Tyler Rose Garden remains one of the city’s top attractions.

MAKING MEMORIES

Ferguson said that on a personal level, being in the festival has provided the opportunity to make many new friends. 

“It has been fun getting to know the out-of-town girls (in the court),” she said. “It’s exciting when you are able to build those strong relationships and then work hard and see it all come together.”

Ferguson said she believes the once-in-a-lifetime experience of serving in the Rose Festival will lead to the creation of friendships with many of the young women in the court that will last a lifetime.

The queen’s court includes ladies-in-waiting from Tyler families and out-of-town duchesses from families throughout the region who have close ties to Tyler and the history of the festival.

Ferguson and the other members of the court will be featured during the lavish Queen’s Coronation ceremony, the Texas Rose Parade in which court members are featured atop rose-covered floats, and during the Queen’s Tea, a popular event held in the blooming Tyler Rose Garden.

Ashley Ferguson said she continues to be moved by how many people in Tyler work for months behind the scenes to make the festival a success.

“So many people put in time and energy,” she said. “It always has and continues to be the one thing that brings so many people together.”

“It brings the whole community together,” added her husband, Jay Ferguson. “This is a great place to live and the festival is one of the great things about Tyler. It really is.”

While speaking at Rose Sunday, an event marking the start of the rose-growing season at the Rose Garden, the rose duchess perhaps expressed best of all what the festival means to Tyler and what Tyler means to those who call it home. 

“I am proud (as rose duchess) to share this great legacy that the Rose Festival represents,” she said. “It is so special to our community and to me. … This giving-and-loving community has molded and shaped who we are. Whether through a family trait that we see in each other throughout generations, a caring or encouraging word we receive from a friend, or the way we look after each other around here, no matter where we go, Tyler resonates deeply in our hearts.”

– Augusta Robinson contributed to this report.

A commemorative magazine featuring the Tyler Morning Telegraph’s coverage of the 2018 Texas Rose Festival can be purchased online here.