With her senior year at Wellsville-Middletown High School approaching, Helanea McKenzie had reason to celebrate on the evening of Aug. 1.

The Wellsville resident was crowned the Old Settlers Queen during a ceremony at the Old Settlers Picnic Grounds. She was part of a court that included Khloe Kribbs and Megan Pierson.

McKenzie was the first Wellsville resident to be named Old Settlers Queen since Taren Justice in 2019. She said she just wanted an opportunity to compete in the queen contest before she graduates from high school next year.

“I ran for princess and won princess when I was little,” McKenzie said. “This is the last year I can run for queen and I’m 17 (years old), so I decided to do it this year.”

Also, Ava Cruzen of Montgomery City won the Old Settlers Princess contest. She was part of a court that included Brittany Boemer, Kiersten Rakers, Remington Kelling, Charlotte Broocke, Everly Reagan, Hazel Burch, Lilly Hamilton and Willow Hamilton.

The 8-year-old Ava competed in the princess contest for the fourth time. Michaela Cruzen, Ava’s mother, said her daughter got a big treat after the contest.

“We went and got her some candy because her favorite thing is candy,” Michaela said. “We just told her how proud we were for her. We were so excited for her.”

The Old Settlers queen and princess contest kicked off the two-day Old Settlers Picnic, which was first held in 1881. McKenzie said she enjoys going to an event that is known for its wide range of activities for both adults and children in the Montgomery County community.

“It’s nice to see the community get together, kind of like the Fair and Old Threshers type of thing,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie said her favorite part of the Old Settlers Picnic is the parade that is held on Saturday mornings and starts at the clay piles on Main Street.

“I go to the parade every year and I really like that,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie rode with last year’s princess winner Rylan Page in this year’s parade. McKenzie said Rylan’s win in 2024 inspired her to enter this year’s queen contest.

“I knew for a while after helping her win last year, we did a lot of practice,” she said. “It was really fun getting to do all of that again and helping her, so I was like, ‘You know, I think I want to do it next year.’ So I did it.”

McKenzie said she enjoyed working with Kribbs and Pierson. Kribbs ran in the queen contest for the second year in a row, while Pierson made her first appearance at the contest.

“We had a lot of practices in the heat, but it was good because everyone had a really good attitude,” McKenzie said. “(Queen contest coordinator) Tracy (Carter) was really great to work with as a director. Everything was really good. Everyone was really friendly and nice.”

During the contest, McKenzie mentioned that her greatest accomplishment was playing basketball last winter after suffering a freak accident in weightlifting class that tore the retina of her right eye. She has to wear glasses while playing basketball.

“It’s not going to get any better,” McKenzie said. “It (the vision) is still 20 over 100, so that’s kind of horrible. Thankfully, I have contacts and eye glasses. Though my vision isn’t restored to how it was, it’s still a lot better than it could be. I’m not blind in my eye, so that’s something to be grateful for.”

McKenzie’s senior year at W-M officially begins on Aug. 19. She plans to attend Evangel University in Springfield next year and major in elementary education.

“I’m really excited for my senior year,” said McKenzie, who played for the W-M girls basketball team the last three years. “It’s kind of scary because it’s a leaving the house, leaving the nest kind of thing, but it’s going to be awesome. It’s going to be great.”

McKenzie said she started a photography business that would help her pay for her college education.

“I’ve done quite a few people, some families and some senior pictures,” McKenzie said. “It’s going really good so far. I’m actually getting a lot of support behind it.”