Eight years ago, Paislee Clark was crowned Old Settlers Princess.

On Friday, the Montgomery City resident left the Old Settlers Picnic Grounds in New Florence as the Old Settlers Queen.

Clark, who will be a sophomore at Montgomery County High School this fall, was crowned queen during a 30-minute ceremony. She was part of a court that included Addison Brower, Peyton Eoff, Aubrey Harmon, Khloe Kribbs, Ava Rhodes and Sarabeth Trenner.

“I was really surprised,” said Clark, who received her crown from last year’s queen, Helanea McKenzie. “I thought one of the older girls was going to win.”

Kribbs was named first runner-up and Rhodes was voted second runner-up. Both of them are from Montgomery City. Kribbs was also voted Miss Congeniality.

Also, Emma Roark, a 6-year-old from Jonesburg, was crowned Old Settlers Princess. She was part of a court that included first runner-up Hazel Burch, second runner-up Everly Reagan and third runner-up Mazie Nichols.

During the queen contest, all contestants had to share their most interesting fact about themselves. Clark said winning the Old Settlers Princess contest in 2018 was the most interesting fact about her. She was part of a court that included Maliyah Lewis and Adrianna Craven.

“It was a long time ago, but I remember doing it and I remember having fun with that, too,” Clark said. “I actually went to the nursing home when I was princess and I handed out flowers.”

During the interview session of the queen contest, Clark was asked if social media has affected her generation. She responded yes.

“I think social media has really affected our generation because we can’t talk to each other in person anymore,” Clark said. “I really feel like it has affected us a lot. We need to get rid of our phones.”

This year, Clark won the queen contest in her first appearance. She also earned an award for selling the most raffle tickets.

“My grandmother decided that I should do it,” Clark said. “Then, my mom thought it would be a good idea because we have nothing else going on, so I kind of just happened to enter.”

The Old Settlers queen and princess contest kicked off the two-day Old Settlers Picnic, which was first held in 1881. Clark 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 means a lot,” Clark said. “My family has been coming to Old Settlers since my great-grandparents.”

Clark is a member of the FFA, Student Council and yearbook groups and is one of the football cheerleaders at MCHS. In her freshman year last year, she was named an FFA Greenhand recipient.