Hazel Jackson, Hayden Porter reign as Forest City's 2024 Puckerbrush Royals (2024)

Hazel Jackson, daughter of Adam Jackson, and Hayden Porter, son of Phil and Megan Porter, were selected and reigned as Little Miss and Mister Puckerbrush in Forest City on July 12-13.

“I was very surprised,” Jackson said. “I’ve done this every year, and I haven’t won before so I’m very excited about this.”

“I was surprised,” said Porter. “I just went with the flow. It feels good.”

Not just being crowned Little Mister, but riding in the parade was a dream come true, according to Porter, who noted how much he enjoys swimming and playing at the Forest City pool when it’s not raining.

In her on-stage interview while vying for the title, Jackson cited her love of vacations and the Forest City Public Library.

“I go to Colorado every year where I ski with my family,” Jackson said.

“I like the library because there’s a whole lot of books there you can check out,” she continued. “I also like the summer reading program.”

The competition for Little Miss and Mister was fierce.

“All these kids have done such a great job,” said Emcee Holly Brink. “We're excited about them.”

Delaney Harriman, daughter of Matt and Abby Harriman said she wants to be an Olympics gymnastics coach while her sister, Lettie Harriman, cited her love of fishing and swimming. Elaina Dutcher, daughter of Chistal Dutcher, said she recently enjoyed vacationing in Daytona Beach and Nashville and wants to become a doctor. Brynn Milbradt, daughter of Mike and Brittany Milbrandt, noted her love for dance, cheerleading, and tee-ball before saying Forest City has the best swimming pool and that she too wants to become a doctor.

Jordy Johnson, daughter of Mike and Heather Johnson, said the Forest City pool is the best, her dog Jack likes belly rubs, and she really likes shopping. Kairi Knudson, daughter of Amber Benjegerdes, said her pet lizard (bearded dragon) Dino “crawls around a lot.” She likes playing softball and has an interest in sharks.

“I know that different sharks have different kinds of teeth,” said Knudson.

“I like to go to dance because it’s really fun,” said Hadley Kiefer, daughter of Kaylee Kiefer.

The daughter of Heidi Fedders, Chloe Fedders, exclaimed that she has five chickens, two dogs, and a hamster as pets. In addition to helping care for her pets, she spends a lot of time at the Forest City pool and local parks during the summer.

Other Little Miss candidates this year included Cecilia Farus, daughter of Joe and Bethanie Farus, as well as Etta Duenow, daughter of Keith and Heather Duenow.

Little Mister candidate Maverick Helm, son of Alicia and Kirk Helm, said he has three dogs and, currently, 11 puppies. He said he plans to find good homes for them because he can’t keep so many puppies.

“This year, I went to Mexico, and I went down a huge water slide” Helm said. “I saw a giant waterfall too.”

Helm also owns a lot of Pokémon cards, saying he likes to collect and trade them.

Some other Little Mister candidates this year were Jones Milbrandt (Mike and Brittany Milbrandt), who enjoys the city pool and his two dogs, and Jace Wooldridge, son of Karl and Kari Wooldridge, who likes to play basketball and baseball.

“I like to go camping,” Wooldridge said. “I like that we have a river (nearby). That’s why our house address is Riverview Drive.”

Cal Burkholder, son of Julianna and Reed Burkholder, said he loves playing sports, especially football, and he wants to play in the National Football League someday. Currently, he likes spending time at the golf course and at the pool in the summer.

Pet parade

James and Grace Doroteo of JED’s Lights and Sounds blared “Who Let the Dogs Out” as participants gathered for the pet parade on Clark Street in front of the Winnebago County Courthouse.

Once largely dogs, the pet parade has transformed to a wide variety of different pet species in recent years. Kairi Knudson showed her small, bearded dragon named Dino the Dino, 2. Newly crowned Little Miss Puckerbrush Hazel Jackson introduced her one-year-old hamster Tom. There was also Toralei the chicken, four months old. Toralei demonstrated a trick, jumping up and down on the arm of handler Erde May. Six-year-old feline Cookie was shown by Ally Albertson, who said her cat like almost any food and is crazy for catnip.

A wide variety of canine contestants included Boykin Spaniel Lilo, 8, (Monte Jefson) whose favorite treats come from a neighbor named Doug as well as Mini Australian Shepherd Brooks, 2, (Morgan Dickenson) who loves attending Waldorf University men’s wrestling matches and eating scrambled eggs.

An 11-month white lab named Archie demonstrated how to “shake” with his owner Rachel Vogt. Other pet parade participants included mini golden doodle Oakley (Krystal Albertson), golden doodles Faith, 3, and Hope, 2; and HP Kobriger’s large, black Great Dane Jarvis, 2.

All the pet parade participants received commemorative Puckerbrush flags.