Would you like to be Queen for a Day?! Host Jack Bailey would say that the entire audience would reply: “YES!” Four or five women, each having a sob story to tell, told Bailey why they believed they should be crowned the show’s Queen. Usually, each contestant asked for a merchandise prize, such as a washer and dryer. The audience determined the winner by applause (via the “applause meter”).
On the April 11, 1957 episode of Jack Bailey’s “Queen for a Day” show. Dolly Monks of Oroville Ca was one of the four contestants. Each contestant had to talk about the recent financial and emotional hard times she had been through.
Dolly spoke about the hardships involved in raising three small children as a single parent after her husband had died of cancer. She was worried that she would not be able to provide for them as a single mother.
Dolly was chosen as the “Queen of the Day!”
The winner of that episode would qualify to win a fully stocked candy store from a participating sponsor of the show.
The participating sponsor was Haas Distributing Co. of Oakland run by Milton Wiser to promote the sales of “Heavenly Candy” stores all over the west. At the time of the show, there were about 100 stores opened.
The store would be completely stocked with Heavenly Candy and fixtures that were provided by the sponsor. She would be trained for as long as necessary in all aspects of running a candy store.
Queen of the Day to Open New Store in Montclair
Mr. Wiser chose a store in the Montclair District. He worked with John Grubb Realty to lease a store on Mountain Blvd at 2034. The store had been the home of Montclair Sporting Goods, which had recently moved up the street to a larger store (where they stayed in business until 2020.) Later on, the same storefront was the home of Williams Footwear well into the early 1990s. My two friends and I all bought our “sort of” platform shoes there in the 70s.
The store was scheduled to open on July 12, 1957
Wow! This Is Big!
“with all the Hollywood razzle dazzle”
Milton Wiser 1957
Plans for the candy store opening were shaping up to be big according to Wiser in an article in The Montclarion (July 3, 1957.) Wiser tried his best to estimate and came up with a figure of slightly less than 50,000 people who might turn up in Montclair for the opening of the Heavenly Candies store at 2034 Mountain Blvd. He attributed the large estimate due to all the advanced print advertising and the daily plugs for the store on the t.v. show.
Mr. Wiser made it clear the opening would be spectacular and that he has extended an invitation to the mayor of Oakland Clifford E. Rishell and of course lots of other people including some famous Hollywood types. Because of this, the Montclair merchants asked the police department for extra protection.
Queen to Draw Throngs
“Friday July 12 is the BIG DAY -the grand spectacular Hollywood-type opening of the new Heavenly Candies store”
The Montclarion 1957
The opening was scheduled to start at 7 pm and was scheduled to be seen live on KRON TV in San Francisco. The Mayor of Oakland, Jerry Colona of Hollywood, and of course Jack Bailey himself was expected to be there.
Five girls were hired to help with handing out free candy to the first 1000 people to come to the store.
Store Opens with a Modest Throng
The Montclair Business Association went into action fully expecting thousands of curiosity seekers to come to Montclair. They persuaded the Chamber of Commerce to help pay for the cost of a big banner welcoming the Queen to Montclair. They held a reception at Sanford’s before the grand opening and invited the “Hollywood representatives and such folk.”
As the time approached for opening to begin, a modest group of about 500 people slowly assembled in the blocked-off street in front of the store. Jerry Colona and Councilman Peter Tripp (for the mayor) were there to cut the ribbon opening the store. The Oakland police department had three officers.
Dolly was there in her crown and robe.
Contrary to the advance information given to The Montclarion by an overly hopeful candy official, there was no live television coverage of the event. There wasn’t a public address system. It was filmed by a professional movie company to be shown at a later date on the Queen for A Day show.
The Queen is a Pawn
It seems to me the whole thing was big promotional stunt for the T.V. show and Heavanly Candies, Dolly became something of a pawn between the two.
She sold her home in Oroville and moved her family down from Oroville to a rented cottage in Pleasant Hill and secured a day maid to take care of her children.
In response to to an article in The Montclarion (July 31, 1957.)
“I realize to some people this all must look like a publicity stunt, but unless you know the inside story you can’t tell where the ‘business’ ends ‘heart’ begins.”
Dolly Monks
End of Her Reign and a New King
After the fanfare of the opening had passed on. Dolly opened every morning at 9am after driving from her home in Pleasant Hill after leaving her three children with the babysitter.
She found that candy sales not too brisk. In fact many weeks went by and she paid her babysitter more than she made in the store.
Then she found out the the people who bought her home in Oroville left without notice. Her car was damage when struck from behind one morning.
So, she announced through The Montclarion that she would be giving up the store.
That announcement and Halloween candy trade sales gave her a big upsurge and she decided to stick it out.
The just after Christmas she called The Montclarion and put in advertisement that she was selling out and closing the store on January 1, 1958.
It turns out the reason what not that the store was a failure but that she was in love. She had met her king. Ralph King that is. They planned on getting married in 1959.
Queen for a day…and a King forever.
Coming soon Part 2 of a “Queen for a Day” – The Confidence Man
More Info:
- Queen for a Day – Wikipedia
- Today’s Queen – Los Angeles Evening Citizen News April 12, 1957
- This 1950s game show profited from the poverty of a new woman every day. – March 23, 2017
- This Midcentury Show Turned Unhappy Housewives into TV Royalty – History.com August 28, 2018
January 4, 2023 at 4:46 pm
I was there that day. I was 9 years old. And I was squished between the glass window and the crowd that was pushing to get in. My mother, who was 5 ft tall, turned on the crowd and pushed them back and knocked on the doors and the windows. She drove everyone back so I would be safe because I was just about ready to go through the glass window. I’ll never forget my Brave mother and that day.