Back about 1995, there were major complaints that there was no soap in the restrooms. As it was explained, at one point, there had been soap dispensers, butkids had really made a mess of things, so they'd been removed, and everyone wasexpected to carry around their own bar of soap.

It was inconvenient, and to be honest, totally impractical because you don'talways "plan ahead" to stop at the rest room, you just happen to be in thevicinity, or you're heading back from somewhere else. And it bothered us thatthe food preparers often used those rest rooms too. This was a major topic onthe dulcimers@yahoogroups.com list.

A simple solution, was to buy soap at Fosters and put it in the restrooms(mainly the one by the Fair Board Office). Only problem was that it neverseemed to "stay." The soap was therefore cut into small pieces so there'd besome throughout the festival.

After a couple of years of this routine, it came up on the list that I was"buying" soap for this purpose, and Judith as well as a few others, said theycould get hotel-sized soaps when they traveled and they'd bring them to thefestival. This created quite a competition. The first year it was nearly a tiebetween Robin Leggegowow (misspelled horribly) and Judith Lindenau. Theybrought their hoard of collected soaps from many exotic corners of the world. For the past few years Robin hasn't attended, so Judith has held the title ..unchallenged.

Never the less it was fun when she'd pull out her bag of soaps. We'dscramble to go through them. We voyeristically examined all the places she'straveled.

So Judith is the official Soap Queen. Of course the challenge was always therefor anyone else who wanted to pit their soaps against hers, but no one could compete withwith those from Tonga or Russia or Bulgaria or wherever else Judith roamed.

PS: A couple years ago, the fairgrounds had a change of heart. Probably pushed by the unsanitary situation which their "no soap" policy created. Now they have liquid soap dispensers in the bathrooms which is probably a good thing, because Judith retired and doesn't travel as frequently. She no longer brings her bag of soap but she is forever our "Soap Queen."