Costa Mesa : The Spotted Array Is Given Its Day for a Panorama of Pigment at the Fair

It was the middle of the afternoon Tuesday at the Orange County Fair, and the emcee called 9-year-old Jennifer Wilhelm of Cypress to the stage.

She ambled toward the steps with a trace of reluctance in her stride. “Remember,” the emcee cracked, “the folks send them up for this, right? (Laughter from the audience.) Mom and Dad make you do it?”

Jennifer nodded. So did most of the eight other kids on stage, all competitors in the “lightest” category of the fair’s annual Freckle Contest.

In a tight rank, they crowded close to the judges--Dena Heathman (age 23, Irvine, who, incidentally, has freckles) and Lyle Davis (age 25, Costa Mesa, who doesn’t). Some smiled, as they were instructed.

Jennifer was awarded second place. Her 7-year-old sister, Julie, won third, and both were off the stage quickly.

There was other evidence of embarrassment or nervousness as the judges looked over 24 contestants in four divisions--Lightest, Darkest, Biggest and Most.

“Yeah, Ranota!” shouted the family from the audience, and 9-year-old Ranota Westman of Santa Ana gave a sheepish grin. Beth Haines, 8, of Santa Ana curled her ankles, stood on the sides of her feet and fidgeted with an identity bracelet. Louis Shaw, 9, visiting from Rogers, Ark., was rolling the hem of his T-shirt up and down.

It’s to be expected. Freckles can earn you a good teasing through the early years of life. That’s what Jeanne Myers, 9, from Fountain Valley said--or, rather, nodded in answer to a question.

Jeanne got hers from her grandparents, said her mother, Chris Myers. The display was impressive, especially set against her blue-green eyes and red-red hair. She had more freckles than anyone else at the contest and now has the blue ribbon to prove it, her second in three years.

After the contest ended, Jeanne consented to an interview.

Do people tease you about your freckles? Yes, she nodded.

What do they say about your freckles? She giggled, shrugged her shoulders and said she didn’t remember.

Well, are freckles good or bad? She shrugged her shoulders and giggled and said she didn’t know.

Are you going to enter any more contests? She didn’t know that either.

But you can bet Taylor Davis of Irvine will be back next year when she’s 11. She didn’t win a ribbon this year.

“I’m putting Taylor in training,” said her mother, Melodie Davis. “I’m sending her to the beach.”

Tuesday winners by categories:

Lightest--1st, Bryan Trautloff, 6, Fullerton; 2nd, Jennifer Wilhelm; 3rd, Julie Wilhelm.

Darkest--1st, Kyle Trautloff, 4, Fullerton; 2nd, Ranota Westman; 3rd, Suzanne Langley, 7.

Biggest--1st, Erin Reich, 9, Costa Mesa; 2nd, Lynette Swanson, 5, Orange; 3rd, April Taylor, 9.Most--1st, Jeanne Myers; 2nd, Beth Haines; 3rd, Jamie Swanson, Orange.