Sarah Cain, Centralia, center, celebrates after being named Miss Yard Bird 2012 at the second annual Miss Yard Bird completion held at the Shire in Chehalis Saturday night.
Burlesque dancer Itty Bitty Bang Bang entertains guests at the 2nd annual Miss Yard Bird competition Saturday night in Chehalis.
Nine contestants flouted their flair in bird-themed gowns, boas and feathers, mingling with the crowd prior to taking the stage Saturday at the Miss Yard Bird Pageant at the Shire Bar and Bistro.
The tiara and sash eventually were awarded to Sarah Cain, who became the second-ever Miss Yard Bird.
Cain is better known as the “Mad Tatter,” her alias as a skater for Centralia’s Rainy City Roller Dolls roller derby team.
Perhaps it was Cain’s burlesque moves during the talent portion of the contest that won her first-place recognition. The packed crowd endorsed Cain with rousing, ear-piercing approval.
Miss Yard Bird 2011, Michelle Lucero of Chehalis, presented Cain with her 2012 reigning tiara and sash. Cain then addressed the crowd.
“It’s going to be one hell of a yeah,” she said.
Saturday’s eventful evening was a fundraiser to save the deteriorating Yard Bird, a roadside attraction located in front of the Yard Birds Mall and Event Center between Chehalis and Centralia.
Attendees paid a $5 entrance fee; $4 will go to restoration of the Yard Bird and $1 will be donated help victims of the Dr. Matz building fire in downtown Centralia on Valentine’s Day.
The event and vendor sales raised $850 total; since 107 people came through the door, $107 will be donated to the fire relief effort and just under $750 will go toward the Yard Bird restoration.
History buffs, and those with childhood attachments and memories of the popular business, attended the second annual event, arriving from as far away as Salem, Ore., and Seattle.
Contestant Dawn Marie Satterlee said six generations of her family have been involved with the iconic building and businesses it has housed. When owners Rich Gillingham and Bill Jones opened its doors in 1947, it was known as the “largest surplus store on the west coast.”
The store’s mascot was a 60-foot sculpture of the business’s endearing image, a Yard Bird. Construction on the first Yard Bird began in 1969.
Satterlee calls the Yard Bird “our West Coast Statue of Liberty.” It’s that passion that led Saterlee to compete for the Miss Yard Bird title.
“Because I cherish the Yard Bird, the whole vision,” she explained.
“The perseverance of the bird is overwhelming to me,” Saterlee said. “It’s been a part of my life for 40 years.”
Saterlee recalled the free puppies and free popcorn and the vast amounts of merchandise that you “couldn’t find anywhere else.”
“I think (Rich Gillingham) was a very eccentric man,” Saterlee said, recalling how the tail feathers of the large bird structure opened revealing the entrance to where the owners’ helicopter was once housed.
Eccentrics were afoot Saturday night at The Shire from opening acts, to contestants and visiting judges with handlers in tow.
Burlesque shows by Hai Fleisch and Itty Bitty Bang Bang warmed up the crowd with two acts.
A visiting “celebrity judge,” the mummified museum attraction Jake the Alligator Man, was brought in from Long Beach with a posse of two handlers, a bride and a bridesmaid.
There was nary a straight face in the house.
Fundraising organizer Jason Mattson began his efforts to save the piece of roadside attraction history because he didn’t want to see it go.
“I hated to see it go away,” he said. “For me, it’s a landmark that deserves to be saved.”
Mattson was born and raised in Centralia.
Several fundraisers have already fueled repairs on the bird, however another $3,000 is needed to complete the work, Mattson said.
In addition to the $1 collected from each $5 entry fee, several vendors sold their wares at the Saturday event, contributing a portion from the sales of their merchandise to the repair funds.
Joy Roughton of Astoria sold her Lucky Cupcake hair accessories and jewelry. Graphic Artist Max Reinhart of Seattle designed and sold a Yard Bird girl mud flap image and vinyl Yard Bird stickers.
For more information about repair efforts and fundraisers, contact Jason Mattson by telephone at (360) 388-5831 or by email at orangepokey71@yahoo.com.
