staff photo by Matt Fields-Johnson
Cotton Ball King and Queen Mary Alice Stout and Nelson Emerick Bowers parade to the dance floor at the 75th annual Cotton Ball Saturday night at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

Nelson Bowers and Mary Alice Stout were crowned king and queen of the 75th annual Cotton Ball held tonight at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

Mr. Bowers, owner of Bowers Transportation, lives on Lookout Mountain with his wife, Pam.

Miss Stout, the daughter of John and Leslie Stout, of Lookout Mountain, is a senior at the University of Alabama.

While Mr. Bowers is the first in his family to be named to Cotton Ball royalty, Miss Stout’s lineage is vast.

According to Cotton Ball director Chris Smith, the queen’s mother, grandmother, aunt, great-aunt and cousin were queens. Her great-grandfather, James Moore, was king.

In recognition of the ball’s 75th anniversary, past kings and queens were honored. A photograph presentation was held throughout the event, highlighting royalty from 1933. As many as 30 former king and queens were in attendance.

“We got a lot of the pictures from Life magazine,” Mrs. Smith said. “Life did a story on the Cotton Ball in 1958 and, because the copyright had expired, we could use the pictures.”

For more information and photos from this year’s ball, read Town Talk in the Tuesday edition of the Times Free Press and Living and Giving in the Aug. 9 edition.