Dan Dale Pillow and Merritt Montgomery Belk were crowned the King and Queen of Cotton for 2017 at the 60th annual Junior Auxiliary Charity Cotton Ball, which was held Saturday night at the Leflore County Civic Center.
Cheers from the celebrating crowd accompanied King Dale and Queen Merritt on their royal walk up the center aisle to take their places onstage with past royalty, the 2017 Cotton Maids and the Children’s Court.
King Dan Dale Pillow
King Dan Dale Pillow is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. George Durden Pillow of Greenwood. Dale is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Walter Reese Pillow and Mr. and Mrs. Dan Dale. He is a proud parent of Dale Durden Pillow of Brandon and Elizabeth Sheppard Pillow Day of Memphis. Elizabeth served as a Maid of Cotton in 2005 and was crowned queen of the Junior Auxiliary Cotton Ball in 2009.
Having lived in Greenwood all of his life, King Dale is a graduate of Greenwood High School. In 1972, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi State University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. He has been a member of the Mississippi Soybean Association, the Greenwood Farmers’ Club, a member of the Staplcotn Advisory Board and a director of the Minter City Gin. He also served as a director of the Farmers Supply co-op. King Dale is a faithful member of First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood, where he serves as an elder.
Dale’s family history is steeped in the rich tradition of farming. In 1868, shortly after the Civil War, Dale’s great-grandfather, William Reese Pillow, moved from Columbia, Tennessee, to the Mississippi Delta to begin his cotton farming career. The Pillow family settled in Leflore County near Fort Pemberton and began what would become a four-generation tradition of farming in Greenwood and Leflore County. Upon William’s retirement, King Dale’s grandfather took over the Pillow farming operation in this area.
Dale’s father, George Durden Pillow Sr., was one of the five sons of Walter Reese Pillow. George continued to raise cotton and soybeans until his retirement in 1975. King Dale began his own career in 1973 in Cruger with his uncle, Bob Pillow. In 1975, Dale began his own farming career at Archula Plantation in Sunnyside, where he continues successfully growing cotton, soybeans and corn. He is also happy to continue residing in the beloved family home near Greenwood.
Queen Merritt Montgomery Belk
Queen Merritt is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Adron Belk II. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Anslum Warren III of Greenwood and Frederick Adron Belk of Greenwood and the late Betty Bowie Belk. Queen Merritt and her family have a long history of farming dating back four generations in the Mississippi Delta.
On her maternal side, Queen Merritt’s great-great-grandfather, Samuel Henry Montgomery, farmed cotton on two family farms around Greenwood and farmed Sage Field Plantation near Sidon. Queen Merritt’s great-grandfather, Gerald Jefferson Montgomery, continued these farming operations along with cotton ginning.
Queen Merritt’s other great-grandfather, Hugh Holloway Warren, was also involved in farming operations. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he moved to Greenville and engaged in farming and the mercantile business. To enlarge his farming activities, he purchased Refuge Plantation south of Greenwood in 1954. Queen Merritt’s grandfather, Hugh Warren, joined his family farm after graduating from the University of Mississippi and serving two years as an Army captain in the medical service at Fort Brag, North Carolina. He farmed Refuge Plantation, where he grew cotton, soybeans and had beef cattle.
Queen Merritt’s great-grandfather on her paternal side, Emmett Curtis Bowie, moved from McCool to the Delta in the early 1930s and bought a farm in Schlater, where he farmed cotton and soybeans. Queen Merritt’s father purchased and now operates this farm himself. Her other great-grandfather, John Lloyd Belk, moved from Kosciusko to Leflore County in 1933 and worked on Craig Plantation. He was also involved in farming and cotton ginning. Queen Merritt’s father, Ricky Belk, started his framing operations in 1980 in Carroll County. He extended his farming operations into Leflore County in 1982 and into Tallahatchie County in 1988. He is the owner and operator of Adron Farms in Glendora, where Queen Merritt was raised. He was selected as Young Farmer of the Year in 1994 and is a past president of the Greenwood Farmers Club.
Queen Merritt and her family have been involved with the Junior Auxiliary of Greenwood and the Cotton Ball for many years. Her grandmother, Janie Warren, was a Cotton Ball maid in 1958 and is a life member of the Junior Auxiliary of Greenwood. Her grandfather, Hugh Warren, attended the very first Cotton Ball held in the Old Armory and was the master of ceremonies for the 1973 Cotton Ball. Queen Merritt’s mother, Debbie Belk, was a Cotton Ball maid in 1980 and was escorted by Queen Merritt’s father, Ricky. Debbie was crowned Cotton Ball queen in 1984 and is now a life member of the Junior Auxiliary of Greenwood.
A 2014 graduate of Pillow Academy, Queen Merritt was active in many clubs, such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Green and Gold Ambassadors, Lions Leadership, Model Security Council and Student Council. She was also awarded the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Award. During her senior year, she served as the Student Body treasurer and was Rotary Student of the Month. She was elected class favorite, a beauty, Most Athletic, homecoming queen, prom queen and Miss Pillow Academy. Throughout Queen Merritt’s high school years, she was also active in cheerleading, soccer, basketball, track and was selected to play on the AAU Oxford basketball team. For soccer, she received the Best Defensive Player Award and was selected to play on the MAIS all-star soccer team. For basketball, she was selected to the all-conference team both her junior and senior years as well as the all-tournament team her senior year. She received the Team Captain and Most Valuable Player awards and was selected to play on the MAIS all-star basketball team. She also was named The Greenwood Commonwealth Player of the Year. At her graduation, Queen Merritt received the Miss Mustang Spirit Award, the Bill Davis Scholarship and was inducted into the Pillow Academy Hall of Fame.
Queen Merritt is attending the University of Mississippi, where she is a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. In her sorority, she has served on the Girl Scout Committee, Assistant Social Team, as a SET leader and was intramural chair. She is currently on the Social Committee of her sorority. This year, Queen Merritt was elected to serve on the Associated Student Body Senate of Ole Miss. In 2016, Queen Merritt was presented as a Lady of the Realm at Cotton Carnival in Memphis. She is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Sumner, where she served as an acolyte. Queen Merritt has already started her farming career with her first crop being in 2014.
