The Key West
CONCH
SHELL
BLOWING
CONTEST
mary lou race, age 71,
Panama City Beach, Floridasounds. I can just make
the sound last quite a
while—and quite loud
as well.But you’re 71! What’s
your secret? Ta k i n g a
deep breath as if I were
going to swim under-
water. You hold your
breath and the shape
of your lips, then let
the horn do the work.Who was your fiercest
competition? A young
lady who performed
on a surfboard. A guy
in front and a guy in
back carried her to the
stage. She was doingHow did you get into
blowing conch shells?
When we moved here
from Nashville 20 years
ago, we met an old
diver named Captain
Scuba at a Mardi
Gras parade. He told
me you’ve got to blow
to give glory to the
Creator, so I bought a
shell from him that I
call Buffett. I’m keeping
his tradition alive.Did you use Buffett in the
championship? I blew
four different shells:
one for loudness, one
for length, and two oth-
ers to show the sounds
of the different sizes.
I’m not that talented in
making a variety ofthe hula and blowing
the conch shell. I was
dumbfounded.We heard that you had
extra motivation this
year. Yes. Just before
they called me up
onstage, my boyfriend,
Rick, got on his knee
and proposed. I was at
a loss for words, so I just
blew the conch shell.
And then I said yes.The Key West Conch
Shell Blowing Contest
takes place every
March. Race won the
women’s division in
2013 and 2018.16 march 2019 | rd.com illustration by John Cuneo
Reader’s Digest
I WON!