By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
CASSOPOLIS - Dowagiac Superintendent of Schools Larry Crandall lifted some eyebrows almost as high as his skirt by competing in Saturday evening's Mr. Relay pageant for the American Cancer Society.
Teetering on high heels and wearing a fiery red Bozo wig whose curly tresses spilled down to his cleavage without obscuring his mustache, Crandall twirled a feather boa and removed his women's suit to reveal a curvaceous body printed on a T-shirt.
From a distance, he appeared clad in a red-white-and-blue bikini - three wisps of air, two here and one there.
Crandall, blowing kisses, arrived on the midway in a convertible on the arm of Assistant Superintendent Peg Stowers in her "Sparky" suit.
Their outrageous attire paid tribute to two fallen comrades, former assistant superintendent Todd Bingaman and retired business manager Don Judd, who died within 10 days of each other, on April 2 and March 23, respectively.
He thanked Terrie Wade and Debbie Rohdy, co-chairs of the Dowagiac Union Schools team, for their part in coercing him into a dress.
Coincidentally, Don and his wife Polly came to Dowagiac from Tecumseh in Lenawee County.