I don't care about Miss America. I could give a damn about Miss Universe. What I wanna see is Miss Magnolia State, or even better: Miss Pierce County or Miss Wilcox Agricultural Fair. In this post, we're looking at snapshots of beauty queen contestants and winners from pageants off the beaten path.
The pageantry has been soiled in recent years via scandals, overbearing mothers, reality shows, and twisted toddler exhibitions. So, we're taking a step back to a time before things got tainted, to places such as Grand Openings and Ground Breaking Ceremonies where there was always a "Miss Something-or-other" in attendance. And I know there's whole sites devoted to these vintage queens - a single post with a handful of photos hardly does the subject justice. So, let's just say this is the first of many to come. Enjoy.
Miss Autorama
Miss Tacoma Home Show
Miss Pierce County
Not sure. Miss Hula?
Miss Tacoma Home Show
Texas Pirate Queen
Miss Cam--.... Camaro? I'm sure someone out there can help me.
Miss Tacoma
Miss Putt Putt
Miss Redondo Beach
Miss Texas
Miss Nationals
Miss Airport 1970
Miss Alice in Dairyland (?)
Miss Kentucky 1969
Miss Putt Putt Contest
Miss Hurst Golden Shifter
(?) Beauty Contest
Miss Speed Weeks
1973 Banana Boat Queens
Miss San Fernando Valley
Mini Skirt Contest Queen 1969
Miss Broward County
For more ribbon cutting mamas (not necessarily pageant winners), go to this post.
Love this post, imagine being able to own the label, "Miss Putt-Putt"!
ReplyDelete"(?)Beauty Contest": Is that Bob Hope in the jury?
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteAlice in Dairyland is in Wisconsin. It's a title still given out to this day.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post!
ReplyDeleteMiss Hurst Shifter is of course, Linda Vaughn. You can find a zillion pictures of her.
That first Miss Tacoma Home Show picture cracks me up. They took a regular chair cushion and just put it on a table for her to sit on.
I'd say you're right about Miss Camaro. At least, that's what she's sitting on.
How about Miss "Camshaft" since that's who's sponsorship is proudly displayed?
ReplyDeleteIt took about an hour to get my eyes to move to the left of the "(?) Beauty Contest" photo, but that looks like Bob Hope at the table
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. that picture right after Ms. Golden Shifter was like a 1-2 punch in the gut. She'd have to have a pretty horrendous face not to win that contest - in my book anyway. nice gams.
DeleteThe ever-beautiful Linda Vaughn hails from Indianapolis, an icon of the glory days of the motorsports world is occasionally spotted doing her grocery shopping or buying gasoline just like the rest of us joes.
ReplyDeleteUm, Miss Nationals, I was wondering where you got hose boots?
ReplyDeleteI have this outfit and I think they would go along just great.
Other people in that Bob Hope picture look very familiar, but I can't place them. Specifically the gray haired guy standing behind him and the youngish guy to Bob's left.
ReplyDeleteHe kind of looks like Tommy Lasorda. I think it might be an NBC golf announcer. His name escapes me at the moment.
DeleteI digress somewhat, but what is up with the Chevy that Miss Autorama is standing next to? It looks like somebody from 2012 got in a time machine with their lowrider kit and wagon wheels and ran amok when they got there.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I can't help thinking of the movie "Smile" in connection with all this.
Naw, that low rider looks totally period-correct. The wheels and tires look normal (i.e. not stupid-large diameter) and the pinstriping doesn't look modern at all.
ReplyDeleteBTW, that's probably Miss Camel [GT]. Camel used to be a big auto racing sponsor and supporter, and there was the Camel GT at Watkins Glen.
Miss St Pete is a real sport. She seems to know the situation is silly, but she's giving it her best shot anyway.
ReplyDeleteThree of the men are properly appreciative of her best, but Henry Kissinger and Dean Rusk clearly aren't interested in girls.
Camel, Camaro... naw, that's got to be "Miss Camden County"!
ReplyDeleteI met Linda Vaughan at a black-tie charity dinner where I'd been hired as the photographer. She loved photographers as much as they loved her. Swapped stories with her well into the evening. A classy and charming lady, quite a pleasure to meet. I've always loved racetrack trophy girls, and she was the Grand Dame of those.
ReplyDeleteLucky you. One of my many crushes when I was a kid.
DeleteThat is Miss Camel GT sitting on the Camaro(IMSA Racing series) probably 1973 or 1974 with driver Vince Gimondo.
ReplyDeleteI talked to a "Miss Honeybee" at an event in Pittsburgh a few summers ago. Farmer's daughter of course. So some of this still survives.
ReplyDelete