Miss Fireworks of 1954

Hula dancing on a bomb.

Leatherneck - Magazine of the Marines - Sep 1954

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jul 04, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1950s, Armed Forces, Weapons

Miss Rat Tail?

Two news stories, published over 20 years apart (1955 and 1976), described beauty contests in the Philippines that were combined with rat-extermination campaigns.


The 1976 story makes it sound like the contestants themselves were expected to do the rat-catching. I assume that's a mistake, though it would be interesting to see rat catching included in the talent section of the Miss America competition.

Pasadena Independent - July 27, 1955

Miami News - Feb 18, 1976

Update: Some more digging into the newspaper archive has yielded plenty of other stories on this topic. The practice seems to get reported in western newspapers about once a decade. Apparently using rat tails to vote in beauty contests is a long-established Filipino custom.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jul 01, 2022 - Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests

Ninety-five Years of the Shenandoah Queens

I like the fact that they choose Queens from outside their region. Long may she reign!

First photo source: The Daily News Leader (Staunton, Virginia)10 Mar 1959, Tue Page 12







The home page.

Apparently, the Court also includes Apple Blossom Princesses.

Source: The Daily News Leader (Staunton, Virginia) 22 Mar 1957, Fri Page 3



Source of article: The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia) 04 May 1957, Sat Page 3

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 24, 2022 - Comments (4)
Category: Agriculture, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Parades and Festivals, Regionalism, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century

Threshermen’s Queen

I'm not sure when the Threshermen began crowning a queen at their annual reunion. But in 1952 they decided to stop the practice. The reason they gave was that, "The local talent has been exhausted and we are going to wait a couple of years for a new crop."

Sounds a bit harsh.

Marshfield News-Herald - Jan 9, 1952

Below is some of the local talent from an earlier year, pre-exhaustion.

The Bloomington Pantagraph - Sep 8, 1950

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 14, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1950s

World’s Most Beautiful Blonde

The photo that comes second here represents several of the contestants in this French competition. Not sure if our winner, Helen, is among them.

Posted By: Paul - Thu May 12, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, 1930s, Europe

Legs of Tomorrow

In 1939, ice skater Erna Anderson was declared to have the "Legs of Tomorrow" on the theory that "the woman of tomorrow will be more athletic."

Arguably this prediction came true. At least, it's common now for women to go to gyms, whereas it wasn't in the 1930s.

Minneapolis Star - June 2, 1939

Erna Anderson. Source: New York Public Library

Posted By: Alex - Mon May 09, 2022 - Comments (7)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Exercise and Fitness, 1930s, Legs, Yesterday’s Tomorrows

Lamp Shade Queen

Pittsburgh Press - Apr 2, 1939

Posted By: Alex - Fri May 06, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Fashion, Furniture, 1930s

Fur Queens of the Manitoba Trappers Festival

A while back, we had a look at Manitoba's Trout Festival "Mermaid Queens."

Now we have their regal compatriots, the Fur Queens.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 25, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Hunting, Trapping and Other Wilderness Activities, 1960s, North America

Miss Sauerkraut of 1947

Being named Miss Sauerkraut of 1947 seems to have been a high point of Alice Niesen's modeling career.

Ithaca Journal - Aug 1, 1947

The only other example of her work that I could find was a 1948 piece in which she modeled the "sock pocket".

The Frederick Leader - Jan 19, 1948

Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 12, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Food, 1940s

The Grape Day Queen of Escondido

The official page.

Grape Day started in 1908 as a way to celebrate Escondido's grape harvest and promote the city. It flourished until 1950 and was revived by the Escondido History Center in 1996. Each year in October*, our community comes together to celebrate Grape Day.

An article from 2006.



The 1949 candidates, courtesy of the Weekly Times-Advocate (Escondido, California)19 Aug 1949, Fri Page 6



The 1913 winner.





Source: Times-Advocate (Escondido, California)18 Feb 1973, Sun Page 8

Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 09, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Agriculture, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Regionalism, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century