USC’s Helen of Troy Contest

The University of Southern California used to elect a woman as "Helen of Troy."

Finalist for Helen of Troy (University of Southern California), 10 November 1960. Mary Elinor Memory; Lynne Helene Hunsucker; Marcia Anne Northrop; Barbara Louise Stephens; Linda Eleanor Scott.; Caption slip reads: "Photographer: Miller. Date: 1960-11-10. Assignment: Finalist for Helen of Troy. L to r: Mary Elinor Memory; Lynne Helene Hunsucker; Marcia Anne Northrop; Barbara Louise Stephens; Linda Eleanor Scott".

Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 20, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Regionalism, Historical Figure, Twentieth Century

Miss Heating Comfort and the Whale Oil Company

The Whale Oil Company, which sponsored the Miss Heating Comfort contest, said it was looking to award the title to the girl "who makes temperatures rise when she enters a room."

Brooklyn Daily - Feb 10, 1961

Newsday - Oct 22, 1960

So did the Whale Oil Company actually sell whale oil? No, but apparently the name led a lot of people to assume that it did. I haven't been able to find out what became of the company, but I'm guessing that the name must have become an increasing liability with the rise of the "Save the Whales" movement in the late 1960s.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Nov 3, 1950

Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 19, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Odd Names, Fossil Fuels, Carbon Footprint, and Climate Change, 1960s

The Jonathan Nichols Temperance and Tobacco Pledge

In 1883, Wakefield resident Jonathan Nichols established a $1000 fund from which $10 would be paid to any Wakefield boy (girls excluded, I assume) who took and successfully completed the "Jonathan Nichols Temperance and Tobacco Pledge."

The pledge was to not "drink intoxicating liquors and not to chew or smoke tobacco" before they turned 21. They had to take the pledge before their 16th birthday.

Unfortunately, Nichols didn't bother to have the prize adjusted for inflation. So while $10 in 1883 may have been a decent prize, today it seems like a joke.

Six hundred boys took the pledge before 1918. From 1918 to 1959 only 10 did. There was some publicity about the pledge in 1959, which inspired 29 Boy Scouts to take the pledge in 1964 (but only a couple of them subsequently got the cash payout). Since then it doesn't seem that anyone has bothered with the pledge.

According to this inflation calculator, $10 in 1883 was equivalent to about $300 today.

The article below is from the Wilmington Town Crier - July 7, 1993.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 15, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Inebriation and Intoxicants

Miss Tramp Steamer

Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 10, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1950s

Miss Electronics of 1950 and Miss Microwave

The Institute of Radio Engineers chose 19-year-old Toy Palaske to be "Miss Electronics of 1950." She got to wear a swimsuit covered with electronics symbols and a crown topped with a television antenna.

A few papers reported a different title for her, "Miss Microwave of 1950".

I assume she was both simultaneously.

(left) Pasadena Independent - Sep 15, 1950; (right) Los Angeles Mirror - Sep 14, 1950

Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 07, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Technology, 1950s

Recc Queens:  1957-1991

What does RECC stand for? "Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation." Bringing electricity to the sticks.

Read a short history here.

And what would any self-respecting organization be without crowning a queen? The photos here start in 1957 and go to 1991.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 27, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Hillbillies, Country Bumpkins, Ruralism and Flyover Country, Technology, Twentieth Century

Apple-Peeling Queen

Not a beauty contest, but an attempt to craft the longest strip of apple skin.

I find this report from 1973--and one from 2021, almost 50 years later! The 2021 piece may be read here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 19, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Agriculture, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Human Marvels

Miss Frozen Foods

As far as I can tell, the frozen food industry started choosing a "Miss Frozen Foods" in 1956. Sometimes the winner was called Miss Frozen Food Month (or Week). The last Miss Frozen Foods that I can find was named in 1961.

Dillon Daily Tribune - Feb 7, 1956

Miss Frozen Foods of 1958 (Nancy Moss). image source: USC Libraries

Los Angeles Evening Citizen News - Mar 19, 1959

Tampa Tribune - Nov 5, 1961

Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 18, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Food, 1950s

The Yak Yak Contest

Alas, I cannot learn the full roster of contestants, nor the outcome.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 11, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Languages, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1950s, Women

American Vegetable Queen

Newsday - Aug 4, 1952

Tampa Tribune - Dec 2, 1952

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Aug 3, 1952

Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 06, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Vegetables, 1950s