The Pageant
Montague, the town I grew up in, was very much like Andy Griffith’s Mayberry. We lived simple and quite uneventful lives.
One day a woman came to live in our little sleepy town. She was very involved in the Miss America pageants. She asked the town councilman if she could have permission to begin a Miss White Lake Pageant. It was agreed that this would be a good cultural activity that the girls in our community would enjoy. However, girls were needed to participate.
My friend and I were asked to take the challenge. We thought it would be fun. In all, around nine girls from the White Lake area participated. None of us had real talent except Sue, not her real name. She had just competed in the Miss Muskegon contest and had lost. We found out that the Miss White Lake pageant was to once again give her a chance to win and then compete in the Miss Michigan pageant. Grace had been her coach for some time and saw that she had the looks, poise and talent that could give Michigan a chance in the Miss America pageant. We knew that Sue was going to win, but we appreciated having the opportunity to do something different in our little town of Montague.
The night came for the pageant. We had done all the preliminaries, like attending the judges’ luncheon, the practices for the swimsuit, formal gowns, and our learning how to walk on stage and present our talents. I was coached to do a dramatic reading from “Our Town." I was nervous, but I had the script down very well, and I thought I did okay, at lease I didn’t forget a line.
As we knew and anticipated, Sue won. My friend came in as Miss Congeniality. A girl that twirled a baton came in second. I don’t believe anyone was disappointed. We had learned a great deal and thought it was a privilege to be asked.
The second year of the pageant, I was once again asked, but thought I would sit it out and cheer for the winner. My best friend entered and won!!
The third year of the pageant, girls were beginning to volunteer for the pageant, but most were asked. There was a young girl from Montague named Nancy. Nancy felt she didn’t have any talent except sewing. Now Grace, being her coach, decided to try something entirely different. It was to be a ‘first’ in any talent presented in a pageant. A folding screen was on stage and Nancy was instructed to talk about each outfit she had made as she changed and then modeled it.
The judges loved her talent and so did everyone at the pageant. Nancy won the pageant, and my friend had the honor to crown her as the new Miss White Lake.
Nancy then competed in the Miss Michigan pageant. She won.
She represented Michigan in the Miss America pageant and she won! Not only did she win the title of Miss America, but she won Miss Congeniality and the swim suit competition.
The entire city came out to celebrate that night. The high school band was playing, church bells were ringing, people were driving up and down the streets honking their horns and shouting, “Nancy won! She’s Miss America!”
Our little town of Montague was put on the map for a moment in time. Nancy Fleming became Miss America 1961!
One day a woman came to live in our little sleepy town. She was very involved in the Miss America pageants. She asked the town councilman if she could have permission to begin a Miss White Lake Pageant. It was agreed that this would be a good cultural activity that the girls in our community would enjoy. However, girls were needed to participate.
My friend and I were asked to take the challenge. We thought it would be fun. In all, around nine girls from the White Lake area participated. None of us had real talent except Sue, not her real name. She had just competed in the Miss Muskegon contest and had lost. We found out that the Miss White Lake pageant was to once again give her a chance to win and then compete in the Miss Michigan pageant. Grace had been her coach for some time and saw that she had the looks, poise and talent that could give Michigan a chance in the Miss America pageant. We knew that Sue was going to win, but we appreciated having the opportunity to do something different in our little town of Montague.
The night came for the pageant. We had done all the preliminaries, like attending the judges’ luncheon, the practices for the swimsuit, formal gowns, and our learning how to walk on stage and present our talents. I was coached to do a dramatic reading from “Our Town." I was nervous, but I had the script down very well, and I thought I did okay, at lease I didn’t forget a line.
As we knew and anticipated, Sue won. My friend came in as Miss Congeniality. A girl that twirled a baton came in second. I don’t believe anyone was disappointed. We had learned a great deal and thought it was a privilege to be asked.
The second year of the pageant, I was once again asked, but thought I would sit it out and cheer for the winner. My best friend entered and won!!
The judges loved her talent and so did everyone at the pageant. Nancy won the pageant, and my friend had the honor to crown her as the new Miss White Lake.
Nancy then competed in the Miss Michigan pageant. She won.
She represented Michigan in the Miss America pageant and she won! Not only did she win the title of Miss America, but she won Miss Congeniality and the swim suit competition.
The entire city came out to celebrate that night. The high school band was playing, church bells were ringing, people were driving up and down the streets honking their horns and shouting, “Nancy won! She’s Miss America!”
Our little town of Montague was put on the map for a moment in time. Nancy Fleming became Miss America 1961!
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