Miss Michigan in 1960s featured 2 Miss Americas, stripped title, Dutch beauty
NOTE: This is the second in a series of stories looking back at the quotes and notes of Miss Michigan title-holders through the years.
MUSKEGON, MI --€“ The Miss Michigan Scholarship Pageant continued to grow into the 1960s. The number of contestants grew exponentially and people flocked to the Lakeshore to watch the competition.
Muskegon Chronicle articles from the era deem Muskegon as "the most beautiful city in Michigan" during the pageant and one report indicates that reporters from more than 60 different media outlets attended the competition.
Here are some interesting quotes and notes about the Miss Michigan title-holders of the 1960s:
Miss Michigan 1960 Nancy Anne Fleming
The 18-year-old from Montague represented a successful start to the decade as she would go on to be crowned Miss America 1961. She won the talent portion of the competition for being her own seamstress and model for one-person fashion show she described as a "refined strip tease."
The pageants of the 1950s were much smaller than the modern competitions, but its winners no less radiant or deserving.
She met her second husband -- radio and TV personality Jim Lange, the original host of The Dating Game -- in 1975. She appeared on an episode of the popular show "The Love Boat" in 1984.
Upon her return to the Muskegon area, Fleming became a celebrity. Articles in the Muskegon Chronicle show Montague being referred to as "Nancyville, U.S.A." According to an article printed on Oct. 19, 1960, a group of citizens in Montague even petitioned city council to rename Water Street Nancy Anne Avenue.
Miss Michigan 1961 Karen Southway Dewert
The 18-year-old from Wyoming performed a dramatic characterization of the aged Mary Todd Lincoln, widow of the great president, for the talent portion of the competition. .
She brought a lucky wooden nickel with her to competition, as she had in previous pageants, but eventually abandoned it.
"I threw it away the first day when I felt things weren't going well," she said in a Muskegon Chronicle article published in 1961. "That helped. It helped me realize that if I was to win I would have to do it myself. No lucky charm could do it for me."
Miss Michigan 1962 Carole Jean VanValin
The 18-year-old from Roscommon was a self-described "outdoor girl with an archer's eye and an angler's aim," according to Muskegon Chronicle archives. She was the salutatorian of her class at Roscommon High School.
Miss Michigan 1963 Kathleen McLaughlin Kostomo
A native of Ishpeming, she was the first winner from the Upper Peninsula.
Miss Michigan 1964 Sarah Jane Noble
The 18-year-old from East Lansing was the first and only winner to perform a free exercise routine at Miss Michigan.
Miss Michigan 1965 Esther Lynne Smith
Born in Vlaardingen, The Netherlands, Smith, 19, was the fourth oldest of nine children. She became a naturalized American citizen just six weeks before winning Miss Michigan crown and her family changed their name from Smit to Smith once they moved.
"I didn't really think I'd feel much different," she said of her Dutch-American heritage in a Muskegon Chronicle article published in 1965. "The people took us right to their hearts when we arrived. But I did: it was a wonderful, proud feeling."
Miss Michigan 1966 Nancy Ackert
A gifted singer from Battle Creek who longtime Miss Michigan Scholarship Pageant Director Jack C. Bushong compared to the American singer and actress Ethel Merman. She assumed the title after Gayle Chancey was stripped of her crown.
Speaking of which...
Miss Michigan history: Stripped of a title
Dearborn's Gayle Chancey was stripped of her Miss Michigan title in 1966 after she violated pageant rules. She inadvertently set off a 10-hour statewide search by Michigan State Police when she "disappeared" while traveling from Muskegon to Dearborn in an official pageant car.
Chancey later said she was surprised by the search, explaining she ran into heavy fog while driving across the state and spent the night in Lansing with a girlfriend.
Bushong eventually ruled that Chancey has broken two basic rules: Violations of the rule against driving an official car unchaperoned after dark and failing to notify her parents as to her whereabouts.
"This may seem harsh punishment," Bushong said on Sept. 12, 1966. "But the rules were broken and we will not compromise with the dignity of the program. We feel very badly about this, of course, but there is no choice left to us."
Miss Michigan 1967 Toni Abbenante Farmer
The 19-year-old from East Grand Rapids overcame plenty to claim the title in 1967.
During Miss Michigan Junior College competition her float caught fire and she was, in her words, "slightly singed." During rehearsals for the final night of the Miss Michigan competition she leaned against a wall that wasn't there and toppled off stage, bruising herself slightly.
Friday night of the competition, after months of fruitless attempts to gain copyright clearance for a TV performance of George Bernard Shaw's "St. Joe" she was told by pageant officials that she would have to find a new act. Only a few hours of rehearsal she managed to master a short telephone drama by Grace Atkinson, of Whitehall.
Consequently, she wore badge No. 13 throughout the competition.
Miss Michigan 1968 Darlene Joyce Kurant
Muskegon's own Darlene Joyce Kurant was crowned Miss Michigan of 1968 at the age of 19. According to Muskegon Chronicle archives, Miss Muskegon County carried a Kennedy half dollar with her throughout the competition for good luck.
"I had it in my shoe until it hurt so bad she couldn't stand it," Kurant said in a Muskegon Chronicle article from June 25, 1968. "My foot ached and swelled Saturday night so I carried it in my glove instead."
Apparently, the charm worked.
"I'm pinching myself to see if it's real," Kurant said in the 1968 article. "I didn't believe it would happen. I feel so happy I don't know if I'll ever come down to Earth.
Miss Michigan 1969 Pam Eldred
The decade ended the same way it started, with Miss Michigan going on to be crowned Miss America. Eldred, a 21-year-old from Birmingham, was crowned Miss America 1970.
A ballerina, Eldred performed a dance in the Miss America talent competition to music from "Romeo and Juliet."
One of the five finalists Eldred defeated in the Miss American 1970 pageant was singer and actress Susan Anton. A year later, Eldred's successor would be future First Lady of Kentucky and television personality Phyllis George.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2016/06/miss_michigan_in_1960s.html
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