In the 1960s, Du Page County had dozens of them. This year, only seven will be crowned. But after three decades of feminism and other social changes, beauty queens are making a comeback, pageant organizers say.
Pageant officials cannot agree on why more girls are competing now than did five years ago. Their explanations range from the larger prizes offered by some contests to more contests being run by former entrants. “We’re very enthusiastic about what we’re doing, and in turn the girls get more enthusiastic, and they tell their friends,” said Lombard Lilac Queen contest organizer Jennifer Micko, a former Lilac Princess.
The 13-year-old Miss Addison competition is seeing better times. “In the past six years interest has really gone up,” said Dee Hanrahan, Community Council secretary. “Before that, we were down to a handful of girls each year, but now we’re getting 13 to 16 a year.”
For the council, the pageant offers a chance to promote Addison’s annual Community Days festival. “We’re looking to keep young people involved in Community Days,” Hanrahan said.
West Chicago’s Miss Railroad Days pageant marked its 20th year June 27, despite fears that it wouldn’t draw enough interest to be worth staging. “Some people on the committee considered dropping it because we only had 11 girls enter last year,” said festival organizer Peter Geroulis. “But it’s traditional. It’s nice to have it.”
Lombard’s 46th annual Lilac Queen contest attracted 15 girls this spring. The queen and her court of four princesses preside over the weeklong Lilac Festival and do volunteer work with the Jaycees on such community projects as breakfasts, cleanup days, car washes and house tours. “I get offended when people call it a pageant. Beauty pageants do exploit women,” said Micko, contest co-chairwoman. “This is a contest (to evaluate) community service and personality. We don’t judge the girls’ looks.”
“I’m seeing that there really are kids out there who are wholesome and who want to do something positive (for themselves),” organizer Judy Hazucha said of the Miss Wood Dale pageant, which the city resurrected last year after a 15-year hiatus. Hazucha, a former Miss Goldblatt’s who has entered and judged the Du Page County Fair Queen contest, said local pageants promote community spirit and spotlight deserving young women.
And in Bloomingdale, 14 girls competed to become the 17th Septemberfest Queen last year, with at least that many expected to enter this year, said pageant director Irene Jones.
Bloomingdale’s pageant also attracts entrants by offering $3,250 in scholarships, split among the top five scorers. “Our goal is to give away as much scholarship money as possible,” said organizer Pat Puccio. “This really is more an academic scholarship contest than a beauty pageant.” Local merchants also donate jewelry and other prizes worth another $300 to $400 for the winner.
While most pageants can’t match Bloomingdale’s payoff, winners can still expect to walk away with several hundred dollars in cash and merchandise. Miss Addison, for example, wins a $100 savings bond and $400 to $500 in gifts; Miss Railroad Days wins $300 and some jewelry; the Du Page Fair Queen wins $500 plus a $300 personal appearance contract; and Miss Wood Dale receives $250, gifts, a trophy, a crown and a limousine ride home from the pageant. Contestants also get the chance to polish their public speaking skills, socialize with each other and have fun, organizers said.
“Some enter for the prizes, but a lot enter for the experience,” director Ruth Hagerman said of the Du Page County Fair Queen pageant. “It’s a fun time for them to meet other girls.”
“They’re nervous, but we try to keep them working together,” Hanrahan said. “By the end, they’re having fun together.”
Some have more fun than others. “I enjoyed being in the contest, but I can’t say it was a big social occasion,” said Maxine Grief Bless, 1987’s Bloomingdale Septemberfest Queen. “We had a pizza party where we were supposed to get to know each other, but everybody was more nervous than friendly. If you brought those eight girls together to my office now, I couldn’t tell you if they were in the pageant with me or not.”
Unlike Miss America and other big-name pageants, local contests don’t cost thousands of dollars to win. Most charge no application fee, and contestants can borrow outfits from sponsoring stores if they don’t already own what they need. “You don’t really need a lot to enter,” said Dina Megalis, the 1992 Miss Wood Dale. “I didn’t buy anything for the Wood Dale contest, and for the county contest I only bought a hat for $50. I used my prom dress for the evening gown competition, and I already had a swimsuit.”
Most contestants don’t need the swimsuit. Once the highlight of beauty pageants, swimsuit competitions have been dropped from all but the Du Page Fair Queen pageant, and that contest includes it only because the winner becomes eligible to compete for Miss Illinois, which still has a swimsuit contest, Hagerman said.
So what do judges look for when sizing up potential winners? Good grades and community service count for a lot, organizers said.
Most also test beauty and grace by having contestants model sportswear or evening gowns. “We’re calling it more a fashion show than a pageant so we can draw more people (to watch),” Geroulis said of the Miss Railroad Days evening gown competition, with dresses lent by local bridal shops.
What matters most these days, though, is how a contestant presents her philosophy of life and her career plans, both in written essays and during interviews with the judges. Official judging criteria weigh poise and public speaking more heavily than appearance for most contests. “Town pageants are looking for someone to represent the town in a more personable, down-to-earth way, while the national pageants look more for glamor,” said Megalis, who has cheered on friends in Miss Illinois pageants and considered entering one herself.
“We try to emphasize health, positive thinking and community spirit,” Hazucha said. “The girls don’t have to be ravishing. We’re trying to point out that beauty comes from within.”
Two years ago, Bloomingdale took the academic emphasis of its pageant a step further by starting a companion contest for boys. Entrants in the Septemberfest King contest follow the same rules and procedures as the queen hopefuls do, and winners share the duties of presiding over the fest, attending a community volunteer night banquet and judging next year’s pageant. Like the girls, the boys write an essay and are interviewed, and they don’t model anything.
“I still would have entered if there’d been a fashion show, but I wouldn’t have modeled a swimsuit,” said Kevin Applehoff, who competed in the first king contest in 1991. “It was fun and interesting. I think they should have had a king contest a long time ago.”
“For a few weeks I got teased pretty badly by my roommates, but it was all in fun,” said Jason Fangusaro, who returned to Loyola University last fall as Septemberfest King. “I entered because it sounded like a really neat idea, and the ($1,500) scholarship was a big incentive, too.” Fangusaro said he felt “a little guilty” that he ended up a winner while others in the contest lost, but that he’s enjoyed fulfilling his “royal duties.”
Fangusaro said he wouldn’t bare almost all in a Mr. Universe contest, but he has nothing against the more stereotypical pageants. “For other people, that’s great,” he said. “Everyone has different talents and beauty, and that’s one way to use them.”
