Miss America 1922
Mary Katherine Campbell,
Miss America 1922
DateSeptember 7–9, 1922
PresentersKing Neptune (Hudson Maxim)
VenueMillion Dollar Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Entrants64
Placements4
WinnerMary Katherine Campbell
Columbus, Ohio

Miss America 1922 was the second annual Miss America pageant, held at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey from September 7–9, 1922.[1][2][3]

At the conclusion of the event, Miss America 1921, Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C., and film actress, Anita Stewart, presented the $5,000 Golden Mermaid Trophy to Mary Katherine Campbell of Columbus, Ohio thus declaring Campbell as the official successor to the Miss America title.[4]

Contestants from 64 cities, states, and titles competed at the event. The event was presented by Hudson Maxim dressed as King Neptune.[5]

Overview

Organization of pageant

The pageant consisted of six phases of competition: rolling chair parade, evening gown, intercity bathing, amateur surf attire, professional mermaids, and the final.[6][7][8] There was no talent competition at this pageant (this would not become part of the Miss America competition until 1935), and there was no formal interview sessions between the contestants and judges.[9][10]

On the afternoon of September 7, 1922, the 58 contestants competed in the rolling chair parade. Later that same day, they competed in the evening gown competition.[11] Both the rolling chair and evening gown competitions were won by Miss Indianapolis, Thelma Blossom.[11] On September 8, 1922, the contestants competed in bathing suit revues.[6] The contestants were divided into three unique groupings: intercity, amateur, and professional beauties.[7] During the bathing revue, the Mayor of Atlantic City and some of the city's police force joined the contestants, wearing their own bathing attire.[12]

The three winners of these bathing/beauty competitions then progressed to the final phase of competition to compete directly against the reigning Miss America 1921, Margaret Gorman.[11][13][14] Mary Katherine Campbell, competing as Miss Columbus in the pageant, edged out the previous year's winner, Margaret Gorman, who competed as "Miss America 1921" in the 1922 event, to claim the preliminary "Intercity Beauty Award."[15] Campbell then competed against "Professional Beauty Award" winner, Dorothy Knapp of New York, "Amateur Beauty Award" winner, Gladys Greenamyer of West Philadelphia, and Gorman, the reigning Miss America.[16] After the conclusion of the final phase of competition, judging panel deliberated for over two hours before selecting the sole winner of the pageant.[14] Mary Katherine Campbell, Miss Columbus, was then named Miss America 1922 just after midnight on September 9, 1922.[8]

Judges

The panel of judges for the national pageant included Heyworth Campbell, Coles Phillips, Joseph Cummings Chase, Arnold Genthe, Willy Pogany, August William Hutaf, Norman Rockwell, and Howard Chandler Christy.[7][17] Rockwell later reported that the judging panel was given no instructions on how to judge the pageant and select a winner.[18] One judge suggested that they judge each part or feature of the body out of ten, then the woman with the total highest score would win.[18] After they had tried this system, they discovered that judging a contestant "piecemeal" did not result in the most beautiful and well-rounded contestant being selected as a winner.[18] So they "...gave up trying to figure out a system and resolved to trust our eyes. It led to squabbles, because all of us didn't see things in the same way, but it was the best we could do."[18]

Results

Contestants of Miss America 1922
Miss Alaska 1922,
Helmar Liederman
Miss Washington 1922,
Evelyn Atkinson

Placements

Placement Contestant
Miss America 1922
1st Runner-Up
Finalists

Preliminary awards

Evening Dress Award

Results Contestant
Winner
Second Prize
Third Prize

Intercity Roller Chair Parade

Results Contestant
Winner
Second Prize
Third Prize

Intercity Beauty Award / Bathers' Revue

Results Contestant
Winner
Second Prize
Third Prize

Professional Beauty Award

Results Contestant
Winner
Second Prize
Third Prize

Amateur Beauty Award

Results Contestant
Winner
Second Prize
Third Prize

Contestants

64 contestants competed for the title.[27]

  •   Winner
  •   Runner-up
  •   Finalist
  •   Non-Finalist Award Winner
Represented Name Age[lower-alpha 1] Notes
 Akron Doris Widdersheim[28]
Alaska Helmar Liederman[29][30] 23 Disqualified from Miss America 1923 pageant because she was married[30][31]
Pennsylvania Allentown Ellen E. Sherr[32]
New Jersey Atlantic City Estelle Marks[7]
Baltimore Irma Knabe[33]
New York (state) Binghamton Helen Agnes Searles[34]
Alabama Birmingham Elise Sparrow[35] 24 Married Boston Red Sox owner, Tom Yawkey, in 1925 and later divorced in 1944[35][36]
Boston Charlotte Trowbridge[14]
Connecticut Bridgeport Paula E. Spoettle[37]
New Jersey Bridgeton Sarah Alice Bell[38]
New York (state) Brighton Beach Ruth Andrea[39]
Buffalo Bertha Rent[40]
Pennsylvania Chester Anna Marie Burke[41]
Chicago Georgia Hale[42] 22 Starred in Charlie Chaplin's 1925 film, The Gold Rush,[43] and the 1926 silent film, The Great Gatsby[44]
Cleveland Leile Charles[45] Competed in pageant despite being married[11][46]
Columbus Mary Katherine Campbell[47][48] 15
 Dayton Helen Francis Smith[38]
 Detroit M. Beth Madson[49] Also competed in Miss America 1923 pageant as Miss Detroit[50]
Pennsylvania Easton Dorothy Haupt[37] Also competed in Miss America 1923 pageant as Miss Erie[50]
Erie Thora McDannel[6]
Fall River Helen Lynch[37]
Florida Eleanor Logan[51] 19
New Jersey Greater Camden Eleanor Lindley[52]
Harrisburg Gertrude Shoemack[53]
Indiana Indiana Sydney Nelson[14] Nelson lived and worked in New York City at time of pageant but cited as being from Indianapolis[54]

Appeared in the Broadway productions of The Passing Show of 1922 and The Whirl of New York[54][55]
Indianapolis Thelma Blossom[56] 20
Pennsylvania Johnstown Velma Ziegler[57]
Kansas City Miriam Chafee[58]
Lancaster Elsie Blumenstock[59]
Long Beach Lillian Harnach[39]
 Los Angeles Katherine Grant[58]
 Louisville Dorothy Heick[60]
 Macon Frances Gurr[61]
 Memphis Ruth Doughty[62]
 Miss America 1921 Margaret Gorman[63] 17 Also competed as Miss America 1921 in the 1923 pageant[63]
Montreal Marie Gauthier[34]
 Nashville Sue Burton[64]
 New Bedford Alice Burke[38]
Connecticut New Haven Lillian Peterson[65]
New Orleans New Orleans Maude Allison Price[34]
New York (state) New York Pauline Virginia Dakla[7] Appeared in the Broadway productions of Bombo, The Passing Show of 1922, and The Whirl of New York[54][55]
New York City New York City Dorothy Knapp[66][67] 17
 Ocean City Marion Steelman[68]
Philadelphia Philadelphia Kathryn “Kitty” Molineaux[69]
Pittsburgh Rae Bennett[41]
 Portland Virginia Edwards[58]
Pennsylvania Pottsville Leah M. Knapp[70]
Pennsylvania Reading Evelyn Renninger[41]
New York (state) Rochester Mildred Moon[20]
New York (state) Rockaway Beach Dorothy Hughes[39]
San Francisco Tanssia Zara[59]
New York (state) Schenectady Roberta Cooper[71]
 Seattle Evelyn Atkinson[58]
New York (state) South Beach Mary Hlavka[39]
 St. Louis Mildred Hose[72]
New York (state) Syracuse M. Rosamond Fahey[34]
Toledo Loraine Foskey[73]
Toronto Marjorie Smith[74]
Utica Janette Adams[75]
New Jersey Vineland Mary Elizabeth Edwards[76] 18
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Evelyn C. Lewis[34]
Waterbury Hazel Germershausen[77]
Pennsylvania West Philadelphia Gladys Greenamyer[54] 18
 Wheeling Mary Dague[46]
 Wilmington A. Adele Senft[33]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ages at the time of national competition

References

  1. ↑ "Queens of Beauty Hold Court at Atlantic City". Syracuse Herald. Syracuse, New York. September 17, 1922.
  2. ↑ "'Miss America' Is Ohio Girl". Sandusky Star Journal. Sandusky, Ohio. September 9, 1922. p. 7.
  3. ↑ "Miss Indianapolis Much Admired, But Ohio Girl Is Winner". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. September 8, 1922. p. 2.
  4. ↑ "Beauty Pageant Comes to Close". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. September 11, 1922. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Maxim bars perfume for girls in pageant". The New York Times. 29 August 1922. p. 17. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "Atlantic City". The Kane Republican. Kane, Pennsylvania. September 8, 1922. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Columbus Beauty Adjudged Atlantic City Fete Queen". New York Tribune. New York, New York. September 9, 1922. p. 3.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Atlantic City's Queen of Beauty is 'Miss Columbus'". The New York Herald. New York New York. September 9, 1922. p. 6.
  9. ↑ Schnitzspahn, Karen (September 8, 1997). "There She Was – Miss Long Branch". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. ...talent contest that was established in 1935.
  10. ↑ Watson, Elwood; Martin, Darcy (2004). "There She Is, Miss America": The Politics of Sex, Beauty, and Race in America's Most Famous Pageant (1 ed.). New York, New York: Springer Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 1403981825 – via Google Books.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "'Miss Indianapolis' in Lead For National Beauty Honors". New York Tribune. New York, New York. September 8, 1922. p. 3.
  12. ↑ "Columbus, Ohio, Girl Is Crowned Miss America". The Bridgeport Telegram. September 17, 1922. p. 1.
  13. 1 2 "Beauty Title To..." The Evening Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. September 9, 1922. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Miss Columbus Picked as Miss America at Pageant". Evening Journal. Vineland, New Jersey. September 9, 1922. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Beauty Title To..." The Evening Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. September 9, 1922. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Miss America History 1922". Archived from the original on April 16, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  17. 1 2 Fuller, Robert (September 24, 1922). "She Can Cook Ham and Cabbage". The Victoria Advocate. Victoria, Texas. p. 3.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Here She Is..." Revues and Other Vanities: The Commodification of Fantasy in the 1920s. Assumption College. February 6, 2007. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  19. ↑ "All the Miss Americas, Then and Now". Life. Vol. 47, no. 13. New York City: Time, Inc. September 28, 1959. p. 88. ISSN 0024-3019 – via Google Books.
  20. 1 2 "Atlantic City". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 10, 1922. p. 2 – via NewspaperArchives.com.
  21. ↑ "16-Year-Old Beauty Wins Honors in Atlantic City Pageant". The Evening News. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. September 9, 1922. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Below: The Prize Winners". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. September 24, 1922. p. 101.
  23. 1 2 "Miss Indianapolis Wins Beauty Prizes at Shore". The Gazette Times. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 8, 1922. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Top 3 in evening wear at Miss America 1922". Pikosy.
  25. ↑ "'Miss Indianapolis' Is Prettiest Girl: Thelma Blossom Wins First Two Events in Atlantic City Beauty Show". The New York Times. New York, New York. September 8, 1922. p. 13.
  26. ↑ "Beauty Queen Not Yet in Love". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 10, 1922. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "Most beautiful girls of 57 cities given golden keys to city by Mayor Bader at opening of Atlantic City's pageant and national tournament". The Scranton Republican. 9 September 1922. p. 1. Retrieved 6 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Beautiful Floats Represent Rubber". India Rubber Review: A Monthly Journal for the Maker, Seller and User of Rubber. Vol. 22. India Rubber Review. November 1922. p. 99 – via Google Books. Miss Widdersheim...was recently selected as Akron's prize beauty
  29. ↑ "Miss Alaska Follows Trail of Ice, Water, Air, Rail to Beauty Camp". Daily News. New York, New York. September 3, 1922. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. 1 2 Dunn, Geoffrey (August 24, 2011). "Arctic Venus: The first Miss Alaska". Anchorage Press. Anchorage, Alaska.
  31. ↑ "Why They Want a Law Forbidding Beauty Contests". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. November 11, 1923. p. 56 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ "Miss Allentown". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. October 29, 1922. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. 1 2 "Girls Enter Beauty Contest". The Glasgow Courier. Glasgow, Montana. September 8, 1922. p. 1.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 "Most Beautiful Girls of 57 Cities Given Golden Keys to City by Mayor Bader at Opening of Atlantic City's Pageant and National Beauty Tournament". The Scranton Republican. Scranton, Pennsylvania. September 9, 1922. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. 1 2 Nowlin, Bill (2018). Tom Yawkey: Patriarch of the Boston Red Sox. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-1496204417 – via Google Books.
  36. ↑ Thomas Jr., Robert McG. (February 27, 1992). "Jean R. Yawkey, Red Sox Owner And Philanthropist, Is Dead at 83". The New York Times.
  37. 1 2 3 Arbuckle, Alex Q. (July 12, 2015). "1922:The first Miss America". Mashable.
  38. 1 2 3 "Now, Which One Would You Say?". Salisbury Evening Post. Salisbury, North Carolina. August 31, 1922. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. 1 2 3 4 "Dorothy Hughes, Rockaway Girl, Chosen Queen of New York Beaches". Daily News. New York, New York. August 27, 1922. p. 64 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. ↑ "Winner of Beauty Queen Must Be Hungry". Syracuse Herald. Syracuse, New York. September 17, 1922 – via NewspaperArchives.com.
  41. 1 2 3 "The Pennsylvania Beauties". Reading News-Times. Reading, Pennsylvania. September 6, 1922. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ↑ Goering, Laurie (March 25, 1990). "Mere Beauty Doesn't Win Pageant". Chicago Tribune.
  43. ↑ Feaster, Felicia. "The Gold Rush". Turner Classic Movies.
  44. ↑ "The Great Gatsby". Variety. Vol. 85, no. 6. New York City. November 24, 1926. p. 14.
  45. ↑ Mackey, J. (November 4, 1922). "Everybody Happy–the Sketches Tell Why". Dry Goods Economist. Vol. 76. University of Minnesota. p. 81.
  46. 1 2 "none". Evening Public Ledger. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 2, 1922.
  47. ↑ "More Competitors for Beauty's Crown at Atlantic City". Vancouver Daily World. Vancouver, British Columbia. September 8, 1922. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  48. ↑ Watson, Elwood; Martin, Darcy (2004). "There She Is, Miss America": The Politics of Sex, Beauty, and Race in America's Most Famous Pageant (1 ed.). New York, New York: Springer Publishing. ISBN 1403981825 – via Google Books.
  49. ↑ "America's Prettiest Girls". The Evening News. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. September 14, 1922. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  50. 1 2 "Golden Apple Is Sought by Scores". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. September 6, 1923. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  51. ↑ "Miss Florida About to Wed: Mother Stops Her". The New York Herald. New York, New York. September 13, 1922.
  52. ↑ "Look back at Miss America 1922". Press of Atlantic City Archives. Atlantic City, New Jersey. May 5, 2017. Miss Greater Camden Eleanor Lindley with Miss America 1921 Margaret Gorman.
  53. ↑ "For National Beauty Honors". Cheboygan Democrat. Cheboygan, Michigan. September 7, 1922. p. 9.
  54. 1 2 3 4 ""Miss Columbus" Is Pettiest of All America Girls". Every Evening. Wilmington, Delaware. September 9, 1922. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  55. 1 2 Dietz, Dan (2019). "1921-1922 Season". The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 71. ISBN 978-1538112823 – via Google Books.
  56. ↑ "Indianapolis Gives Fitting Welcome to Girl Whose Beauty Wins National Fame". The Indianapolis Times. Indianapolis, Indiana. September 14, 1922. p. 2.
  57. ↑ "Johnstown's Prettiest". The Daily Times. New Philadelphia, Ohio. September 1, 1922. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com. Miss Velma Ziegler, voted the prettiest girl in Johnstown...
  58. 1 2 3 4 "Reporter, Dazzled by Beauty of Six Pageant Entrants - Sees Hard Job Ahead for Judges". The Indianapolis Times. Indianapolis, Indiana. September 5, 1922. p. 1.
  59. 1 2 "Delegates". The Leavenworth Times. Leavenworth, Kansas. September 8, 1922. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  60. ↑ "At The Atlantic City Beauty Pageant". Getty Images. October 9, 1922.
  61. ↑ "Miss Frances Gurr Is Macon's Pageant Queen". The Athens Daily Herald. Athens, Georgia. August 28, 1922. p. 3 – via Digital Library of Georgia.
  62. ↑ "Miss Memphis". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 4, 1922. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  63. 1 2 "Margaret Gorman Cahill, 90; First Miss America". Los Angeles Times. October 5, 1995.
  64. ↑ "Activities Among Women". Nashville Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. September 22, 1922. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com. Miss Sue Burton, who won the distinction of being Nashville's "most beautiful girl,"...
  65. ↑ "Telling the News in Pictures: Prize Contest Beauty". Vancouver Daily World. Vancouver, British Columbia. December 2, 1922. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com. Lillian Peterson, "Miss New Haven," Conn., in Atlantic City beauty show..
  66. ↑ Teed, Dexter (April 27, 1932). "America's Venus Laments". Public Opinion. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
  67. ↑ Gautier, Paul S. (1922). "Experience of a Famous Beauty, Dorothy Knapp". The Wireless Age. Vol. 10. Macroni Publishing Corporation. p. 26.
  68. ↑ "Pretty "Sob Sisters" Ocean City Guests". Editor & Publisher. Vol. 56. Editor & Publisher Company. August 4, 1923. p. 15 – via Google Books.
  69. ↑ "Miss Philadelphia". Daily News. New York, New York. September 3, 1922. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  70. ↑ "Miss Pottsville Appears a Most Beautiful Flower in a Bouquet of Loveliness". Pottsville Republican. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. August 25, 1922. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  71. ↑ "Police Hunt Prize Police Dog". The New York Times. New York, New York. September 25, 1922. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  72. ↑ "Miss Mildred Hose Wins Beauty Contest Here". The St. Louis Star. St. Louis, Missouri. August 30, 1922. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  73. ↑ "Beauties Selected by Their Cities to Compete in Big Contest". Lima News. Lima, Ohio. September 1, 1922. p. 19 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  74. ↑ "Toronto Prize Beauty Spurns Wealth to Wed Sweetheart of Her Childhood". Albuquerque Morning Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. November 5, 1922. p. 11.
  75. ↑ "Who Will Be Selected the One to Be Crowned "Miss America"". Dunkirk Evening Observer. Dunkirk, New York. September 5, 1922. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  76. ↑ "Girls Enter Beauty Contest". Evening Journal. Vineland, New Jersey. September 5, 1922. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  77. ↑ "Aspirant to Title of Queen of Beauty". Ithaca Journal-News. Ithaca, New York. September 16, 1922. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.

Secondary sources

  • Saulino Osborne, Angela (1995). "Miss Americas and their Courts". Miss America The Dream Lives On. Taylor Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87833-110-7.
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