(no subject)

[garnigal]

I was reading a rather horrifying article by Suburban Turmoil about baby glitz pageants Nashville Scene - Barbie Girls, and had a flashback to my own pageant summer.

I know I don't seem the type, but both pageants I competed in were local and I had been specifically requested (because of my wonderous beauty, don'tcha know?)

The first was the Huron County Queen of the Furrow competition. The Huron County Plowman's Association president was a friend of my dad's, knew I was about the right age and wanted to get a few more girls involved. All in involved was putting on a dress (same one I wore to every family event, nothing special) and giving a speech. Oh, and I had to plow 5 rows in a field with a single harrow plow.

The second was the Wingham Homecoming pageant. It was a little more typical. There were about 25 or 30 girls in that one, but I had been asked by some women I was in choir with to represent The Teeswater News. Each of the girls was sponsored by a local business. The newspaper gave me a basket of chocolate, some lotion and a Precious Memories figurine to thank me. The pageant organizers gave each girl a beauty consult with the makeup artist who'd do our makeup that night.

We wore our own dresses to be introduced and give a brief statement - where we live, what we enjoyed (yes, same dress), then changed into fancy dresses for the finale. Dresses were supplied by the bridal store in one of the towns around (Walkerton, I think), and it was basically a fashion show of the bridesmaid fashions of the early ninties (both taffeta and velvet were involved).

I didn't place in either pageant, but I had a good time at both. Mostly we just hung out and chatted.

So my pageant experience was kind of pathetic. Except for the plowing, that was freaking cool.

Comments

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

I have never heard of a beauty pagent where plowing was involved. that's awesome.

The Miss America contest would be so much more fun if stuff like that was involved.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

It was pretty neat. I'd driven tractors and equipment before, but we did no-till from the time I was little, so I'd never plowed anything. Plowing is a lot different because it goes so deeply into the soil. It was very satisfying - it really looked like I'd accomplished something.

One of these days, I'm going to write down a bunch of these "growing up on a farm" memories. I definitely had different experiences than most people I know.

I'd love to see Miss America up on a tractor - that might actually make me watch the pageant!

[lilachigh.livejournal.com]

I’ve never heard of us having pageants like this over here in England. Other flist Brits might write and say otherwise. It all sounds horrendous and a paedophile’s best day out.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard about this sort of thing before JonBenet Ramsey's murder. Obviously they are long-standing in the States, but the closest I've seen up here is Fall Fair cutest baby contests. And those were pretty benign - prop the kids up on a table, ooh and aww over this year's crop of babies and send everyone home with a ribbon.