Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 26, 1994 TAG: 9408260052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In a ballroom of the Sheraton Inn Roanoke Airport on Thursday, 11 contestants from across Virginia began three days of camaraderie, outings, rehearsals, performances and fun that will culminate in the crowning of 1994's Ms. Virginia Senior Citizen on Saturday night.
Notice that competing isn't mentioned.
"When you're younger, it's very competitive and you're always worried about doing the right thing. But in our age group, you don't have to impress anyone. We can share," explained contestant Julia Manherz.
Hours after meeting one another Wednesday night, the contestants, from age 55 to 86, relaxed after a breakfast orientation meeting and shared some of their ideas and ideals.
They agreed on a need for strong family ties. They recalled when spanking wasn't child abuse but a sometimes-necessary part of child rearing.
They listed as beautiful, gracious women they admire their mothers, Jacqueline Kennedy, singer Kate Smith and actresses Angela Lansbury, Rita Moreno, Debbie Reynolds and Ruby Dee.
They agreed that they like being called ladies and seniors; they hate being referred to as elderly. They said they worry about crime, drugs, promiscuity, morals, values, AIDS and the world in which their grandchildren are growing up.
But these years, past age 55, are among their best, they said; and that's the message they hope the pageant helps them to convey.
"This pageant is about being proud of who you are and displaying it," said pageant producer/director Bob Thomas. "We're not interested in being young again."
Thomas, a longtime pageant and stage-show producer who also directed the first seniors pageant last year, explained to the contestants the reasoning behind the talent lineup, fielded their questions, cracked jokes and generally put them at ease.
The calm and humor pervading the room belied the pageant's recent close encounter with what could have been a disaster, when Chairwoman Dotty Talbott collapsed Tuesday from what she figures was stress and exhaustion.
Talbott, 1991 Ms. National Senior Citizen, is a driving force behind the Virginia pageants.
``When Dotty called me from the hospital, I took a deep breath and told myself, `Jeanette, get it together,''' said Co-chairwoman/Secretary Estelle Jeanette McCadden.
When Talbott fell ill, McCadden took up the reigns and called up the organizational and delegating skills acquired during years of teaching in Roanoke schools. She said the fact that everything fell so readily into place and progressed so smoothly reflected the work that already had gone into the event.
Today's and Saturday's pageants will differ slightly, with the first being primarily a talent show and the second featuring the talent finalists, plus daywear and evening gown competitions and contestants' impromptu answers to randomly drawn questions.
On Saturday, a song especially written for the pageant by the reigning queen, Polly Beck, will debut, sung by emcee Lowell Hill.
The contestants are:
Naomi Burke, 63, from Chesapeake, who also was the first Ms. Chesapeake Senior Citizen. She will lip sync to Patsy Cline's song, "Crazy."
Vera Flanagan, 66, of Ridgeway, will play piano.
Virginia Ann Freeman, 74, from Fredericksburg, who was 1993 first runner-up, will perform a dance routine.
Danice (Niecy) S. Hunt, 61, of Roanoke, will sing a gospel solo and accompany herself on piano.
Christine (Chris) King, 55, of Dublin, will do a comedy skit.
Julia D. Manherz, 72, of Wintergreen, will sing.
Doris C. Oliver, 61, of Christiansburg, will sing.
Nina Rowland, 70, of Great Falls, will sing.
Edith Sawyers, 70, of Martinsville, last year's talent winner, will do flat-foot dancing.
Elaine (Lee) K. Tompkins, 86, from Salem, 1993 second runner-up, will skit-and-scat sing, a form of jazz.
Beulah Burrel Watson, 65, of Hampton, will recite a poem.
Winners will receive from $100 to $300, and the pageant will sponsor the first-place winner to represent Virginia in the Ms. National Senior Citizen Pageant in Joliet, Ill., Oct.3-9.
Both pageants begin at 8 p.m. in the Clara Black Auditorium, Patrick Henry High School, Roanoke. Tickets are $7 per person per night. For more information, call the Sheraton Inn sales department, 362-4500, or Estelle McCadden, 342-2763.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***