THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 22, 1995 TAG: 9509210171
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
It's 8:15 on the night of the Miss America Pageant, the 75th installment of the beauty contest. At Susan Horton's house, she and a dozen co-workers are putting on their game faces for the nation's most celebrated pageant.
Welcome to the second annual Miss America Beauty Pageant Party, Hermitage Elementary School division.
Horton, principal at the school, and several of the teachers have gathered to root for their favorites. They also will enjoy food and beverage, vote pro or con on the all-important swimsuit issue and generally have a wild time. Horton will present a door prize to the teacher who correctly predicts the Miss America winner.
``We just get together and enjoy ourselves,'' Horton said. She has been a follower of the pageant since earliest remembrance, and she believes it's good, clean, traditional fun.
The teachers are women, except for lone male James Caralivanos. So sentiment may run against that sexist segment, the swimsuit competition.
But, no, the women are 100 percent behind the swimsuit competition. Well, 99 percent anyway.
Diane Schnabel hesitates a moment when asked to cast her 900-line vote. ``Well, why not,'' she finally capitulates. ``I mean nobody really takes the talent seriously, do they?''
The 900-line has the capacity to field 6 million! calls an hour at 50 cents an opinion. Horton wonders aloud where all the money goes. A teacher suggests that the windfall be applied to the Virginia Beach school system's troubled budget. Cheers go up.
The show begins at 9, with Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford hosting. At 9:15, Gifford changes dresses.
Terry Douberly competed in the Miss USA Virginia contest 10 years ago. She acts as the John Madden of the pageant party, offering play-by-play commentary.
Yes, the girls do use Vaseline on their teeth to brighten their smiles. Moreover, the competition is tough.
``Some girls would tear another contestant's zippers out of the gown,'' Douberly says to the delight of the crowd. Also, the contestants don't actually ride on roller coasters, as we have been led to believe.
``They just mussed and fluffed our hair,'' to make it look windblown, Douberly adds.
At 10 o'clock, Kathie Lee strolls out in her third dress of the night.
Johnny Mathis appears on stage to sing.
Fifteen minutes later, Kathie Lee dons her fourth ensemble, drawing a cry from Gabbie Kalman, Horton's visiting niece. Gabbie, a candid third-grader, asks, ``How can she wear that dress?''
Gabbie relaxes when Kathie Lee appears in No. 5 a few minutes later.
Horton passes out pieces of paper. The educators are going to record their predictions.
``I'm not voting for Miss Massachusetts,'' says Joan Kreimer, a Massachusetts native. ``She never wins.''
At 11:22, as Kathie Lee appears in her sixth wardrobe change, viewers are informed that the swimsuit vote is in. Drum roll, and it's - 4-to-1. In favor. Cheers go up again. One of the pivotal moments of Western Civilization has seesawed to the side of continued dermal display.
All that's left is to find out who wins the contest and the door prize. With swimsuit suspense over, the mood turns slightly cynical, though still festive.
``Not another opera singer,'' one voice laments before the third aria of the evening.
``Don't they have any baton twirlers?'' assistant principal Julie Mann wonders.
Caralivanos, acting like a man, wants to know one thing: ``If this is the 75th anniversary, why don't they wear patches on the bathing suits, like the patches NFL players wore on their uniforms last year? Isn't this the Super Bowl of beauty contests?''
Horton answers him: ``No, we don't know who is going to win here. The NFC always wins.''
Finally a couple of minutes before midnight, Shawntel Smith bursts into the 75th Annual Spontaneous Tears of Joy as the crown is placed on the Oklahoma woman's red-haired head.
Kathie Lee is wearing her seventh outfit as Johnny Mathis sings ``There she is . . . ''
P.S.: Four of the teachers split the door prize - flowers - for correctly picking Miss Oklahoma. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY EDWARDS
Enjoying the Hermitage Elementary School Miss America Beauty Pageant
Party are (front row from left): Amy Simpson, Allison Berg and Joan
Brown and (back row from left): Lisa Dunphy, Vicki Sullivan and
Diane Schnabel.
by CNB