Bottles of hairspray, racks of beaded couture gowns, and stacks of high heel shoes are commonplace backstage at the annual Miss America Competition, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary at the end of this year. Avid viewers know the so-called beauty pageant got its start at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., but the historic capital of N.J. has a rich history of pageantry, too.
As a senior at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), I certainly had to do some digging to find information relating to the 1963 Miss Trenton State Pageant, held at modern-day Packer Hall, the College’s gym. After sifting through various campus newspaper archives, reaching out to the College’s alumni office, and hour-long searches of the former contestants on Facebook, I had the opportunity to schedule a phone call with the 2nd runner-up to Miss Trenton State in 1963, Judith Anderson.
As a senior at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), I certainly had to do some digging to find information relating to the 1963 Miss Trenton State Pageant, held at modern-day Packer Hall, the College’s gym. After sifting through various campus newspaper archives, reaching out to the College’s alumni office, and hour-long searches of the former contestants on Facebook, I had the opportunity to schedule a phone call with the 2nd runner-up to Miss Trenton State in 1963, Judith Anderson.
Archive from The Signal (October 1965) at The College of New Jersey
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“I was nominated by the student body for Miss Trenton State [the former name of TCNJ, in walking distance to the city], and there were six of us” Anderson reflected 55 years later. “We had to take pictures outside the dining hall and there was a vote.” Anderson added that she dressed up in a velvet black gown, had an escort, and then crowned the second- and first-runner ups along with the winner, Nancy Cahill.
“You had to have two on-campus activities [to be eligible], and I was involved in the freshman orientation and my sorority,” Anderson reflected on her sophomore year. “We had a reception right after the pageant and there was a float that held the three of us, and we floated around the football field. And I got a little silver charm — I still have it.” Though the currently-retired kindergarten teacher didn’t compete in the swimsuit and onstage question competitions traditionally seen in competition, she said Miss Trenton State likely transformed into an official local pageant for the Miss America Organization, a major milestone for Trenton and its surrounding areas. |
“The way Miss America works is by a local, state, and national ranking,” said Jade Glab, Miss New Jersey 2020. “You start at the local level and then when you win a local title, you would advance to the state competition. If you win the state competition, you go to Miss America. And, it stops at Miss America; the universe-based competition is part of Miss USA.”
Glab was the second titleholder to experience Miss America without a health and fitness (swimsuit) competition, and the first to witness the revamped “Miss America 2.0” without the classic evening gown and onstage question competition. As a Top 10 finalist, she mentioned the emphasis on the organization’s Social Impact Initiative and the absence of the swimsuit phase of the competition — the latter a change she wasn’t thrilled about, especially since Miss America had its start as a swimsuit competition in 1921.
“As a health and fitness advocate, I never equated looking good in a bikini to health, and what Miss America always said was, ‘it’s not a swimsuit competition, it’s a lifestyle and fitness competition,’ so what you’re judging is someone’s health,” she said. “I was never the skinny girl on stage; I was always the muscular one, and that’s okay because it shows that I’m eating a lot of protein, I’m eating the right nutrients, and I’m healthy.”
Glab was the second titleholder to experience Miss America without a health and fitness (swimsuit) competition, and the first to witness the revamped “Miss America 2.0” without the classic evening gown and onstage question competition. As a Top 10 finalist, she mentioned the emphasis on the organization’s Social Impact Initiative and the absence of the swimsuit phase of the competition — the latter a change she wasn’t thrilled about, especially since Miss America had its start as a swimsuit competition in 1921.
“As a health and fitness advocate, I never equated looking good in a bikini to health, and what Miss America always said was, ‘it’s not a swimsuit competition, it’s a lifestyle and fitness competition,’ so what you’re judging is someone’s health,” she said. “I was never the skinny girl on stage; I was always the muscular one, and that’s okay because it shows that I’m eating a lot of protein, I’m eating the right nutrients, and I’m healthy.”
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The current titleholder isn’t the only one dissatisfied with the modern-day competition (that’s another change too, going from calling it a “pageant” to a “competition”). Fox News reported Miss America’s viewership dropped from 7.1 million in 2015 to 5.35 million in 2017, with Insider reporting how disappointment has risen from many viewers in 2020.
“Miss America also incorporated a new writing competition, which felt very much like taking the SAT,” Glab said. “We woke up early in the morning to write a 600-word blog post, a 100-word Instagram caption, and find a photo to include in a tweet, all about cybersecurity.” She also was disheartened by the change in evening gown competition, as the modern wear-your-evening-gown-in-the-opening-number switch had her sitting on the stage in her $6,000 dress. Though tradition may have been thwarted, Glab is still passionate about her Social Impact Initiative: Healthy Children Strong America. “I wanted to make sure kids in underprivileged areas had the opportunity to pursue a healthy lifestyle, and I think the first step is education,” she said. “Some people don’t know how to achieve a healthy lifestyle and when I would make appearances in underprivileged areas — also known as ‘food deserts’ where there isn’t a grocery store available within one mile — I noticed a lot of McDonald’s, Burger King, and other fast-food chains.” Glab started her Social Impact Initiative after experiencing a bad blood test showing results of high cholesterol. And, when her grandparents collectively suffered conditions including a quadruple bypass, COPD, broken bones, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, her family knew they wanted to adopt a healthier way of living. “I came up with a three-part presentation with RWJ Barnabas Health,” she added. “They have a Wellness on Wheels initiative, which is essentially a giant school bus that travels throughout the state to provide presentations on nutrition, healthy cooking classes, and education on sustainable and urban farming.” She even rapped songs about clean eating as the ‘Veggie Wrapper,’ her first appearance being at Robbinsville, NJ — close to Trenton. So yes, the pageant world has since been reformed from the days of being a “popularity, nice person, pretty girl contest,” as Anderson remembered from the ‘60s. Miss America is the No. 1 provider of scholarships for young women. Glab has received $25,000 to assist her in her undergraduate studies at Georgetown University. “The public speaking skills, connections you make, and scholarships are impactful,” Glab concluded. “It’s been a wonderful experience filling the gaps in communities that need it most, and I’m forever grateful.” |
Infographic by Victoria Giardina
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