Web sites offer history of Miss America

Site-seeing with Jan Perry

At the suggestion of Jeff Ehrman of Delhi, this week's column joins in the celebration of Kentucky's first Miss America, Heather Renee French.

There she is...

http://209.41.28.101/index1.html

If the truth be told, there are millions of women who watched the Miss America Pageant as little girls - who sat there secretly pretending to be the one chosen to wear the crown. (Mine was a rhinestone headband, my robe was a blue bath towel hooked around my neck with a safety pin and my scepter was a baton - the same one I planned to use to win the talent portion of the competition.)

Aside from all the news, photos and coverage of the recent crowning of Ms. French, this site gives an interesting mix of history and how to.

Visit profiles of past winners and you'll find the familiar names and famous faces like: Bess Myerson; Lee Meriwether; Mary Ann Mobley and Vanessa Williams.

But you'll also read about less known but just as successful crown-holders like Heather Whitestone from Birmingham, Ala., who became the first deaf Miss America in 1995 or even Mary Campbell of Columbus, Ohio, who back in 1922 entered and won at the age of 16. Defending champions were allowed to return year after year and Ms. Campbell won the title twice! Beauty pageants in general have taken some serious criticism over the years, but the Miss America Organization can proudly point to its unequaled scholarship program. All the funding and sponsor participation is detailed on the site.

And of course you'll find an interesting behind-the-curtain look at the thousands of people and hundreds hours it takes to air the most popular pageant on American television.

Local focus

http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/6647/

http://www.missohio.com

These are the state sites for anyone wishing to compete - or to volunteer in the pageant preparations.

So if your dream goes a bit deeper than a rhinestone crown and a terry-cloth robe - and you would like more information about starting into the pageant process, let these sites give you the basics.

It's her town now

Want to know how proud Heather's hometown is? Stop by and see the new ''Welcome to Maysville - home of Miss America'' sign that went up first thing Monday at http://www.maysville-online.com. There also is a scrapbook of photos and stories about the newly crowned queen put online by the Ledger-Independent newspaper.

Jan Perry is proud to live in Kentucky, home of the new Miss America. Write to her at SiteSeer2K@aol.com.