[DeltAlum]

I never realized how much time and effort go into the Miss America preliminary pageants until post college. I dated a girl as a Freshman (Alpha Gam) and her (biological and sorority) sister was Miss Southern Ohio at the time, but I barely knew her -- just that she was a bartender and served us liquor underage.

When I was a TV director in Columbus just after O.U. I hired a former Miss Ohio and First runner up Miss America to do some shows for me at the Ohio State Fair one year. She and her husband and Mrs. DeltAlum and I became friends socially for a while. She is the one who told me how much work and how many pageants you had to go through to make it to "the top." As an aside, she showed me a trophy she got when named Miss Ohio. She had it made into a lamp! It was great!

Finally, I knew Miss America (1971 I think), a Fuzzie from OU who later married (and divorced) one of the anchormen at the station I worked for. I gave her rides back to Athens from Columbus on Monday mornings sometimes when I was heading down to see the future Mrs. DeltAlum. Last I heard, she was a designer for pageant swimwear and a talent coach for pageant contestants.

By the way, Mrs. DeltAlum was Prom Queen in high school, nominated for Military Ball Queen in college -- and perhaps most prestegious of all -- Toledo Area Student Council Queen! How do you top that?

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Oh yeah, forgot to mention that our son won the Mr. (High school name) both Junior and Senior year. It was a fundraiser where they wore provided tuxedos (it was just before prom) and had a talent competition -- he's a singer. He didn't think it was a big deal, but I think he had fun anyway.