Amidst Atlantic City's sparkle, 'everything old is new again'

Miss Mississippi Myra Barginear sings a classical Italian vocal piece, "Una voce poco fa," during the talent competition portion on Thursday, Sept. 11.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - To many, the Miss America Pageant is little more than an annual swimsuit show.

But to the hundreds of pageant devotees who spend their lives preparing for the sparkling September evening, and the thousands more supporters who gather in Atlantic City to watch it, the pageant is more than just two and a half hours of entertainment - it's a tradition, and even a way of life.

"It's just part of us," said Allen Pergament, an Atlantic City native who has childhood memories of the host city's pageants. Pergament's history with the pageant goes back to age five, when he sold empty peach baskets at the Friday boardwalk parade to onlookers who wanted a better view.

His wife, Marlene, has contributed to the pageant by serving as a contestant hostess - a woman who accompanies a particular contestant throughout the course of the pageant.

More than 200 volunteers devote two weeks each September to make the dream of the pageant a reality for 51 young women.

Pageant volunteers go to great extents to accommodate the contestants. Press Director Tessa Goldsmith said the staff held a "Down on the Farm" day where volunteers dressed up in costumes to make the contestants more comfortable.

Miss North Carolina Michelle Warren sings "And I'm telling you I'm not going" during the talent competition. Warren was the overall runner-up in the Miss America competition.

The most devoted fans by far are the people who work for the Miss America Pageant Program on the local and state levels. Contestant entourages are usually composed of at least a dozen pageant representatives who travel from all corners of the country in hopes that their "Miss" will be chosen to wear the crown.

"I don't think there's a greater opportunity for women than this program," said Tom Skogen, a member of Wisconsin's Miss America executive board.

Jon Ferguson, who has been involved with the Miss Jefferson pageant in Lakewood, Colo., since 1972, said members of "the pageant culture" compose a tightly knit group that returns annually.

"It's like a big family reunion," Ferguson said.

There is also a considerable showing every year by former contestants, whose hearts fill with nostalgia as they sit in the audience, remembering their moment in the spotlight.

Returning for her 10th anniversary was Kay Lani Rae Rafko, the former Miss Michigan who won the Miss America crown in 1987.

"You come here and you just get goosebumps and chills all over," Rafko said. "It's just wonderful. You remember all the excitement."

Yet many supporters who flock to Atlantic City have no affiliation with the pageant at all.

Each year, the women in Christine McCarthy's family leave their men behind and travel from Voorhees, N.J. for a girls-only night at the Friday evening parade.

"It's just like a good, old-fashioned tradition in America," McCarthy said. "It gets people excited, some patrioticness for their state."

Miss District of Columbia Sonya Gavankar sings "The Power of the Dream" on the second night of preliminary competitions.

Absecon, N.J. residents Barbara and Carmen Melone said they still enjoy attending pageant festivities, despite this year's lack of the traditionally elaborate floats sponsored by Atlantic City casinos.

"I think it's a tradition that is Atlantic City," Carmen Melone said. "There's nothing else like this. There never was and there never will be."

The pageant tradition began in 1920 as a swimsuit contest. It was started as a way to extend the summer by giving tourists an incentive to stay in Atlantic City for an extra week after their Labor Day vacations.

Since then, the Miss America organization has evolved into the world's largest provider of scholarships exclusively for women, giving nearly $32 million in scholarship money last year. To modernize the event, the pageant has shifted its focus toward the promotion of talent and scholarship efforts, but still includes the swimsuit competition despite the controversy surrounding it.

Two years ago, pageant viewers had the chance to phone in and voice their opinion on whether the swimsuit competition should remain a part of the competition. The public voted in favor of keeping the segment.

The pageant attracts its share of folk who disapprove of its philosophy. Absent from this year's events was "the meat woman" - a semi-annual visitor who, according to Miss America veterans, would stand outside the convention hall draped in meat to protest what some consider to be the objectification of women by beauty pageants.

Even those who don't seem like the pageant type make time in their schedules to attend.

Photographer Annie Lebowitz said she chose to attend this year's pageant to get another look at women for her upcoming book on women.

"The whole thing is steeped in controversy," said Lebowitz, adding that if it was up to her, she would get rid of the swimsuit portion of the competition.

"I love tradition," Lebowitz said. "If they can still have tradition and make things better, I think it's great."

Miss California Rebekah Ann Keller participates in a revue depicting the Miss America Pageant and the changing swimsuit fashions through the eras. Keller finished among the top five contestants overall.

Some who attend the pageant make sport of its shallow image - but in good fun.

Pam Goodman and several of her male and female friends dressed as mock contestants for Saturday evening's show. Wearing black cocktail dresses and suits, the group sported homemade banners printed with titles like "Miss Demeanor," "Miss Take" and "Miss Ellaneous."

"We love entertainment," said Goodman, who came from Philadelphia to see the pageant for her first time. "Anything that's positive."

Although no official tally is taken, the gay community makes up a large part of the pageant's audience.

"I've always said that (the people who attend pageants) are no more than the contestants, fat people and (gays)," said Paul Williams, an openly homosexual stand-up comedian from New York.

"Gay men always put beauty on such a high pedestal," Williams said. "It gives them a chance to live out their own fantasies."

Despite their diversity, there is general feeling of camaraderie among those attending the pageant.

On the night of the pageant, hotel elevators are jammed with visitors discussing their hometowns and placing verbal bets on their favorite contestants.

Walking down the boardwalk, people seek out folks from their own state - identifiable by the contestant's button they're likely wearing - to share words of encouragement.

Pergament said the pageant's greatest accomplishment would be to use its spirit to cure social ills.

"Wouldn't it be great if we acted this way toward some of the problems in the world?" Pergament said.

After all, the Miss America Pageant is a place where dreams can come true.

09-19-97